Interest rates are headed up and in quite a surprising turn of events, it seems that rising rates are actually encouraging buyers to purchase now, before greater increases take hold. In Albany, the average sales price this month rose steadily to $438,740 and jumped to $529,807 in Corvallis. Median home price is up to $420,000 in Albany, as well as in Corvallis to $487,363. In Albany, average days on market jumped up to 61 days, and to 98 days in Corvallis.
In Lebanon over the last 90 days, the average home price rose to $401,055, with the median sales price falling slightly to $368,000. Homes have spent an average of 69 days on the market in Lebanon over the last 90 days.
The number of listings on the market fell to 27 listings active in the MLS in Albany, which is less than half of a month of inventory. There are 32 active listings in Corvallis, for almost three-quarters of a month of inventory. In Lebanon there are 25 active listings, equaling just over half a month of inventory.
The above statistics were provided to The Advocate by Samantha Alley, Principal Broker of The Home Team for RE/MAX Integrity. Here’s what Samantha has to say about the current market:
“February and March gave us spots of frenzied activity as new houses came on the market. Each house was snapped up immediately if it was priced well and prepared properly for the market. It seemed at first as if the 2% increase in interest rates since the beginning of 2022, would slow the number of offers on each house and return things to a more balanced market.
“Over the last couple of weeks, we have seen the opposite occur. We have four times the number of houses under contract as we have active on the market in both Corvallis and Albany. Lebanon is showing twice as many homes under contract as those on the market. All markets had a large increase in the 90-day sold numbers with December falling off and March coming in with a roar. More rate hikes are predicted for the rest of the year and it appears that many buyers want to be settled before that happens.”
Stay tuned to see where the market goes from here.
By Kyra Young
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