Source: Elliot Njus The Oregonian, Portland, Ore.) –– Portland-area home sales volume fell to $5.2 billion in 2011, the lowest level in 11 years. Increased sales activity couldn’t make up for a continuing decline in prices.
The Regional Multiple Listings Service reported 19,682 homes sold in 2011, a 4 percent increase compared with 2010. But the median price for the year, $221,000, was 7.9 percent lower than in 2010.
The year also saw fewer potential sellers putting their home on the market. The 34,000 homes listed for sale during 2011 was 25 percent fewer than a year earlier.
That’s led to a sustained decline in the overall inventory of homes. At December’s sales rate, it would take only 5.3 months to sell every home on the market, a low point for at least the past three years.
But the inventory may be artificially low. Foreclosed homes could add to the pool over the next several years, and stronger sales prices could lure would-be sellers who are waiting out poor market conditions.
December sales
December closed the year true to form, with the median sale price falling as sales activity improved.
The 1,612 homes sold represented a 10.3 percent increase compared with the same month in 2010, and even showed a 6 percent improvement compared with November. Another 1,443 sales were pending.
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The median sale price for December was $216,600, a 6.2 percent decline compared with the same month a year earlier. December also showed a 3.7 percent decline in median price compared with November, but the average sale price rose half a percent.
Homes spent an average of 142 days on the market before being sold. By the end of the month, 8,612 were listed for sale.
– Elliot Njus
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©2012 The Oregonian (Portland, Ore.)
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Source: Elliot Njus The Oregonian, Portland, Ore.