Portland Real Estate Market Update – May 2025

As Portland moves further into the year’s busiest real estate season, the market is showing familiar patterns. Inventory is building, buyer traffic remains steady, and prices continue to reflect stable demand. 

Competition is less intense than in prior years, but the market is still active, offering opportunities for both buyers and sellers. This update reviews the latest trends for inventory, buyer traffic, pricing, and sales activity based on the most recent data. Whether you are a buyer or seller, you will have a better read on what’s to come. We’ll also take a look ahead at what the Portland real estate market may have in store for the rest of the spring season.

2025 Buyer Traffic Trends Remain Stable with Seasonal Expectations

Let’s look at the most recent data from SentriLock ending February 2025 to predict what may come. 

March 2025 Buyer Traffic

Buyer traffic for 2025 mirrors the traditional seasonal patterns in Portland. Activity is much softer than in the peak years of 2021 and 2022, but it is stable. SentriLock lockbox data through March 2025 shows consistent buyer engagement, continuing into the spring market.

As of March, buyer traffic reached 57,607 showings​, a slight decline from the same period in 2024 (60,091) and 2023 (60,134). It is also the lowest traffic total since 2014, the first year for which data is available. Still, this year’s numbers are pretty consistent with those of the last two years, which have seen lower traffic since the rates jumped.

Portland Monthly Buyer Traffic Temperature

Daily Buyer Traffic

When we analyze recent days, we get a general sense of the temperature of things, including upward trends. We need to remember that the busiest market days are Friday through Sunday, but we take that into account in our analysis. 

Daily lockbox activity at the end of March 2025 shows typical spring patterns, with stronger buyer activity on weekends and softer counts midweek. Most daily counts fall into the cold category, with weekend peaks nudging into the lukewarm zone.

Here is a look at the daily activity for the last 12 days of March, with weekend days in bold.

Daily traffic temperatures: 

As you can tell from the charts above, the last days in March varied from cold on the weekdays to lukewarm on the weekends.

Inventory Levels Remain Higher but Follow Seasonal Patterns

Inventory levels remain higher than in previous years, but still follow seasonal patterns. As of April 18, 2025, inventory reached 1,261 listings, up from 996 listings for the same period in March. Compared to last year’s inventory of around 1,000 listings​, this year’s levels are elevated but not dramatically outside of the norm.

Inventory data courtesy of Fidelity National Title.

As you can see from the graph, Portland’s seasonal patterns are strong, so we can expect inventory to continue growing from May to October. This difference this year is that a slightly higher inventory could bring a slightly more balanced market, offering buyers more options and keeping pressure on sellers to price competitively. 

Price Decreases Remain Elevated but Show Seasonal Stability

As of April 18, 2025, just under 38% of active listings in Portland had experienced a price reduction​. This matches last month’s level and is slightly higher than last year’s April figure of 33%. 

Price Decrease data courtesy of Fidelity National Title.

This year’s percentage decrease is higher than usual, but it still shows signs of seasonal stability. Typically, we see more price reductions when inventory is up, which is the case now. We usually see price decreases from fall to spring, and increases from spring to fall. The rate has flattened in recent weeks, rather than continuing to climb, as it adheres to the seasonal shift to a more competitive buying period and more price decreases by sellers to stay competitive. If buyer demand remains steady into May, we can expect prices to stay around current levels and then increase at the end of May or the beginning of June. 

Average Home Prices Remain Stable Year Over Year

We like to use Fidelity’s price-per-square-foot data for the best read on home values. As of April 18, 2025, the average price per square foot in Portland was $313​. This is slightly lower than the $321 reported in April 2024 and $317 in April 2023, indicating only minor fluctuations over the past two years, despite changes in inventory and buyer traffic. The steady pricing reflects a healthy demand for homes even in a time of higher inventory levels.

Average Home Price data courtesy of Fidelity National Title.

Historically, average prices tend to rise during spring, peaking in summer. Based on current trends, we expect price-per-square-foot averages to either remain stable or increase modestly through May, consistent with typical seasonal behavior.

May 2025 Real Estate Market Forecast

As we head into May, Portland’s real estate market should remain stable. Inventory levels are building seasonally, offering buyers more options without dramatically shifting the market in either direction. Buyer traffic remains steady, and while slightly softer than previous years, it continues to support some competition.

With average prices holding stable and pending sales showing strength, we expect the market to stay balanced through May. Price reductions should remain slightly elevated but still relatively stable, as sellers adjust to new expectations and inventory levels rise. If historical trends hold, which they typically do in Portland, May could see a modest increase in buyer activity.

New Listings and Pending Sales Remain Consistent

As of the latest RMLS report ending in March, new listing activity is building into the spring market, following seasonal expectations. As of March 2025, there were 2,667 new listings in Portland​, an increase of 10% over last year’s total of 2,425. And with seasonal trends as our guide, we should continue to see higher numbers of listings into May, dipping down slightly in June.

For pending sales, we are seeing stability. March 2025 saw 2,199 pending sales​, up 2.9% over last year’s total of 2,138 for the same period. Pending sales trends have remained relatively consistent year over year, reflecting steady buyer demand even with slightly higher inventory levels. Again, we should see more pending sales into May and a slight dip in June.

Advice for Buyers and Sellers

With inventory levels building in the spring and buyer traffic remaining steady, sellers should prepare for increased competition. Homes priced accurately are still moving at a healthy pace.

For buyers, the market now offers more options than it has in recent years. Additionally, competition is less intense than in prior years. Buyers who are well-prepared and ready to move quickly on the right home stand to benefit. There will be more room for negotiation and fewer bidding wars compared to past spring seasons.

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