Portland Oregon Real Estate Market Update - December 2023

Happy Holidays!! I hope you have had a great time celebrating with friends and family and have had a lot of well-deserved downtime. 

Before we go into the market update I want to just say a quick thank you. This year has been tough in so many ways and the world of real estate has been no different. 

If you have bought a home, sold a home or we are still in the process of making your dreams a reality, thank you for sticking with it in a year of so many economic ups and downs and twists and turns. 

I am extremely grateful for you and look forward to connecting more in 2024. 

Okay, now on to the nitty gritty. 

Rising rates had a huge impact on the market in 2023 and they will certainly remain a topic of conversation in the new year as there have been many reports of them seeing some relief. 

We already saw one rate drop here in December which is a great sign for the future. 

Plus, with that one decrease, we saw a significant increase in activity already, which should clue us into what we can expect from the new year. 

With lowering rates feeling like a pretty sure thing at this point, we should expect to see a robust real estate market in 2024 especially in the first two quarters (as we get closer to the election, based on historic trends, we should see the market hit a slow down). 

So how should you prepare for the 2024 market if you are a home buyer? 

Get ready for a hot market. While we can’t fully predict where rates are going, we do know that higher competition for homes is already peaking its way back into our market. So while you should have better affordability as a buyer due to better rates, just know this will be the case for other buyers and we should see multiple offer situations come back in many cases. 

But the good news is, with higher competition, also comes more home options. 

As sellers start to see more home buyers entering the market and they notice that they themselves may have a more favorable rate when they go to buy their next home, it should incentivize more folks to list their home. 

So here is hoping 2024 brings you higher home affordability and more home options to choose from, and then I will help you with all of that competition stuff so you can get the right home for you! 

And what if you are someone who is thinking of selling in 2024?

Get ready for more demand from buyers. It was recently reported that 66% of home buyers are waiting to buy a home until rates fall (News Report) so best believe as rates come down (hopefully) you should have a lot of new eyes on your property. 

While demand will be higher, it will still take some time for prices to rise again and for buyers to shed their inflation-era mindsets (being less comfortable taking on homes with maintenance concerns and generally being tighter with their wallet) so it will still be important to prep your home properly and make it shine. And don’t worry I am here to help with all of that.

If you or someone you know is looking to make a move in 2024 I would be honored to help. If you have a question or would like to discuss your plans to buy or sell or both(!) let's talk. You can contact me HERE.