S Oregon Real Estate Forum, October 10, 2018

A headline in the Tuesday edition of the Mail Tribune declared, “Real estate turns to a buyers market.” Is that true?  Well, not so fast my friends. If you drill down deeper in the latest MLS stats, a different story appears.  The market is stabilizing. Let’s start with September Comparisons.

What does this mean? For buyers there is now more homes available to view. Months supply of inventory is up too in fact 17% more than a year ago.  The stats show that pricing is more important then ever for sellers. Remember a normal market would be a six month supply.  We are at 3.1 right now.  Now take a look at the market snapshot for Jackson County.
This indicates the market remains quite active in the price range under $500,000.  The months supply of inventory in higher price ranges remains high and has moved into a buyers market.  However, for most of us, the lower price bands remain where most activity is taking place.  And finally, if you think real estate activity is down, then look at the number of lock boxes that were opened during September 2017 vs 2018.  A lot of activity has been detected.
In the end, the market is talking to us and is stabilizing.  That is not necessarily a bad thing.  Interest rates rose a quarter point last week so the market will continue adjust to the new realities.
SENIOR LIVING OPTIONS, that was the topic of last week’s Real Estate Show. Watch our show with Cindy Priestley and Don McCoy, John L Scott agents as we discuss options that seniors have as they seek housing.
This is a great topic for a lot of people seeking solutions to housing as we age.  Show is available to watch on You Tube and our website.

Cindy Priestley and Don McCoy at KCMX Radio Studio.
LAST WEEK IN REAL ESTATE.
No matter what you read, statistics are a reliable source of information on what is happening in our real estate market.

Have a great week, contact me for more information anytime.
Radio Saturday 10 am, Market Watch.  KCMX AM 880
Pete