Greetings:
Housing economists across the board are noting that the housing market is showing signs of a rebalance and a rebound in 2026. Lawrence Yun, NAR Chief Economist, predicts that with interest rates falling and a growing inventory, “Buyers should be able to enter the market which will increase sales!” Robert Dietz, Chief Economist for the National Association of Home Builders, says, “That his members are increasing construction starts, and they are predicting about a 1% gain in single-family home building and a 1% gain in new-home sales.” Danielle Hale, Chief Economist at realtor.com, is excited about the improvement in the affordability index. With home prices stabilizing and employment improving, more people will be able to buy a home.
Zillow’s 2026 Housing Market forecasts shadowed the predictions of most nationwide economists, with home values rising 1.2%, approximately 4.26 million existing home sales in 2026, and a 4.3% increase over 2025. They go on to state, “The housing market should settle into a healthier state in 2026, with buyers seeing a bit more breathing room and sellers benefiting from price stability and more consistent demand.”
Oregon’s housing market has also found its footing and is beginning to stabilize. “While home prices are still holding steady with a median range around $484,700 which is up a modest 1%, we’re seeing more homes available and they are taking a bit longer to sell,” according to a spokesperson for Norada Real Estate Investments. There are over 30,700 homes for sale in the state of Oregon which is also up 8+% from a year ago. Interest rates are still at 6+% with some exceptions when sellers buy down the rates to help buyers qualify for home loans. Even though Oregon saw a significant growth in population 12+% statewide, many of those new residents are choosing to rent.
Residential pending sales in Douglas County reported were down -15% to 108 compared to January 2025 when they were 127. Historically, sales are down at the beginning of the year because of weather and other factors. However, closed sales were up slightly +4.4% to 71 compared to last year when they were 68. Our average sales price so far this year is up +7.6% to $349,500 compared to last year at $324,800. These trends show that our market is looking like the national market, we are slightly improving, which is a good sign for our economy.
It is interesting to look at the Douglas County market by price range, to see where most sales occur. As expected, most sales happened in the $300,000 to $400,000 (23); in the $200,000 to $300,000 (16); $100,000 to $200,000 (9) and $400,000 to $500,000 (8). There was one in the price range between $1,500,000 and $1,600,000.
Residential listings declined to 135 in January, down -2.2% from 138 last year. We have the largest listing inventory we have had in the past 3 years at 7 months. Compare this to 2024 when we had just 3.5 months. Properties are taking longer to sell in certain price ranges. Many sellers are having to adjust their prices to make their properties more competitive. We see many price changes occurring daily.
Lastly, please keep all our Armed Forces men and women who are serving, our First Responders, and Veterans in your thoughts and prayers for remember our “FREEDOMS ARE NOT FREE!” ***GOD BLESS THEM AND GOD BLESS AMERICA***
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