Portland Real Estate Market Update – October 2025

After a busy summer, Portland’s housing market is showing signs of a seasonal shift. Buyer traffic is still stronger than in recent years, but inventory is higher, keeping pressure on sellers. Price reductions are high and holding near 50%, and average pricing has stayed flat for the past few years.

In this update, we take a closer look at the latest buyer traffic, inventory levels, price reductions, average pricing, and pending sales to see how the market is performing. We’ll also highlight what these trends mean for buyers and sellers and share a forecast for the remainder of the year. 

2025 Buyer Traffic Trends Show Continued Strength Over Prior Years

October Buyer Traffic Trends Continue Above 2024 and 2023 Totals

In our 20+ years studying and working in the Portland metro housing market, home buyer traffic in Oregon remains one of the most important metrics we use to understand the state of the market at any given time. 

The latest buyer traffic data ending August 31st recorded 68,241 showings, higher than both 2024 (63,744) and 2023 (64,026). (2022 data is incomplete in the latest data, so we are only evaluating 2023–2025.) Comparing the last three years, 2025 has shown a notable increase in traffic throughout the summer, with similarly proportional increases in August as in previous months.

Portland Monthly Buyer Traffic Temperature Remains Warm

The numbers place Portland in the Warm temperature range for August, even more toward the upper end of the warm spectrum. That’s notable given that traffic usually eases more by the end of summer. The elevated totals reinforce that buyers are still engaged.

Daily Buyer Traffic Indicates Sustained Interest

We can gain a clearer picture of potential trends to come by taking a closer look at the last 12 days. We need to account for weekend dates, as they often yield higher totals. However, we can compare non-weekend days and examine the general range of totals to gain a general understanding.  Here’s what we are seeing as a general trend. 

Weekday activity held strong in the low- to mid-2,000s. When comparing all days, traffic fluctuated between 1,639 and 2,301 showings per day. The totals indicate that demand remains steady as summer transitions into fall, and buyer interest is maintaining momentum above the levels seen in 2023 and 2024.

(weekend days are bolded)

Inventory Levels are Higher Than in Past Years

Inventory levels remain elevated compared to the past several years, a trend that has persisted since spring. As of September 19th, Portland’s active listings stood at 1,663. For the same time in 2024, inventory was 1,559. In 2023, it was 1,302, and in 2022 it was 1,556.

Comparing the recent numbers, Portland’s current total of 1,663 is down from 1,752 in mid-August and 1,830 in mid-July, reflecting a seasonal dip that typically occurs as the market heads into fall, when fewer new listings enter the market. 

Inventory reduction data courtesy of Fidelity National Title.

Despite the continued year-over-year increase in inventory, traffic is stronger than in previous years. Using history as a guide, we can expect rising inventory through October and November, before it drops again from December to spring. The October and November increases typically put more pressure on sellers. How much pressure it will be is hard to gauge. Though buyer demand appears strong, aiding sellers with a slightly stronger advantage for this season than in previous years, the number of properties with price decreases is higher than normal. Let’s look at that now. 

Price Reductions are Holding Steady but Elevated Year-Over-Year

As of September 19, 49.61% of active listings had price reductions. This is slightly down from 50.29% in mid-August and up modestly from 48.20% in mid-July. The relative stability over the last two months suggests that price cuts have plateaued for now, reflecting a seasonal norm and seller adjustments to higher inventory, as well as this year’s stronger demand from buyers. 

Price reduction data courtesy of Fidelity National Title.

That aside, even with the higher buyer traffic, price reductions remain elevated compared to recent years. With the current total at 49.61%, the same time of year last year came in at 43.75%. 2023 was 39.25%. The current percentage is showing stronger pricing pressure than in previous years. 

Elevated inventory paired with competitive pricing drives what we are seeing. While the past two months have shown more steadiness in terms of traffic, history tells us that reductions often continue to decline further into October and November. If that holds true this year, and these percentages show signs of that, sellers may continue to feel the pressure to adjust pricing more aggressively, particularly if inventory remains higher than normal. Although higher-than-normal buyer traffic could help mitigate the impact, thus far, it doesn’t seem to be reducing any pricing pressure on sellers. 

Average Pricing is Dropping Slightly

When looking at home values, we use price-per-square-foot as the best measure of the average home price. As of September 19, the average price per square foot in Portland stood at $311, unchanged from mid-August and down slightly from $313 in July. Though relatively steady, the slight decrease reflects a typical seasonal trend where prices level off as buyer urgency fades in late summer.

Per square foot data courtesy of Fidelity National Title.

Compared year-over-year, however, the numbers tell a different story. At this same time in 2024, the average was $320 per square foot, and in 2023 it was $317. This year’s pricing now matches the 2022 total of $311, showing Portland is staying flat.

This flattening signals that despite stronger-than-usual buyer traffic, elevated inventory, and high percentages of price reductions are pushing back on gains. Unless demand accelerates or inventory drops sharply, average prices are likely to drop slightly into December, rebounding again in January, making the fall and early winter a time of increased pressure on sellers. Though this is typical this time of year, the pressure is already higher than typical, so sellers should be prepared for negotiation. Buyers will continue to find more room to secure value compared with the last two years.

New Listings and Pending Sales Show Seasonal Decline but Higher Demand Year-Over-Year

The latest RMLS Market Action August Report through August 2025 shows that new listings in Portland totaled 2,476, a 7.2% decrease from the 2,669 listings in August 2024 and down 15.5% from 2,931 in July 2025.

This seasonal dip is typical as sellers become more cautious heading into fall, but the drop from July was steeper than usual, which indicates that fewer homeowners are choosing to list their properties late in the season, even with higher buyer traffic. 

Pending sales tell a different story. There were 2,275 pending sales in August 2025, a 10.9% increase from 2,052 in August 2024 and a 4.5% increase from 2,177 in July 2025. Though this is a positive sign that buyer demand will remain strong, the numbers to watch closely moving forward are price decreases. They are a strong indication of market balance. 

This rise in pending sales is undoubtedly and directedly related to the recent interest rate drops. Interest rates are behind the driver’s wheel. While buyer traffic has been very high this year, pending sales have stayed about the same. Combine that with higher inventory than we had in 2024 and the market has been worse in 2025.

However, if rates stay low and keep dropping, things could improve for sellers for the next few months. But the holidays are coming, and with the major holidays comes a major drop in buyer traffic every year. So if there is an improvement this fall, it will be short lived. If interest rates remain lower at the turn of the year, we can expect the spring market that typically already favors sellers, to be a strong time to sell.

Looking ahead, new listings are likely to continue trending downward through October and November, while pending sales will either remain fairly steady or decline, but in all cases, generally decline into December. 

Advice for Buyers and Sellers

With inventory still elevated above past years and price reductions holding close to 50%, sellers should anticipate longer market times and a need for competitive pricing. Listings that are too high risk being overlooked in a crowded market, especially in a time of higher traffic and seasonal inventory typically rising through October and November. Sellers should actually be prepared to adjust to avoid long market times. 

For buyers, the current market offers more negotiating power than in the past two years. Elevated inventory and signs of lower prices may offer more opportunities to find value. With the average pricing holding below 2023 and 2024 levels and fewer homes on the market, buyers can secure better deals than in prior seasons. 

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