Fastest-Cooling 'Hoods: These ZIP codes had the biggest real estate declines in the first quarter

The Portland metro area's residential real estate market was down across the board in the first quarter 2023.

The number of closed sales dropped to 5,177 in the first quarter of this year, a 34% drop from the same period last year. The median sales price in 130 ZIP codes dropped to $534K - a 3% drop from Q1 2020. The average median time spent on the market increased by 283% from Q1 to 26 days.

Sales vs. mortgage rates

In an effort to curb inflation, the U.S. Federal Reserve has raised the federal fund rate again to 5.1%. This is the highest level it has reached in 16 years. Mortgage rates followed suit and have more than doubled since early 2021, causing many homebuyers to delay buying a house.

In a recent press release, the National Association of Realtors reported that existing U.S. homes sales dropped 24% from March to March and 22% compared to a year ago.

Lawrence Yun, NAR's Chief Economist, said in a press release that "Home sales are recovering and are highly responsive to changes in mortgage interest rates." Multiple offers for starter homes are common. This suggests that more housing is needed to satisfy the demand. This is a unique market."

Home inventory figures for Oregon's metro area from RMLS showed that the supply of houses for sale had reached a high of 2.7-months in January. However, it fell back to 1.6 months in March, as there were 26% fewer homes on the market than a year earlier.

The fastest-cooling ZIP code from Q1 2020 to Q1 2030

Last week we looked at the top performing Portland ZIP codes in real estate. In the table below we look at how ZIP codes rank in terms of declining metrics. ZIP codes were ranked based on six factors.

Mapping sales in Q1

Here is a second view of the data map showing the areas where sales have changed most from Q1 2023 to the same period last year. Keep your cursor on the ZIP codes or the legend bar for more information.

Mapping median prices for Q1

Below, we've plotted the changes in median sales prices for each ZIP code in the region. Most of the sales saw a decline in prices, but they were not as drastic as the drop in number.

Mapping days on the market in Q1

The third (and final) map shows the time spent on the market in Portland, which has increased by triple digits.