Latest Market Activity for August 2018
Good Monday Morning!
Don't let the sales statistics from August fool you, we are heading into a shifting market quickly in the Eugene and Springfield area. The months to come certainly may see slower home sales with more pressure on home prices and longer times on the market. Home prices over the past several years have increased too rapidly and have outpaced buyers ability to purchase. In the past, this scenario has always created a market adjustment. If you are needing to sell a home now, you should be pricing your home accordingly. Don't think that you can price above this current market and expect a sale. Here are the August sales numbers.
August Residential Highlights
Lane County saw some gains in closings and new listings this August. Closings, at 575, outpaced August 2017 (519) by 10.8% and July 2018 (491) by 17.1%. It was the strongest August for closings in Lane County on the RMLSTM record, dating to 2001!
New listings (711) saw a 4.6% gain over the 680 new listings on the market last year in August 2017 and a 9.4% gain over the 650 new listings on the market last month in July 2018.
Pending sales, at 505, showed a 3.8% decrease from August 2017 (525) and a 7.5% decrease from July 2018 (546).
Inventory edged down to 1.7 months in August, with total market time increasing to 36 days.
Year to Date Summary
Comparing the first eight months of 2018 to 2017, closed sales (3,564) have increased 4.1% and pending sales (3,772) have increased 0.9%. New listings (4,762) have decreased 0.4%.
Average and Median Sale Prices
Comparing 2018 to 2017 through August of each year, the average sale price has increased 6.3% from $288,900 to $307,200. In the same comparison, the median sale price rose 7.9% from $259,900 to $280,500.
Have an awesome week!
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84305 Derbyshire Lane
The numbers are in and Lane County had another strong month of home sales for June of 2018. The primary thing to note is that the average home sales price continues to increase and is now over $300,000 as you will see. One has to wonder how long this trend can continue in a market with a wage scale that does not support this high of an average home price? Here are the numbers for June of 2018.
6997 Glacier Drive 
Rents have crept up in most communities just as home prices have. In fact in many areas rents have increased at a higher rate than home prices. I find today that many of the renters are paying more money to rent than they would be spending on a home payment. By renting they are also losing out on some great opportunities such as depreciation and interest tax deductions. Renters are also just making the landlords payments and not building equity. Long term the buidling of equity in a home is one of the greatest wealth building opportunities for most people. The followng is an article from "Realtor.com" on a recent study of the current trend towards renting.
“Housing is becoming less and less affordable. Renting is perceived to be the more affordable housing option,” said David Brickman, an executive vice president at Freddie Mac and head of its multifamily division.
88107 Keola Ln
March home sale numbers are in for the Eugene and Springfield area and the sellers market trend continues. The inventory of homes for sale actually decreased from February, which is not normal and home prices continue to increase. This is not the best news for homebuyers, but continued good news for homesellers. My caution here is that with mortgage interest rates up and the continued increase in home prices, there will be a point where this market will shift and make a correction. That time could be sooner than later. Here is the March 2018 homes sales report.
Wedgewood Dr
Lane County saw mixed activity this February, but most measures were ahead of February 2017. Closed sales (295) outpaced February 2017 (247) by 19.4% but fell 9.5% short of the 326 closings recorded last month in January 2018. It was the strongest February for closings in Lane County since 2007, when 305 were recorded. 
798 70th St 
The Real Estate market in the Eugene and Springfield area was stronger in January of 2018 than in January of 2017. Both sales and new listings were up. The inventory of homes on the market remains low at 1.7 months and critically low in the first time buyer price ranges of $250,000 and below. Here are the home sale statistics for January 2018.
