Melina Tomson, M.S. Salem Oregon Real Estate Specialist

Time for stats reports...forget going for a massage, manicure, or game of pick up ball at the gym. Real estate market stats are totally exciting! You need to pay attention because there is a test at the end...Here is where our local markets currently stand. Here is what is occurring in the city of Salem in real estate...



Average Sales price:





Well...you may remember me saying in my last quarterly report, that the plateau we were seeing was a possible indicator of stabilization in our market.

Clearly that was presumptuous. I really should have stuck with my original thoughts which was that high inventory was going to finally catch up with us.


There is a normal real estate dip in September due to August being a huge vacation month. From September of last year there has been an 8.5% drop in price. From last month there has been 12.2% drop in the average sold price.



With the financial markets still in flux, I would be surprised if there was a significant bump back up in October.


30 day Absorption Rate/Inventory:

Salem has a current absorption rate of 117. This places the current Salem inventory at 13 months.

Home Sales Closed:

In the 3nd quarter this year, 424 homes closed on the market. That is down 27 % from the same time frame last year when 581 homes closed in the third quarter. Sales volume is still off, and with the current financial markets, I don't see these numbers looking any better.

New Home Construction:

New home sales were even from the same quarter last year. The average new home construction price is $318,310 down 2.7% from the same time frame last year. September home prices dropped 14% in September over August.

Condominiums :


The condo market in Salem continues to be a very small portion of our market. With the Meridian, Riverfront, and Church St condos getting close to completion, those numbers are going to make these numbers go up. All of those condos are in the luxury condo market range. So currently prices are fairly stable, but this chart may look artificially high in the coming months as they sell a few of those condos. Since the sold numbers are so small, one luxury sale will have a large impact on the average sales price.


Luxury Market ($500,000+):

There was a 77.7% decrease in luxury home sales from the same time as last year. The luxury market continues to suffer as lenders strengthen debt to income ratios, and tighten lending standards. This portion of our market has almost come to a standstill in the past two years. There was a peak in August, which was due to a 22% drop in the average price. Someone got motivated to sell.

(c) Copyright, 2008. Melina Tomson, All Rights Reserved (ie...be nice and create your own content. Don't steal mine...)

School is back in session so it's time for parents to relax. What could be more relaxing than reading real estate market condition reports. I mean forget massages, manicures, spa treatments...market condition reports are where it is at...

For residential homes sales in Salem, Oregon...

The 180 day trend:
Average sold price: $223,076
Average original list price: $228,752
% of listing price to sale price: 97.5%
% of listings to expire/terminate: 19.2%
Average DOM: 122
Listed vs. sold: 41.2%


The 90 day trend:
Average sold price: $227,232
Average original list price: $233,125
% of listing price to sale price: 97.5%
Average DOM: 125
Listed vs. sold: 40.3%


The 30 day trend:
Average sold price: $230,274
Average original list price: $237,660
% of listing price to sale price: 96.9%
Average DOM: 131
Listed vs. sold: 44.8%


Well the Salem market's numbers are holding fairly steady. The 30 day trend showed a slight bump in average sold price. Based on the individual homes sales, this appears to be due to some significant price drops in the $400,000+ home prices. There were some homes on the market for a long time, that builders and other sellers appeared to drop their prices in order to solicit the sale. These higher end homes have been stagnating on the local real estate market, and it appears some sellers were motivated to sell. It is also one of the reasons why the list to sale ratio dropped by 1% for the 30 day trend.

It's nice to see a slight increase in the list to sell ratio, but the market is still 15-20% off norm. This is an improvement over the 23-28% of months past. The market appears to be in a plateau at this point. Whether or not it can sustain the plateau with the excess inventory will only be told by time.

Perfectly landscaped yards. 

Well maintained homes.

Active community.

When asked to describe McNary Estates in Keizer, those would be my choices.  McNary Estates is a golf club community that surrounds the McNary Golf Course. 

McNary Estates has homes as well as condo style townhomes. The Castle Pine townhomes have monthly dues that run around $198 per month that covers lawn care for the yard as well as the common areas. The Fountains at McNary have quarterly dues of $469.  Dues are subject to change, so verify them with McNary HOA.

The McNary Estates dues are an additional $208 per year.

The subdivision surrounds the golf course and you will see many golfers and golf carts cruising around the neighborhood.

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Homes are well maintained and there are CC&R's for the community.

McNary Estates is located in Keizer Elementary, Whitaker Middle, and McNary High School Districts. As with all school districts boundaries are subject to change so verify school boundaries if this is important to you.

In the first 6 months of 2008, 13 homes have sold at McNary Estates. They ranged in price from $262,900-$549,000 with an average of $369,676. They spend an average of 93 DOM.

There are currently 23 active listings for McNary Estates ranging in price from $295,000-$519,000 with an average of $373,469 and 74 DOM.

One of the great things about living in Oregon is just the natural beauty that surrounds us. What makes living in the Mid-Willamette Valley so great is the ability to get to the coast and out to the mountains fairly easily.

This past Saturday it was around 105 degrees here in the valley. This is a rare event for an August in Oregon, but it's been a weird year weather wise.

We decided to head to North Santiam State Park, which has the Santiam River running through it. The Santiam River is a popular river for rafters and kayaks and it is rare when we go there to not see several people heading down river.

Also popular at the river is fishing, but I haven't seen anyone actually catch anything yet. I'm sure they do, but the water moves pretty swiftly right by the park.

A great place for kids and families, the water level is pretty low for a ways out so kids can safely play there. It does get deep and the water moves swiftly so keeping an eye on kids is essential.

The park has

• hiking trails
• picnic tables
• fishing
• restrooms
• boat launching area/stopping area

The park is day use only at this time, with no camping allowed. From Salem it only takes 35 minutes or so to get out there, so it is a perfect day trek to beat the heat.

I love old homes.

I love the details and wondering what the owners were like 100 years ago. I like seeing the original water closet as it is reminiscent of our past and where we have come from. Salem has several designated historic districts, including one downtown. We have two residential historic districts Bush Park/Gaity Hill and Court-Chemeketa.

Last year I helped a local buyer purchase an old home. Completely neglected, this home was the blight of the historic district. Inside the original wood floors, window panes, and trim screamed for someone to restore the home. The claw foot tub would eagerly await a new owner.

Buying in a historic district comes with some rules. Currently Fairmount Hills has an application for the National historic Register. Even if the home is not on the national register, in can be a local landmark.



If you want to purchase an historic home you need to be aware of these rules. They do make remodeling and updating the exterior of a historic home more difficult. The goal of the historic district is to preserve a piece of our past. Maintaining the essence of these homes is part of agreeing to live there. This is also important to research if you want to purchase a home. It is possible that the previous homeowner made some changes that would make it be a non-contributing property.

View Larger Map

While it sounds difficult, living in the Historic Districts has some benefits. The property and homeowner may be eligible for City of Salem rehabilitation funds, or low interest, and no interest loans as well. There are also some tax advantages to owning one of these homes. All I ask is that if you remodel the interior of the home, please keep it in character with the home. I've seen many remodels that were better described as remuddles.