We have seen a double digit growth in Portland housing market in 2015 and 2016.  In 2015, the home value here has increased about 17% and so far in 2016, it has increased nearly 13% since January according to Zillow.  Many potential home buyers and sellers wonder what the real estate market will look like in 2017 in Portland, Oregon.  Many experts believe the Portland housing market will still grow significantly in 2017 as it may or may not be another double-digit-growth in housing prices.

National Forecast

Previously, it was believed that 2017 will be a year of significant cooling in real estate market nationally as the cooling has already started in many markets.  However, there seems to be a new glimpse of optimism that the national market will continue to perform well.
National Association of Realtors predicts that 2017 will be a hot year for home sales and sales will probably reach 6 million in 2017, higher than 5.8 million forecast for 2016 due to a huge wave of millennials who delayed home buying are emerging into their key buying years well into 2020.  NAR predicts the top market for price appreciation will be Seattle, Portland, Denver, and Boston.
CoreLogic forecasts that house prices in the U.S. will rise by 5.3% from August 2016 to August 2017 and will reach another peak in 2017.
Zillow predicts a more modest national growth in 2017, forecasting around 3% growth.

Portland & the Pacific Northwest

The Pacific Northwest has been leading in the housing market growth since 2015.  The trend will continue throughout 2017.  VeroForecast predicts price appreciation of 11.1% for Portland in 2017 and 11.2% for Seattle.  Zillow put out a more conservative estimate at 7.5% increase through October 2017.

Why such high growth in the Pacific Northwest?

Portland and Seattle markets have enjoyed robust economies, growing population, and a continued low supply of homes compared to other markets.  Here in Portland, the economy is at its full swing and the unemployment rate has been dropping and is now at its lowest point since dot-com era at 4.4% as of January 2016.  Job market here is strong and it’s not once what it used to be where people were afraid of moving here because of the low performing job market during the recession despite it being a beautiful place to live.  The Portland metro area has added 40,621 new residents from 2014 to 2015 according to US Census Bureau.  Seattle population has been growing at a slightly higher level.  The economic growth in both markets is not limited to just high tech industry in Silicon Forest but at a wide level through different industries.  Housing supply on the other hand has not kept its pace with growing population.  I do see some massive new developments taking place in Hillsboro and many of those should be built by 2017 adding more to the supply in this market. Click here  to read entire article.