Gardner Report: Q4, 2018

Matthew Gardner, Windermere’s Chief Economist, has published his report reviewing market conditions and trends from the fourth quarter of 2018. The full report can be found HERE; in it, Matt mentions that job growth has continued, if at a slightly slower rate. Similarly, home prices have also continued to appreciate, albeit at a slower rate than over the past few years, and fourth quarter activity waned in comparison to the fourth quarter of 2017. These marginal slowdowns represent what is being termed a “rebalancing” of the market, as the Portland Metro area resets a little following the explosive growth of the last few years. Matt still has faith in the strength of the region’s housing market and is still terming it a “seller’s market”, although not as strong of one as it has been in the previous years.

As an anecdotal addendum to this report, the first month and a half of 2019 has been, if anything, hotter than we expected it to be based on the 2018 trends. We are still seeing multiple offers on well-priced listings, and rates have stayed low. It’s been a fun start to the year for us!