Summary of 2008

As I posted last week, the Regional Multiple Listing Service analyzed and released information on the Portland housing market for last year. They summarized that when comparing 2008 to 2007, new listings fell 8.7%, pending sales fell 30.8% and closed sales dropped 32.1%. The total volume in 2008 was $6.3 billion, down from $9.7 billion in 2007. The 35% difference statistically proves what we have all known, the boom times of the Portland real estate market are over, but many people have not known just how much things dropped in 2008, compared to 2007. 2009, however, can be a great year, with many predicting that the market will even out, if not begin to bounce back over the next 12 to 18 months.