Portland Rocks!

We already knew that there were millions of reasons to love Portland Oregon, but now we have one more. Portland has been ranked the #1 city for the most courteous drivers! We are less likely to curse, honk or run red lights. But don't you all move here at once!

http://www.katu.com/news/local/48210792.html

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Portland OR Market Report

May Residential Highlights

Sales activity in May for the Portland Metro area continued to march upward compared to the prior month, but lagged behind 2008 levels.
Comparing May 2009 with the same month in 2008, pending sales were down 7.4% and closed sales decreased 23.4%. New listings also dropped 25.1%.
On the other hand, comparing May 2009 with April 2009, pending sales grew 5.8% (1,967 v. 1,860). Closed sales also rose 9.6% (1,427 v. 1,302). New listings increased 1.9% (3,879 v. 3,808).
Inventory dropped to 10.2 months, down from 11 months in April – the fourth straight month of decline. Active residential listings in May rose to 14,493 - up from 14,328 in April. Active listings appear to be increasing at a slower rate than usual for this time of year.

Year-to-Date

Comparing January-May 2009 with the same period in 2008, closed sales were down 28.1% and pending sales decreased 17.5%. New listings also dropped 23.8%.

Sale Prices

The average sale price for May 2009 was down 13% compared to May 2008, while the median sale price also dropped 13%. Month-to-month, the average sale price and median sale price both posted small gains when compared with April levels; the average sale price was up 0.1% ($291,400 v. $291,100) and the median sale price was up 0.04% ($250,000 v. $249,900).

Pending Home Sales on the Rise

Due to low interest rates and an $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers, pending home sales have gone up for the third month in a row.

It varies greatly from one area of the country to another, here in the West the Pending Home Sales Index rose 1.8%, to 94.8, but is 2.9% below a year ago. A pending home sale is a contract for a home sale that has been signed but the home sale has not closed yet.

Total number of existing-home sales is expected to improve in general but some corners of the United States have already bottomed out and started to recover while others are still falling slowly.

Typically there is a one- to two-month lag between a contract and a done deal, so the index is a barometer for future existing-home sales.

It has noted that pending sales have increased, which is a sign that we're moving in the right direction, but that we are still drastically below where we were at the peak of the market. We probably should not be comparing our numbers to the peak of the market though. That was just the extreme the other way and ideally we'd like to be plain ol' steady.

http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/content/jun2009/db2009062_031070.htm

PLEASE CHECK OUT OUR NEW PODCAST ON THE HOMEPAGE OF OUR WEBSITE http//:www.TonyandLibby.com