The Associated PressA home for sale in Portland. March home sales numbers paint a picture of a Portland-area housing market teetering on the edge of good news.

More homes sold during the month than a year earlier, the Regional Multiple Listing Service reported Thursday. The stock of homes for sale increased, but not enough to keep up with demand.

That should theoretically push prices higher, but news there was mixed. Although the median price posted its first increase in more than a year, the average price, which is more affected by extreme highs and lows, fell.

“It’s another report that suggests the market is in the process of bottoming out,” University of Oregon economist Tim Duy said. “But it doesn’t seem about to take off, either.”

Strong January and February sales raised hopes for the spring sales season, but March’s more modest improvements didn’t live up to those gains.

The 1,694 homes sold the six-county area around Portland represented a 4.9 percent increase compared with a year earlier.

The median sales price was $215,700, a 0.3 percent increase. That’s the first gain since a short-lived improvement August 2010, and the largest since February 2008. The average sale price was $252,600, a 3.3 percent annual decline.

Homes listed for sale are at about a five-month supply based on March’s rate of sale. Economists typically say that six months worth of inventory represents a market balanced between supply and demand.

“We still have a shortage of good, quality homes,” Brian Houston, the principal managing broker at Coldwell Banker Seal in Portland. “We’re going to maintain a low inventory, we’re going to see a higher demand for a high-quality home, and prices will continue to increase.”

More would-be buyers have found themselves in bidding wars to buy a house. Heavier demand is likely to push prices higher.

And that, in turn, could bring more sellers back to the market.

“There are probably plenty of people that want to change their situation,” Duy said. “But until they’re more confident they can put their house on the market and get a price they want, there’s going to be resistance.”

In another sign of stronger demand, homes sold a little faster in March than a year earlier. The average market time in March 2012 was 135 days, compared with 161 in March 2011.

–Elliot Njus
Follow @enjus