We now have our first full month of data for 2020. So what does it tell us about the year to come? 

The first thing I noticed when looking at the new numbers was that closings were up and listings were down. Sound familiar? Yes, but that’s pretty typical for this time of year, when buying and selling is mostly economic and situation-driven and not because people are actually seeing opportunity in the market. All the same, it’s disappointing to see months of inventory back down to 2.54 months when we had just inched above 3 months. All the while, sales to list has fallen off to 95 percent from the usual 98 percent, so there are some good deals to be had out there, but it’s still by far a sellers’ market. 

What Do Buyers and Sellers Need to Know?

There are a few external factors that will come into play on different sides this year. First, is the presidential election. This mostly affects foreign buyers and sellers in swing states, but you’ll always see some buyer hesitation in an election year, just because so many factors are in the air, mostly on the local level, but even national issues can come into play if they are divisive enough. 

Second, fire season is a huge factor. After a somewhat dry winter here in the valley, if rainfall totals don’t catch up this Spring, we will be looking at severe conditions due to a very mild fire season last year. Smoke in the air during the prime selling months of August and September spells disaster for tourist towns, both in terms of visiting and spending, but also vacation real estate. Smoky conditions even impact residential sales when people just don’t want to go outside at all.

Overall, the market looked like it was slowly moving in favor of buyers, and with mortgage rates low right now, buyers certainly can afford more house than previously. But unless listings catch up with demand, that cost savings may soon be eaten up in price increases. 

Key Salem Housing Market Statistics

Here are a few other key stats from the Willamette Valley Multiple Listing Service housing report for January 2020: 

Average Price for Single-Family Home Salem – $328,794

Average Number of Days on the Market Salem – 78

Average Price for Single-Family Home Keizer - $324,791

Average Number of Days on the Market Willamette Valley– 81

Single-Family Homes Sold Willamette Valley – 728

Total Dollar Volume of Homes Sold in Willamette Valley -- $238,891,744

Months of Housing Inventory Available in Willamette Valley – 2.54

Total Pending Sales Willamette Valley – 865

Active Listings Willamette Valley – 1,053

Active Listings Salem – 359

Active Listings Keizer –  48