Local Market Trends

Continuing record lows in available home inventory combined with relatively low interest rates to push sale prices and the pace of sales further upward. Local home sales surged this spring, despite unusually wet weather and cooler temperatures.

The numbers of new listings and closed sales were both up in the second 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. However, the increase in closed sales exceeded the increase in new listings by more than 2 percent.

The foothills area market has continued to be hot throughout the spring. At the second 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 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 over $261,000 for the second quarter. This represents an increase of about 8.75 percent over the first quarter this year. The average price rose an estimated 11.4 percent compared to the first quarter.

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.

Bucking the trend, RMLS™ statistics show that the median price for a home in Molalla was $186,400 for the second quarter of 2005, a 3.8-percent decline from the first quarter. The number of Molalla homes sold in the second quarter declined by one, from 60 in the first quarter this year.

The median price for a residential property in Mulino jumped 15.4 percent in the second quarter this year. This year's first quarter ended with a median price of $253,425. Eleven properties were sold the second quarter this year, four more than in the first quarter.

In Beavercreek, the median price fell to $340,000 in the April-June period, representing an 11.2-percent decline. However, 15 properties were sold in the second quarter, compared to six in the previous quarter.

Oregon City home sales continued to be hot with a 9.7-percent increase in price and a 52-percent increase in the number of sales. The median price here was $264,975, with 266 homes sold last quarter.

Canby had a median price of $266,000 with 73 homes sold last quarter. This compares with a median price in the first quarter of $248,950 with 46 homes sold.

Federal officials who handle economic policy have been continuing this year to raise the cost of funds to banks and other lenders. However, financial experts have continued to predict that these actions should not significantly impact mortgage interest rates. Mortgage rates in NW Oregon crept slightly lower during the second quarter. Nationally, the average nominal rate on a 30-year, fixed rate loan stood just above 5.75 percent as of early June.

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.