The market activity for Lake Oswego last week was really, really interesting. The last time I did this report, two weeks ago, it reflected the sales for the 2-week holiday period. What caught my eye at that time were that a pretty solid number of houses had sold in the midst of the holidays. Then this last we we had 14 houses go pending, but only 4 new listings come onto the market. That is a huge change from what we have been seeing for some time. Three times more houses went pending last week than came onto the market. If this continues it will shrink the inventory and stabilize prices. It us way too soon to call it any kind of a trend, but it makes me eager to see if it continues.
Along with 4 new listings and 14 pending sales, we had 4 closed transactions.
I also have several observations:
—At my open house on Sunday I had 9 showings. I am happy if I get 2 or 3. And these were not neighbors. I always chat with people to see what their situation is. 8 of the 9 were buyers currently in the market and looking for a home.
—Combine that with the fact that of the 14 pending sales in our report below, 11 are listed at $303,000 or less. What I sense is that the low end of the market is taking off. There has been lots of media chatter about the possibility that the National market has hit bottom. I think people are listening and feeling like the time to buy is now: certainly in the lower end houses.
—Condos are selling well as part of that lower-end inventory. The condos at Oswego Terraces that have been for sale since 2007, languishing in this economy, have had drastic price reductions and that is making them move. Of the 14 pending sales, 3 are in this complex. That has been true for a couple of weeks now. The condos are now priced at a point where buyers like what they see.
See below for further details according to RMLS:
NEWLY LISTED (Jan 10-16, 2011)
| Address | Price | Type | BR | Bath | Sq Feet |
| 200 Burnham Rd #102 | $149,000 | Condo | 1 | 1 | 820 |
| 18523 Hallberg Ct | $234,900 | Detached | 3 | 1.5 | 1307 |
| 6025 Carmen Dr | $249,950 | Detached | 3 | 1.5 | 1346 |
| 18084 Westminster Dr | $769,900 | Detached | 5 | 3.5 | 5020 |
PENDING SALES (Jan 10-16, 2011)
| Address | Price | Type | BR | Bath | Sq. Feet | CDOM |
| 16250 Pacific Hwy #63 | $99,000 | Condo | 2 | 2 | 1311 | 1206 |
| 16250 Pacific Hwy #77 | $110,000 | Condo | 2 | 2 | 1327 | 1208 |
| 200 Burnham Rd #202 | $119,000 | Condo | 2 | 2 | 1314 | 1205 |
| 12511 Boones Ferry Rd | $159,000 | Detached | 3 | 2 | 1625 | 137 |
| 3854 Botticelli St | $185,000 | Condo | 2 | 1.5 | 1132 | 151 |
| 5670 Kenny St | $189,000 | Detached | 3 | 2 | 936 | 139 |
| 44 Oriole Ln | $220,000 | Detached | 3 | 2.5 | 224 | 105 |
| 240 4th St | $269,150 | Detached | 2 | 1.5 | 1080 | 49 |
| 4281 Chapman Way | $285,000 | Detached | 3 | 2.5 | 2010 | 81 |
| 17614 Schalit Way | $303,900 | Detached | 3 | 2 | 1561 | 32 |
| 18006 Gimley Ct | $549,900 | Detached | 5 | 4 | 3225 | 201 |
| 1579 Bay View Ln | $639,000 | Detached | 4 | 3 | 4865 | 33 |
| 2607 Palisades Crest Dr | $760,000 | Detached | 4 | 4.5 | 5650 | 244 |
SOLD (Jan 10-16, 2011)
| Address | Orig. Price | Sold Price | type | Sq. Feet | CDOM |
| 74 Greenridge Ct | $289,900 | $248,350 | Attached | 2868 | 92 |
| 16942 Cherry Crest Dr | $410,000 | $400,000 | Detached | 2363 | 11 |
| 13888 Shireva Dr | $519,900 | $430,000 | Detached | 3756 | 166 |
| 548 Ridgeway Rd | $650,000 | $650,000 | Detached | 2830 | 443 |
Criteria: Homes in the 97034 and 97035 zip code, listed, pending or sold between the dates listed above as reported by the Regional Multiple Listing Service (RMLS). DETACHD refers to Single Family Detached Residence, MFG refers to manufactured housing, and ATTACHD refers to single-family residences with some portion of the structure attached to another property, but not constituting CONDO ownership. DOM stands for days on market, or the number of days from when the listing became active and when it received an acceptable offer, with CDOM standing for “cumulative days on market” accounting for “refreshed” listings