Okay, this might sound wild, but with everyone talking about the negatives of high-interest rates, let's talk a bit about how there are some benefits to a shifting market due to high rates.

What we discuss:

How rising interest rates are affecting the market.

Expectations both home sellers and buyers should have of the fall market.

If you should wait to buy until rates go down as a home buyer.

First off the real estate market is shifting NOT crashing.

If you are a home buyer or especially if you are a home seller I want to make it clear from the beginning, that while we are seeing some uncertainty in the market it is nothing new and more so a sign of a normal and much-needed shift in the market than it is a sign of a crash.

If you are looking for new Portland Oregon Real Estate resources, you should make sure that you are following our Instagram.

Well, it certainly feels like everything has led up to this.

We have talked about a shift for a while but now its looking pretty real. While no one is claiming that we have shifted into a buyers market by any means we have seen some fairly dramatic changes in the market in the last few weeks.

Mainly demand from buyers hitting pause.

With higher interest rates, and economic uncertainty many buyers have been hesitant to make moves. Creating a pretty significant slowdown in motivation and interest.

BUT if you are thinking of selling your home and are freaking out reading this, or if you ARE an active buyer and wondering if you should be pausing too, here is what I will say.

So first off we have some actual numbers to show that the market has officially started to shift!

Slightly.

When talking about our current market shift I am quick to point out that we are still certainly in a seller's market. A balanced market is 6 months of inventory and we have just finally gone up to one month of inventory. So we are still nowhere near balanced.

But with that being said we are feeling a shift and now seeing it play out in the data.

It's here.... the real estate market has shifted... slightly!

It hasn't shown up just yet in the numbers, since we are reviewing recorded numbers from April and the shift has only come about in the last few weeks, but anecdotally we are seeing a shift.

It's happening here in the Portland area and from my talks with realtor colleagues across the US and in some parts of Canada it's widespread.

In this video we discuss:

What an appraisal is, and why it exists.

What happens when the appraised value of a home comes in lower than the price offered to purchase.

And the strategies you can use to resolve this.

Will this real estate market ever shift?

Well, us going back down to 0.7 months of inventory (from 0.8 last month) is not the greatest indicator that we will see a significant change anytime soon, at least this Spring.

BUT I will say changes in the industry and externally could have an effect. Rising interest rates for one can and already has, affected buyer’s purchasing power.

Join Lily Wyss of Living Room Realty and Beth Imhoff of Academy Mortgage in Portland, Oregon for a laid-back online session about how to buy and finance the home of your dreams!

Thursday, April 14th.

1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.

I want to share with you all a major life/business update:

I have moved real estate brokerages!!

What we discuss:

- Why a balanced Portland Oregon real estate market could be good for both home buyers AND home sellers

- How rising interest rates will affect market pricing - If the decrease in home sales last month was a symptom of the slower holiday activity or a greater market trend

- And so much more

Okay get ready, the Portland Oregon Real Estate Market Update is a bit wild this month.

We will be discussing:

How we have ended up with less home inventory than ever before.

How to successfully deal with it if you are a home buyer.

How to use this market to your advantage as a home seller. Even if you are scared to sell due to Omicron or your ability to sell and then be able to purchase a new home.

And where we see the market going as we head into the warmer months.

Okay, we have a lot to discuss today but I want to start off with a side but related topic to the real estate market.

If you follow the real estate market closely you may be seeing articles talking about a real estate market bubble and a wave of foreclosures.

So let's start by discussing... will the ending of the mortgage moratorium at the end of this month lead to a massive wave in foreclosures?

Sorry buyers... new homes to the market and inventory of homes took another hit this month. We were seeing a gradual increase over the last few months and that seemed like an indicator of the market trending upwards.

But with only 0.9 months of inventory (down from 1 month), and a decrease of new homes to the market of 8% (3,232) people may wonder, does this mean we won't still see the market shift? Not necessarily.

All right here is the situation… You have a decent amount of money to put down as a down payment to buy a house, but you don’t quite have enough to put down 20%. So you are not sure if you should wait until you have the full 20%, or if you should buy now and not wait out the potential of higher home prices and interest rates. If you have this question today’s video should help!

This month we saw another marginal rise in home inventory up to 1.1 months which shows the predicted trend upwards in home availability. This will have significant effects for both buyers and sellers, more info on this in this month’s update.

It’s pumpkin patch season!

Here is our list of favorite pumpkin patches to check out in the Portland Oregon Area.

The Real Estate Market in Portland Oregon and the surrounding cities does not fluctuate drastically as you might see elsewhere.

The climate is relatively temperate compared to other American cities which allows for real estate activity to continue even into the fall and winter.

The only times you will really see home buying and selling pause is when it snows heavily (typically happens for a few days/a week) or during major holidays.

But there are some small shifts in the market throughout the seasons that you should be aware of.