850 homes were sold in Portland in October, way up from 677 in September. I had predicted 575 and the normal sales slow down in Fall and Winter but October shows the positive influence of the first time homebuyer tax credit in a BIG way.
Wild cards: Tax credit has been extended to mid 2010 and new move up buyer tax credit added, will FHA increase minimum down payment to 5% in 2010? Foreclosures are still going up nationally and in Oregon.
I’m predicting around 700 closed sales in Portland (areas 141, 142, 143 & 148) in November. This is more than last year’s numbers so pricing will likely stabilize this winter. Investors will begin to emerge as a major part of the market this Fall and Winter.
Sales volume is a leading indicator for price. To help predict where the market is going I publish this sales volume trend report. The wisdom is that price follows volume so when you see a market trending higher in sales, prices will soon follow up and when sales volume is low, prices will stay flat or fall.
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