The metro area RMLS stats showed us pretty much the same thing we saw in March except that the average and median sale prices increased by 2.4% and 2.3%, respectively. I’m always happy to see figures like that!

We’re still dealing with a rough comparison for April of 2011 to 2010 due to last year’s tax credits for new home buyers. Looking forward, though, if our market maintains its current momentum, we should see some better year-to-year comparisons toward July, by which time last year the credit had expired and the lion’s share of the first-timers had closed their deals.

Below is an excerpt from RMLS’s “Market Action” for April, 2011.

April Residential Highlights
While sales activity was down in April 2011 compared with April 2010, average and median sale prices increased compared with the previous month of March 2011.

Month to month, comparing March 2011 to April 2011, sale prices increased. Average sale price went up from $261,100 to $267,300 (2.4%) while median sale price also increased from $215,000 to $219,900 (2.3%).

Holy Cow!  These are some pretty big numbers.  The RMLS released their market stats today, and I liked what I’m seeing.    

The March 2010 to March 2011 comparisons looked pretty rough, but expected.  Last year at this time we were headed toward the deadline of the First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit.  This year, we’re just looking at nice market activity. 

I’m really impressed by the jump in the month-to-month numbers, though.  Comparing March to the previous month, we saw a 50% increase in the number of closed sales, a 26% increase in the number of pending transactions, a 3.8 month decrease in the inventory of listings and a jump in the average sale price from $244,500 to $261,100.  The median sale price, however, stayed about the same as it was in February.

Keep in mind that this is the start of our buying season and that we typically see a jump in activity at this time of year, but these numbers were more than I was expecting. 

See the excerpt from RMLS’s March 2011 “Market Action” below.

      -Ron-

March Residential Highlights

While sales activity was down in March 2011 compared with March 2010, activity increased compared to the previous month of February 2011. Additionally, inventory in the Portland metro region was 0.7 months lower than March 2010, reaching the lowest inventory level for the area since May 2010.

Closed sales were down 10.2% in March 2011 compared to March 2010. Pending sales were down 16.2%, and new listings dropped 38.7%.

Comparing February 2011 with March 2011, closed sales jumped from 1,074 to 1,615 (50.4%). Pending sales also increased from 1,592 to 2,014 (26.5%). New listings grew from 2,883 to 3,056 (6%).

At the month’s rate of sales, the 11,458 active residential listings would last about 7.1 months.

Sale Prices

Average sale price for March 2011 declined 6.8% compared to March 2010. Median sale price also fell 10%. 

Month to month, comparing February 2011 to March 2011, sale prices increased. Average sale price went up from $244,500 to $261,100 (6.8%) while median sale price also increased from $213,700 to $215,000 (0.6%).

Nice news!  Read the highlights below from RMLS’s monthly report on the metro area’s real estate market statistics. 

What caught my eye was that December showed a big jump in closed sales from the month before (14.3%) and an increase number of pending sales as well (6%).  The inventory in months fell a significant amount – down 2.3 months.

The average and median sale prices vs. the previous month were a mixed bag: up 2.2% and down 1.3% respectively. 

This is all really good news in a month where Realtors are supposed to be sitting at home reading movie magazines and eating bon-bons.  I may have to buy a newspaper tomorrow to see how the Oregonian manages to rain on this parade. 

      -Ron-

From RMLS’s December 2010 “Market Action”

“December Residential Highlights

Looking at the Portland Metro area market in 2010, December continued the trend of decreased activity toward the end of the year. However, closed sales underwent an uptick in December, reaching the highest monthly level since June.

Inventory also saw its lowest level since June. Closed sales were down 2.9% compared to December 2009, but pending sales were up 6%. New listings dropped 8.5%.

Comparing the previous month of November 2010 with December 2010 shows closed sales jumped from 1,279 to 1,462 (14.3%). However, pending sales fell from 1,426 to 1,210 (-15.2%), and new listings dropped from 2,437 to 1,925 (-22.2%).

At the month’s rate of sales, the 11,611 active residential listings would last about 7.9 months, a 2.3-month drop since November.

2010 Summary

When comparing activity in 2010 with that of 2009, closed sales dipped 0.2%. Pending sales were 2.1% lower, but new listings were up 3.0%. Total sales volume for 2010 was $5.3 billion, down from $5.5 billion in 2009.

Sale Prices

The average sale price for December 2010 declined 5.2% compared to December 2009. The median sale price also fell 5%. Month to month, comparing November 2010 to December 2010, the average sale price went up from $271,900 to $278,000 (2.2%) while the median sale price dropped from $233,000 to $230,000 (-1.3%).

For 2010, average sale price dropped 2.7% compared to 2009, and median sale prices fell 2.9%.”