Portland Real Estate Outlook for 2007

Well, the verdict is out. Though 2006 is not as spectacular as the previous few years, the Portland real estate market still finished with a 14% overall appreciation. In some areas like Milwaukie and parts of SE Portland, the growth rate is as high as 20%.

The last quarter of 2006 was indeed somewhat slower than the other 3 quarters. The market was bogged down by the news of Intel layoff and the softening of the Californian market. As a result, a lot of buyers were holding back their purchases and listings were sitting on the market longer than expected. When listings sit, sellers panicked and started to unload at lower prices. This then caused prices to drop. Unlike the Californian market, our market price in Portland dropped only slightly creating a soft landing.

In December 2006, our inventory is becoming tighter again. There were fewer listings available and buyers aplenty. As we enter 2007, we'll likely see a market somewhat the same as 2006 - strong and stable. The market appreciation projection is likely to hover around 10%.