What a Year of COVID-19 Has Meant to Portland Residential Real Estate: A 15% Jump in Prices

February numbers show a continued low inventory of homes for sale, and homes on the market don't last long.

Portland's Southwest Hills. (Brian Burk)

Concerns about Portland's future continue not to deter homebuyers in the metro area.

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A new report from the Regional Multiple Listing Service shows that inventories of homes for sale remain at historical lows. Homes that do come on the market don't last long, and prices of closed sales continue to increase—they are up about 15% from this time last year.

"Comparing 2021 to 2020 through February, the average sale price has increased 14.8% from $460,200 to $528,500," the RMLS report says. "In the same comparison, the median sale price has increased 15.3% from $407,500 to $470,000."

Here's what the inventory—the number of listings divided by the number of closed sales—looks like compared to prior years:

Source: RMLS

Here's how long homes are staying on the market:

Source: RMLS

And here's how sales prices for the metro area have changed over time:

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