As the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic continues with full force, the real estate industry has grown quite adept in managing its larger effects. From doing virtual showings to holding Facetime meetings, the sector has mastered physical distancing when it’s needed the most.
While these measures initially only kept the industry from falling apart during the outbreak, its positive effects are now becoming more evident in states such as Oregon.
Take the Portland housing market, for instance. After taking noticeable hits in terms of closed sales for the past three months, the City of Roses recently came out with reports of increased new listings and pending sales.
Portland is Seeing a Boon in Future Sales
Right after the COVID-19 threat became public information, several industries took the brunt of consumer panic. While that increased the foot traffic of retail businesses, it also slowed down activity in the housing market, the latter of which noticed a decrease in seller and buyer interest.
The Portland, OR market was one of those regions that were hit the hardest. The city’s residential real estate saw a consistent slump in closed sales since March 2020, when the novel coronavirus’ larger effects first hit the U.S. With 1,963 closed sales in May 2020, the figures were 2.6 percent less than April 2020 and a staggering 33.9 percent less than May 2019.
But that is changing for the better. In the month of May 2020, the Portland housing market recorded 3,112 contracts. This is a 52.5% boon as compared to 2,041 contracts in April 2020, and just 5.5 percent less than the 3,292 contracts from May 2019.
Since these pending sales get completed between 4-6 weeks, it is an indication that June 2020 will see a record increase in closed sales since COVID-19 first hit Oregon.
Number of Listings Has Also Increased
As the novel coronavirus made its presence known, many sellers also became apprehensive in putting their listings on the market. With it, buyer demand also decreased in select regions.
But with lower mortgage rates, shortage of inventory, and the realtors’ efforts to maintain safety guidelines, the seller and buyer interest has slowly regained its lost traction.
In the Portland housing market, this restored activity has translated to the aforementioned increase in contracts. But that’s not all that it has done. The phenomenon has also paved a way for new listings in the Rose City.
According to reports from Portland, the number of new listings in May 2020 reached 3,419. While it is 30.3 percent lower than the 4,902 reported listings in May 2019, it is still a massive improvement and a 20.1 percent increase over the 2,847 new listings from April 2020.
These improvements indicate that the Portland housing market is definitely back in business. While the concerns of moving safely during COVID-19 are going to spark special actions from buyers and sellers alike, the realtors and their operations seem to have their bases covered through relevant guidelines. Now, we just need to see how many of these pending sales make it to closed sales in June.
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