Throughout 2022, housing sales in Lane County fell significantly, but average housing prices did not follow the trend.
A report released this January by the Regional Multiple Listing Service showed a 1.9% percent raise in Lane County’s housing prices, a stark contrast to the 35% drop in sales in 2022.
Lori Palermo of Palermo Real Estate in Springfield said that homes aren’t selling because prices are too high. But a decrease in houses sold does not mean a decrease in prices, as shown in the RMLS report.
“Prices have continued to go up, making it difficult for people entering the housing market for the first time to afford homes," she said.
Palermo says other factors contribute to Oregon’s decrease in housing sales.
“What I’m hearing from my peers is that the lack of inventory coupled with high interest rates for mortgages have slowed us down a little.”
Palermo doesn’t expect home prices to plummet anytime soon. But she also doesn’t see a housing bubble scenario like the one from 15 years ago.