May
MAY 2005 MARKET NEWS

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May Residential Highlights

Once again, May is witness to an inventory measure lower than any previously recorded for the Portland Metro Area, breaking the record set two months ago in March (see table to the right). The 5,257 active residential listings at month’s end could sustain the market for a mere 1.6 months.  What is the explanation for this decrease in inventory? It’s possible that it was the increase in closed sales for the month, which were 13.4% higher than in May 2004. But accepted offers also increased 7.1%. In the mean time, the number of new listings decreased 2.4% when we compare these numbers to May 2004, rounding out the likely causes for the continued drop in Inventory.

Appreciation

The area’s average sale price for the last twelve months was $256,600–up 10.8% from the $231,000 average for the twelve months prior. Using the same date range to compare median sale price we see a 12.3% appreciation rate ($215,000 v. $191,500).

Year-To-Date Trends

Going. Going. Gone! This year, so far, has generated remarkable growth in closed sales (see Year to Date Rows of the table below). Compared to what had been reported by this time in 2004, they are up 21.7%. The number of pending sales also shows healthy growth, reaching a total 16.6% higher. On the other hand, the number of new listings in the Portland metro changed by growing only 0.3% from the end of May of 2004.

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