Keizer Oregon real estate trends

I chatted about the Salem Oregon real estate market a couple of posts ago, but let’s take a look at where the Keizer market is for February.  Technically homes sales were up in Keizer 42% in February 2010 over 2009, BUT this is just an increase from 7 last year to 10 this year.  It sounds better than it really is.  I really don’t want to put a damper on things, but I need to put the stats into context here.    This is still about half of what it should be.

The average home price dropped 8.6% year over year and the median barely shifted downward 2.3%.  Average home prices are being pulled down by the foreclosures and short sales in the marketplace, but the fact that the median hasn’t shifted much means that there is activity at more than just the lower home price level.  That part is good.  You want activity in all the market sectors for a good healthy real estate market.

Like Salem, the Keizer real estate inventory has skyrocketed as sellers jumped into the market very early to try and entice buyers looking for the tax credit to consider their home.  As such inventory has spiked up to 27.3 months in Keizer right now.  Remember that inventory numbers ebb and flow daily based on homes entering and leaving the market.  I do expect this crazy high number to come down as buyer start to purchase and fewer sellers list.

The good news for Keizer is that the distressed part of the market has stayed relatively constant in the past couple of months.   Distressed properties make up 10.3% of the active listing right now.  While that is a 10 fold increase from normal, in relation to other parts of the country, this is a pretty good statistic.

So what do I expect for Keizer in the coming months?

I still think home prices will have a mild decline here.  Good homes at good prices are still selling.  Homes in poor condition are not as cash investors are the only ones willing to take the duds that need a lot of work.  I’m starting to see some foreclosures sitting on the market as some of them are overpriced for condition.  Buyers are super conservative right now, so sellers you have to be on top of your game in order to sell right now.

P.S.  This data was crunched from the WVMLS.