Real Estate Market Hangs On in 2020

Lane County home sales data for April is out, and the numbers are very interesting. Not surprisingly, new listings are down 29% from last year, and down 26% from this March. Pending sales were down 24% from April 2019. Given the pandemic however, I was expecting much worse. Forces of supply and demand are in play and much to my surprise, the median sale price increased 14.3% from $280,000 to $320,000 from last year!

Buyers are still in the game even with prices on the rise due to continuing low interest rates. A mortgage payment for a $320,000 house (with 20% down) is roughly $1,300/month at an interest rate of 4%. At an interest rate of 3.5% however, a buyer can afford closer to $345,000 with the same payment!!!