Some stories are best told in numbers. Others in anecdotes. So to give you an update on the housing market, I’m going to give you a little bit of both.

Activity has slowed in Lake Oswego and that is spelled out in the numbers. 58 homes sold in August which was 12% less than in July and a 13% decrease from August of 2022.

The days on market is even more telling. In August of this year, the median number of days a house sat on the market was 24 compared to 10 in July and 6 in August of last year; however, that range stretches from one day on the market for a home in the $4.5-$5M range to 211 days for homes in the $3.5M to $4M price range.

Despite all that, the median sale price has actually gone up 16% from $830,000 in 2022 to $965,000 in August of 2023. However, only 24% of properties sold over the asking price as compared to last year at the same time when 46% sold over asking.

As for anecdotes, I have an interesting one from the greater Portland metro housing market and it concerns price reductions.

A house in Northeast Portland was listed for $495,000 in 2021 and ended up selling for $621,000 due to a bidding war. It went back on the market in June of this year for $650,000 and to-date has experienced three price reductions to $625,000 followed by $599,000 and then $575,000.

That is just one example, but I’ve mentioned here before that the competitive pricing that fueled the seller’s market coupled with historic low interest rates during the pandemic created inflated prices in some cases. And to realize a profit in those situations, a homeowner would need to hold on to the house for a few years for the market to catch up.

And when homeowners are listing their homes today, they need to use realistic comparative market values, not inflated ones to determine what to price their homes at.

We are seeing some price reductions in Lake Oswego too in an effort to nudge buyer activity where higher interest rates are keeping some buyers on the sidelines.

As you can see a lot goes into making a SMART home buying or selling decision. If you’d like some help making yours, please give me or my daughter a call. We have lived and worked in Lake Oswego for more than 30 years so we have the insight and perspective that can help you decide when, what, where and for how much to buy in and around Lake Oswego.

Kevin Costello. 503.939.9801. kevin.costello@cascadehassonsir.com

Riley Costello. 971.322.6205. riley.costello@cascadehassonsir.com