Housing-News-Report-March-2016

March 2016 H OUSING N EWS R EPORT

Locals Priced Out of Housing

covering the Portland market. “Most of the people I know are pretty frustrated on the buyer side.” Pantages provided an example of a recent property listed for $300,000 that her buyer offered $402,000 for, but was beat out by an all-cash offer of $400,000. “We’ve seen offers as many as 15 or 20 on a house,” said Pantages, a full-time Realtor for 18 years. “If you can’t afford to spend 20 or 30 or 40 thousand more on a house (above listing price) than we’re going to have to go down in price to meet that standard. … If you want $200,000, we have to start looking at $175,000 homes.” The median sales price of single family homes and condos in the Portland metro area was $284,000 in February, up 1 percent from the previous month and up 10 percent from a year ago — the 46th consecutive month with a year-over-year increase, according to

Pantages said out-of-state buyers moving to Portland are helping to prop up home prices, sometimes at the expense of local buyers. “We’re getting not just the Californians now, but also the people from the East Coast with the severe weather. I am taking calls from all over the United States from people who have their house on the market and want to move to Portland,” said Pantages, a sixth generation Oregonian who said younger locals priced out of the market are moving in with parents. “I have a family member with two of her adult children at home with her, and I have a best friend who has her son living with her. It’s everywhere. These 30-year olds are moving back in with their family.” Another Portland-area broker, Patty Savage, said higher rents in some parts of the city are pushingmore renters to become homebuyers — if they can survive the multi-offer gauntlet.

Patty Savage Broker

RE/MAX Equity Group Lake Oswego, Oregon “ We’re tearing down the forest and we’re building houses. Are we going to become California and people are going to go to Washington? ”

RealtyTrac data. Portland median sales prices reached a new all-time high of $293,500 in June 2015, 3 percent above the pre-recession peak of $284,900 in August 2007.

“Unfortunately we have a lot of multiple offers on pretty much 300 (thousand) and under,” said Savage, a broker with RE/MAX Equity Group who said she employs various tactics to help her buyers submit a winning offer. “I Continued Next Page

SOURCE: RealtyTrac

18

Made with FlippingBook Online newsletter