Eugene Oregon Real Estate Blog by Craig Tomlinson

Sales of low and high end houses were stronger in the West than the nation, according to data presented by the NAR for October. However, homes in the middle price ranges, say from 250K to 750K were selling at a slower rate. Why? I think this represents the over-leveraged middle class who have been hard-hit by the Great Recession.

Low-end and High-end Sales were strong in the West.

The supply of houses, listed for sale nationwide, fell by 2.8% in October. Normally, house supply increases by 1% in October, due to a seasonal slowdown in the market. Nationwide, October of this year had 29% fewer houses listed for sale than October 2008.

In Lane County, we fared even better with an October decline of 4.5% from September 2009 levels. October of this year was down 30%. The larger the decline, the better the market. The decline in inventory is due to cheaper prices and the government tax credit, I suspect.

Declining inventory indicates a strenghening market.