Your Latest Lane County Market Update

According to the latest numbers, Lane County is a seller’s market. 

What’s happening in the Lane County market now that we’ve reached the midpoint of 2020? Let’s start by reviewing the year-over-year statistics from last June.

Listings are down 18% compared to June 2019, but pending contracts are up 5.6%. This is interesting because it means we have very low inventory. Last month, I was hopeful because our inventory had increased to two months’ worth, but now we’ve dropped back down to 1.3 months (roughly 37 days).
 

In a normal market (which we’d love to see again), there is usually about six months’ worth of inventory. At that number, buyers and sellers are on an equal footing. At the moment, we’re in a strong seller’s market, so you can see why there are so many multiple-offer situations happening.

Home prices, meanwhile, continue to ratchet upward: The average price is $338,000, and the median price is $310,000. Just a quick reminder: The median price is the price near which most homes are selling, whereas the average is what you get when you add up all the sale prices for homes sold in a specific area within a specified time frame and divide that total by the number of properties sold.

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The average price is $338,000, and the median price is $310,000.

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Here are the latest interest rate averages as of July 15:

• Conventional mortgage: 2.875%
• 15-year mortgage: 2.5%
• VA, FHA, and USDA loans: 2.75%

It seems like I keep saying this over and over, but these rates are record lows. Just when we get used to a new low, they drop even lower! Now, I’m not sure when this will end, but sooner or later, they’ll creep back up.

As always, if you want to know more about our Lane County market or have any real estate needs at all, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’m happy to help.

Q: What Do You Need to Know to Take Advantage of Our Market?

Here’s what you need to know to take advantage of our market. 

If you’re looking to take advantage of our Eugene real estate market, there are two important changes that have occurred over the past few months (primarily due to the pandemic) that you need to be aware of.

First, interest rates have dropped. Last year, we thought they would go up during 2020, but the bottom line is that they haven’t. Last year they averaged roughly 4.2%, but this year the average has fallen to 3.2%. They may creep back up in the future, but at the moment they’re historically low.

If you’re a buyer, this means you must do your part to lock in a low rate. Just because you get approved for a loan doesn’t mean you’ll get the best rate. You need two factors working in your favor to get a low rate: your debt ratio and credit score. You need to improve your debt ratio and lower your debt.

Second, the peak listing season has been delayed to June through August, so don’t panic—there is plenty of time to get into the market. I will say this, though: It’s not about timing the market; it’s about how much time you are on the market. Year over year, the median home price has risen from $285,000 to $320,000. This is a pretty steady increase, and I’ll assume it will continue to rise.

This means the best time to buy a house is whenever you can. The housing market will always increase over time, and right now it’s fair to think that it will increase at a yearly rate of about 5%.

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The best time to buy a house is whenever you can.

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In other words, if you bought a $300,000 house right now with a monthly mortgage of $1,800, you’d gain $83,000 worth of equity in five years. Keep in mind, that’s just the appreciation. That doesn’t even coin the five years of payment toward your principal. That also doesn’t count all the tax benefits you receive just by owning a home. Think about that: You can increase your equity by $83,000 just by living in a house. On the other hand, if you rented for five years for $1,800 a month, you’d pay the property owner $108,000 during that time.

Anyone who knows me knows that I’m a proponent of homeownership, and that’s just one example of why you should get into a home as quickly as you can.

If you’d like to start your home buying journey or have any real estate needs, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’m here to help.