Home prices continue to sharply rise; inventory remains low, report finds

The inventory of homes for sale in the Portland area, already microscopically low, dropped again in March, according to the most recent report from the Regional Multiple Listing Service.

The figure, which estimates how long it would take for all current homes on the market to sell at the current pace, fell to 1.3 months in March, down from 1.8 months in January and February. The inventory in December was 1.2 months, the lowest level since at least 1999. (Six months of inventory represents a balanced market, real estate observers say.)

The 2,565 closed sales the Portland region saw last month represented the most active March since 2007 and were 4.4 percent higher than March of last year, the report found.

Pending sales, on the other hand, slowed down compared to March 2015. The 3,076 pending sales last month marked a 9.1 percent year-over-year decline. It was the same story for the 3,409 new listings, which were 5.2 percent below the number of new listings in March of last year.

Prices continued to rise sharply. The average sale price of homes in March was $385,100, a 14.2 percent increase over the previous March. The median price jumped 15.5 percent, from $290,000 to $335,000.

"The figures for the average sales price and the median sales price are also the highest we have ever seen in both categories," said Dustin Miller, a broker with Realty Trust Group.

-- Luke Hammill
lhammill@oregonian.com
503-294-4029
@lucashammill

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