August statistics reveal a Central Oregon real estate market that continues to be strong, but there are some slight drops in numbers that indicates the busy summer season is coming to an end; particularly in the lower-end price ranges.
The month ended with a total of 562 Active Listings compared to 583 at the end of July, a 3 percent decrease. Overall, August saw slight decreases in Active, New, and Pending listings coupled with a few small increases in reduced prices for all price ranges below $625,000. The only price range to see a slight increase in new listings was the $425,100 – $525,000 category.
The most significant growth in Active Listings was in the $425,100 – $525,000 range with a 13 percent increase. The largest decline was in the $125,000 – $225,000 category with a 40 percent decrease in Active Listings. In July, this same price range also saw decreases, though smaller at 5 percent but it will be interesting to see what September brings.
The number of listings moving to pending status decreased by nearly 6 percent in August compared to July, with most of the decreases happening in both the $525,000 and $625,100 (and up) ranges.
The total number of reduced properties had an overall increase of 8.6 percent and this was driven by mostly all price ranges seeing an increase in price reductions when the exception of the $625,100 & up category that actually saw a decrease in price reductions.
The total number of properties sold in August was slightly down from July by 1.6 percent. Properties sold in July were 248 while August was 244 so this is not a huge decline. The largest decline in sales was the in the $125,000 – $250,000 range which is most likely due to the fact that this range also has the least number of active listings in August. The biggest increase in sales was in the $525,100 – $625,000 range with a 40 percent increase (15 sold in July compared to 21 sold in August).
Average sales price to listing price (the percent of properties that enter into contract for exactly what the listing price was) seemed fairly unmoved from July. In all price ranges, nearly 99 percent of properties entered in contract for what the listing price was which indicates that people are willing to pay for what the current prices are in the market so it’s still a strong market currently.
The average days on market increased in August by 4.7 percent (103 in July compared to 108). In July, this number had decreased so perhaps there’s a slight correction for summer activity and we will definitely know if there’s a trend or not by looking at the upcoming month’s numbers. All price ranges saw an increase in the days on market with the exception of the $325,100 – $425,000 and the $625,100 & up range.
Overall, there was an increase in the months of inventory from 3.2 to 3.3. This isn’t a huge jump but if we look back at June we see it was at 2.4 months, then increased to 3.2 months and now sits at 3.3. The biggest increase was in the $625,100 range while the biggest decrease was in the $525,100 – $625,000 range.
It’s too early to make any large conclusions, however, with the continued increase in days on market, the increase in inventories and the slight decrease in sales, it does seem the busier summer season is slowing things down a bit. Perhaps its time for agents to work on their marketing game. A few real estate magnets and some colorful brochures could boost the morale of potential home-buyers. Properties are definitely selling for their listing prices so any cooling off of summer activity hasn’t affected the overall market values which continues to be strong.
Duke Warner Realty was established in 1967 by Duke and Kitty Warner. Their philosophy wasto establish a first-rate real estate company sensitive to their customers’needs. Duke Warner Realty’s brokers share this philosophy, and today the firm is widely known for its personalized service and reliability. For more information, contact www.dukewarner.com (541) 382-8262.
