Local Market Trends

Unseasonably warm temperatures and lack of snow may not have been good for skiers this winter, but the pleasant weather sure didn't hurt home sales. The numbers of accepted offers and closed sales were both up in the first three months of 2005, according to data from the Realtors® Multiple Listing Service™, a Portland-based clearinghouse that compiles listing and sales data for all residential real estate firms throughout Clackamas County and the Portland metropolitan area.

At the same time, prices also were on the rise while the average time it took to sell a home was shrinking.

The foothills area market has been hot, even without adjusting for the time of year. At the first quarter's rate of sales it would take less than a month and a half to sell off all properties if no new listings were added.

Fears left over from last year of dramatic increases in mortgage interest rates have still not materialized, and buyers are continuing to come out in droves for the right properties. The most popular residential properties continue to be single-family detached homes of 3 bedrooms or more. The least popular tend to be condominiums with 1 bedroom.

The median residential price for South Clackamas County, which encompasses a portion of the Cascade foothills and the prime farmland of the North Willamette Valley, was estimated at just under $240,000 for the first quarter of this year. This represents an increase of about 15 percent over the first quarter of 2004. The average price rose an estimated 12 percent during this period.

A median-priced home is one whose price falls exactly in the middle of all homes sold, with half of the homes sold being priced higher, and half being priced lower.

RMLS™ statistics show that the median price for a home in Molalla was $193,725 for the first quarter of 2005, an increase of 21.8 percent over the first quarter of 2004. The number of Molalla homes sold in the first quarter increased by 5.3 percent, from 57 in the first quarter last year to 60 in the first quarter this year.

The median price for a residential property in Mulino rose a modest 1.2 percent in the first quarter this year compared to last. This year's first quarter ended with a median price of $253,425. Seven properties were sold the first quarter this year, compared to 11 during the first quarter last year.

In Beavercreek, the median price spiked up to $378,000 last quarter, representing a 47.5-percent increase. However, only six properties were sold last quarter, compared to 10 in the same period last year.

Oregon City home sales continued to be hot with a 10.3-percent increase in price and a 17.4-percent increase in the number of sales. The median price here was $241,500 with 175 homes sold last quarter.

Federal officials who handle economic policy are expected to continue increases throughout 2005 to raise the cost of funds to banks and other lenders. However, financial experts have been predicting that these actions will not raise mortgage interest rates beyond about 6.5 percent. Mortgage rates in NW Oregon inched up slightly during the first quarter this year. Nationally, the average annual percentage rate (APR) on a 30-year, fixed rate loan stood just below 5.8 percent at the end of the quarter.

For a table summary of market statistics for the Foothills area, click the "Market Summary" button near the top of this page. For market information regarding other parts of Clackamas County or the Cascade foothills, or for more detailed data, call Craig Loughridge at 503-632-8258.