Ravenous home buyers keep inventories low

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Wendy Culverwell

Real Estate Daily editor-Portland Business Journal

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Portland’s insatiable appetite for houses kept inventories at record lows, even as more sellers entered the market in May.

The Regional Multiple Listing Servicereports the inventory of unsold homes dropped to a 2.5-month supply in May, its lowest in memory.

The drop came as new listings rose to their highest level since 2010.

RMLS said 2,682 deals closed in May, a 26.2 percent increase from one year ago, 2,978 offers were accepted, an 18.1 percent increase, and 3,833 new listings hit the market, a 17.3 percent increase.

The average home sold in 85 days, 25.5 percent faster than a year ago.

The average sale price in May was $316,900, 12.6 percent higher than a year ago. For the year to date, the average price was $299,900, 14.9 percent more than in the same period in 2012.