As much as we love statistics and using them to help our clients, they are never as “in real-time” as the chatter around the water cooler (or via Zoom from the weekly remote meetings). This week, all that talk was about the sudden shift in buyer activity which will not show up in the statistics for a few weeks. We finally feel the effect of rising interest rates, and it came in a bit like a lion.
Pending and closed sales have been dropping for a couple of months (primarily because of a lack of inventory), but prices have continued to rise. I think this new drop in buyer activity could also lead to a stabilization of prices. We've already seen record price reductions on active listings this week and lower numbers of offers coming in the door.
As we like to say, markets seek equilibrium, and this one is no exception. And while Portland continues to appeal to folks looking for a place to land, it could be that the double-digit appreciation is about to end. We think this is good for the market and know that we will still see quality homes in good locations, prepped to sell, garnering multiple offers and price wars. We may be through with the crazy tunes insanity that has been here lately, which is A-OK with us.
This month’s Market Action Report won’t show any of this yet, but we can tell you…change is a-comin'!