The Context of This Report
This report looks at the residential Columbia Gorge housing market data within the last month. Because the Columbia Gorge can vary drastically in housing prices, this report is intended to illustrate the market as a whole.
This includes data points such as, the average number of homes for sale, days on market, sold to list price ratio, and absorption rate. For a detailed report on an area near you – please Contact me, Brett Stomps, for a custom report. Contact Brett.
Action Summary
This section was previously found at the bottom of this report, and for better convenience, has been moved to the top.
For Buyers
The market right now is split into financed buyers and cash buyers.
If you are a financed buyer, keep looking at your payment. Do not expect rates to drop quickly. They will do so over time – maybe over 1 to 2 years. The current assumption would be to see rates come down to 5.5% and that would be the lowest we may ever see again for a long time.
If this happens, expect prices to increase as rates decrease. Housing supply is still limited and buying demand in the Columbia Gorge is here, it is still culled a bit right now due to rates. While buyers are pulling back from the market right , consider buying before rates drop and more buyers enter the market. If you own a home when rates drop, you’ll likely face increased equity and you can always look at refinancing.
For cash buyers, this is a great opportunity to buy at a lower cost. When rates come down, you too will also feel the increased gain in equity. If you are a cash buyer, you are able to slow down a bit more and choose where to put your cash and ask more of sellers than you have in the last 2 years.
For Sellers
Buyers are being choosy over the product that is on the market. Absorption has slowed by 1/2 since 2020 and 2022. This has lead to increased inventory. Additionally so, homes are starting to be labeled more as “projects” than they were back during the COVID market. I believe a part of this is partly due to higher interest rates and leaving most buyers with little to no room to make improvements in a reasonable amount of time.
If you are a seller who is in a financial position to make repairs and tidy up your to-do list, do this before listing. It may not get you a lot more money, but it will sell your home faster. Start this winter and prepare for next spring even.
Homes For Sale, Pended, Sold
July 2023 was a Neutral market! The number of for sale listings was up 0.4% from one year earlier and up 0.4% from the previous month. The number of sold listings decreased 12.5% year over year and decreased 2.3% month over month. The number of under contract listings was up 16% compared to previous month and down 9.4% compared to previous year. The Months of Inventory based on Closed Sales was 3.2, up 14.3% from the previous year
The Average Sold Price per Square Footage was down 5.6% compared to previous month and down 4.7% compared to last year. The Median Sold Price increased by 2.7% from last month. The Average Sold Price also decreased by 0.2% from last month. Based on the 6 month trend, the Average Sold Price trend was “Neutral” and the Median Sold Price trend was “Appreciating”.
The Average Days on Market showed a downward trend, an increase of 18.8% compared to previous year. The ratio of Sold Price vs. Original List Price was 96%, a decrease of 1% compared to previous year
Current Inventory
Versus last year, the total number of properties available thismonth was higher by 1 units of 0.4%. This year’s bigger inventory means that buyers who waited to buy may have bigger selection to choose from. The number of current inventory was up 0.4% compared to the previous month.
Properties Pending
There was an increase of 16% in the pended properties in July, with 87 properties versus 75 last month. This month’s pended property sales were 9.4% lower than at this time last year.
Properties Sold
July property sales were 84, down 12.5% from 96 in July of 2022 and 2.3% lower than the 86 sales last month.
Average Sold Price per Square Foot
The Average Sold Price per Square Footage is a great indicator for the direction of property values. Since Median Sold Price and Average Sold Price can be impacted by the ‘mix’ of high or low end properties in the market, the Average Sold Price per Square Footage is a more normalized indicator on the direction of property values. The July 2023 Average Sold Price per Square Footage of $304 was down 5.6% from $322 last month and down 4.7% from $319 in July of last year.
Average Days on Market
The average Days on Market (DOM) shows how many days the average property is on the market before it sells. An upward trend in DOM trends to indicate a move towards more of a Buyer’s market, a downward trend indicates a move towards more of a Seller’s market. The DOM for July 2023 was 38, down 17.4% from 46 days last month and up 18.8% from 32 days in July of last year.
The Sold/Original List Price Ratio
The Sold Price vs. Original List Price reveals the average amount that sellers are agreeing to come down from their original list price. The lower the ratio is below 100% the more of a Buyer’s market exists, a ratio at or above 100% indicates more of a Seller’s market. This month Sold Price vs. Original List Price of 96% was down 1% % from last month and down from 1% % in July of last year.
*Based on 6 month trend – Upward/Downward/Neutral
** Based on 6 month trend – Rising/Falling/Remains Steady
Average For Sale, Sold, & Median Sold
The Average For Sale Price
The Average For Sale Price in July was $748,000, up 8.2% from $691,000 in July of 2022 and down 1.7% from $761,000 last month.
The Average Sold Price
The Average Sold Price in July was $605,000, up 4.7% from $578,000 in July of 2022 and down 0.2% from $606,000 last month.
The Median Sold Price
The Median Sold Price in July was $568,000, up 13.1% from $502,000 in July of 2022 and up 2.7% from $553,000 last month.
Months of Inventory
A comparatively lower Months of Inventory is more beneficial for sellers while a higher months of inventory is better for buyers.
- Buyer’s market: more than 6 months of inventory
- Seller’s market: less than 3 months of inventory
- Neutral market: 3 – 6 months of inventory
Inventory based on Pended Sales
The July 2023 Months of Inventory based on Pended Sales of 3.1 was increased by 10.7% compared to last year and down 14% compared to last month. July 2023 was Neutral market.
Inventory based on Closed Sales
The July 2023 Months of Inventory based on Closed Sales of 3.2 was increased by 14.3% compared to last year and up 3.2% compared to last month. July 2023 was Neutral market.
Absorption Rate
Absorption Rate measures the inverse of Months of Inventory and represents how much of the current active listings (as a percentage) are being absorbed each month.
- Buyer’s market: 16.67% and below
- Seller’s market: 33.33% and above
- Neutral market: 16.67% – 33.33%
Absorption Rate on Pended Sales
The July 2023 Absorption Rate based on Pended Sales of 32.3 was decreased by 9.8% compared to last year and up 15.4% compared to last month.
Absorption Rate on Closed Sales
The July 2023 Absorption Rate based on Closed Sales of 31.2 was decreased by 12.8% compared to last year and down 2.8% compared to last month.