Well, it’s official. The housing market is cooling. It isn’t what it was 60 days, 30 days, or even 2 and a half weeks ago.
What’s this due to? Interest rates. We’re seeing fewer bidding wars and sellers are cutting back on their listing prices. In fact, we saw a 28% increase in price reductions just in the last two weeks here in Portland.
With interest rates rising, the monthly mortgage payment is too much for some buyers, pushing them away from buying. At the beginning of this year, the average monthly mortgage payment was $1,700 but now? It’s $2,450. That’s a 30% increase!
The real question is: have we seen the peak of real estate in the Portland area? My answer is yes. We’re out in the field helping buyers and sellers every day, so we felt the shift pretty rapidly.
But, we needed this shift. We couldn’t keep the double-digit appreciation going forever, it’s just not sustainable. However, the new market will create a healthy calibration–maybe prices will settle a bit.
One trend that will continue is that homes will sell quickly, and that’s because we still have low inventory.
As always, every situation, every home, and person is different so if you have questions about buying or selling in this new market, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us by phone or email.
