A little news for you (+ Oct data below)~
Good news! Conforming Loan limits are rising. Here’s a little excerpt from a piece in Realtor Magazine:
The federal government is increasing the limit for conforming mortgages from $417,000 to $424,100 in most regions of the United States starting Jan. 1, 2017, the Federal Housing Finance Agency announced Wednesday—the first such increase since 2006.
The approximately 1.7 percent bump in the baseline conforming loan limit follows the FHFA’s announcement that the average U.S. home price has returned to its pre-decline peak, which it hit in the third quarter of 2007. The FHFA bases the loan cap on its quarterly Housing Price Index, which gauges average single-family home prices. The index rose 1.5 percent during the third quarter of 2016 and is up 6.1 percent over the past year, enough to push it above its previous high point.
Conforming loan limits are significant because they apply to home loans that meet the underwriting guidelines of Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored entities that acquire mortgages from lenders and ensure a steady flow of money to the mortgage market. Interest rates for nonconforming, or jumbo mortgages, are generally higher than rates for loans that fall under the cap, and these types of mortgages can be more difficult to obtain.
Here are the latest/October numbers for the entire Portland area (and Lake Oswego details below):
According to the RMLS Market Action Report for the Portland Metro Area, October, 2016:
- There were 2,929 New Listings in October which was down a whopping 20.3% from September’s 3,673, and down 4.4% from October of 2015’s 3,063.
- At 2,589, October Closed Sales were also down 8.3% from September’s 2,823, and down 4.7% from October of 2015’s 2,717.
- October Pending Sales (Accepted Offers), at 2,841 were down only 0.6% from Septembers 2,857, and were also 5.2% lower than October of 2015’s 2,996.
- The Average Sale Price in October of $405,900 was up $13,700 from September’s $392,200, and also up a whopping $45,900 from October of 2015’s $360,000.
_____________________________________________________ October Average Sale Price + Appreciation (last 12 months):
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- North Portland: $380,400 14.6% (Sep: $381,400)
- NE Portland: $423,700 11.6% (Sep: $437,200)
- SE Portland: $384,600 11.7% (Sep: $368,200)
- Gresham/Troutdale: $309,900 12.7% (Sep: $296,900)
- Milwaukie/Clackamas: $372,400 11.1% (Sep: $395,100)
- Oregon City/Canby: $370,500 12.7% (Sep: $364,100)
- Lake Oswego/West Linn:$637,400 13.2% (Sep: $619,800)
- West Portland: $606,900 11.5% (Sep: $505,100)
- NW Washington County: $508,000 9.0% (Sep: $473,300)
- Beaverton/Aloha: $322,900 10.7% (Sep: $335,100)
- Tigard/Wilsonville: $404,000 10.5% (Sep: $400,700)
- Hillsboro/Forest Grove: $344,200 14.5% (Sep: $345,300)
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The combined areas of Lake Oswego and West Linn (RMLS lumps them together) for the month of October 2016 reported:
- 372 Active Listings (Sep/412)
- 143 New Listings (Sep/191)
- 119 Pending Sales (Sep/159 )
- 131 Closed Sales (Sep/128)
- Average Sale Price for October: $637,400 (Sep/ $619,800 )
- NOTE: Higher-Priced vs Lower-Priced Homes Sales can skew the “Average” in any given month. Lake Oswego has quite a variety, so this tends to be a less meaningful stat, generally speaking, in this niche.
- Average Time on the Market: 66 Days (Aug /53)