Inventory in Deschutes County in the last seven days increased to 957 single-family homes, only ten more than last week. In addition, pending and sold numbers flipped, with eighty-one homes pending compared to sixty-five last week and sixty-four sold against eighty-one the previous week. This week's numbers could very well mark the peak inventory for the season, as strong sales and a decrease in new listings widdle away at the volume f unsold properties. The days on the market for pending properties increased by five to twenty-three, while the sold days on the market doubled to sixteen. Of the actively listed homes, the days on the market are up by four to forty. As the numbers show, proper pricing is the key to sales in this changing market.
An increase in days a home is on the market can be an early indicator of falling prices. Although, limited inventory and strong sales have dampened a steep price decrease so far in 2022. The Federal Reserve announces this round of monetary policy change at 11 AM Pacific Time, a likely increase to the overnight rate of another 75 basis points to bring down inflation. Interestingly, mortgage interest rates have been stable and decreased recently, with this morning's 30-year fixed-rate national average at 5.5%. The Central Oregon real estate market has taken all of this in stride, with the median sales price reduction of the sold homes in Deschutes County last week at -8.03%. Although, only twenty-one of the sixty-four sold properties changed the price before securing a buyer. It is impossible to know what the Fed will do in the September meeting, but analysts are already predicting a more pedestrian 50 basis point increase. Some analysts even predict rates coming down as early as the first quarter of 2023, a move likely to add fuel to an already hot housing market just in time for the next selling season.
For several weeks here, here, and here, I've spoken about how now may be as much of a buyers market as we will see in the current cycle. While, by all accounts, the market still favors sellers, higher mortgage interest rates gave sellers a wake-up call, with many lowering their prices in the face of decreased buyer activity. So while today's market may not have reduced as much as many buyers anticipated, this may be as good as conditions get! Without a significant decrease in buyer demand or an increase in available inventory, there isn't enough downward pressure on the market to significantly reduce prices. As a result, today's buyers market looks different than many anticipated, and while the fall is a great time to buy, waiting for lower prices may prove fruitless if you miss out on a property you loved. Unfortunately for buyers, the likelihood of significantly more homes for sale through the remainder of 2022 is low.