Cold Weather Put A Chill In April Home Sales....Or Did It?

Colder-than-average temperatures last month put a damper on annual garden blooms in Central Oregon.  And at first glance, the chilly weather seems to have affected the pace of local home sales as well.  

Data from the MLS of Central Oregon shows 133 homes on less than one acre of land were sold in April, down from 156 a year earlier. But was the weather the actual reason sales declined nearly 15%?

Another factor to consider is that the inventory of homes for sale is down about 25% from a year earlier.  With more than 200 fewer houses on the market, the absorption rate went from about 19.4% a year ago to about 25% last month.  In other words, while there was about 5 months worth of available housing inventory at this time last year, today there is only about 4 months.

My guess is that the weather won't be the only thing warming up; watch for price stability and, dare I say, maybe even price increases in some market segments, this summer!