The Portland real estate market showed little change in the last month (Oct. 2010) with sales dropping from 7.6 percent to 6.8 percent in the close-in PDX market. This decrease can be attributed to the transition into Fall when traditionally there are less transactions compared to Summer. The market is still struggling as the graphs below indicate but there is some good news nationally with an increase in sales prices for new construction as well as an increase in single family starts and permits.
The major factors effecting the market right now are distressed properties (roughly a third of all sales in PDX right now are foreclosures or short sales), difficulty to obtain loans and market hesitation. There are certainly people with cash on the sidelines waiting to buy who are looking for some positive indicators before they are ready to jump back in the market. The million dollar question remains – “are we at the bottom yet?”
Time will tell…
