Homes Are Starting To Pile Up On The Market

A report from The Columbian in Washington. “Clark County’s housing market cooled a bit in September, with fewer sales and more homes left on the market. Home sale prices also fell slightly in September, but remained higher when comparing the month with the same time last year, according to the Regional Multiple Listing Service’s report. Average and median sale prices also fell from August, although they came in higher than the prices reported in September 2017, continuing an overall trend of higher prices in 2018 compared to the previous year.”

“Those rates of increase are likely to slow next year, said Terry Wollam, managing broker for ReMax equity group in Vancouver, although prices overall will probably continue to move upward.”

“‘For next year, I would assume that we’ll see a plateauing of pricing — maybe appreciation that will take place equal to the inflationary rate, in that 2 to 3 percent range,’ he said. ‘I’m not seeing our prices softening, just because inventory still has a ways to go before prices fall from it.'”

“The overall number of active listings in the county has been growing in the past few months, and rose to 1,979 in September, the highest number in any month since the start of 2016. Camas, Washougal, Battle Ground, Ridgefield, Brush Prairie, north Salmon Creek and Evergreen had the county’s most listings.”

“With new listings on the decline, Wollam said the increase in active listings can be attributed primarily to falling sales. ‘We’re seeing an increase in inventory, which isn’t due to an increase in homes on the market, but due to a decrease in sales that we saw in July, August and September,’ Wollam said.”

From Boise State Public Radio in Idaho. “Sales of existing homes in Ada County for September were down by double digits. It’s the first decline of that size since February of 2017. Analysis from Boise Regional Realtors finds existing home sales tumbled by 24 percent compared to the same time last year and were down 25 percent from August.”

“The group’s president, Gary Salisbury, says a lot of factors are contributing to the dip. However, the biggest reason for the decline is simple: Not a lot of existing homes are up for sale. Supplies have been running low for the last four years.”

From The Oregonian. “Homes are starting to pile up on the Portland market — at least by the standards of the red-hot market of recent years. There were more than 7,000 homes on the market at the end of September, according to the Regional Multiple Listing Service. That’s the most since 2014.”

“More homes have been coming on the market this year, and sales have slowed. The 2,272 homes sold in September represented a 15 percent drop from a year earlier. Home prices had already reached a point where they’re unaffordable to many middle-income families, and rising mortgage rates have further curbed buying power and slowed sales.”

“Rents, meanwhile, have plateaued in parts of the market, reducing the urgency for potential buyers motivated by volatile housing costs.”

The Mail Tribune. “Forget the smoke, forget the elbow room, and take a look at housing prices. At least in the eyes of one economist, Southern Oregon and the upper reaches of Northern California are among the last bastions of affordable housing on the West Coast. ‘You look across the West and how overpriced things are, and people are looking for a West Coast experience that they can still afford,’ Christopher Thornberg said. ‘And this is it.'”

“‘True Northern California — not the Bay Area — and Southern Oregon is the last hump, and people realize this,’ Thornberg said. ‘I met someone from California this morning, and they’re moving up from the Bay Area.'”

“‘People are moving out of the Midwest, they’re moving out of the Northeast, and they’re moving to places they want to be — for climate, for lifestyle, for activities, whatever the case,’ he said. ‘People are moving out of California because of the cost of living and the inability to get any kind of affordable housing.'”