TL;DR: Portland Metro active listings are up 11% year-over-year on a rolling basis, prices are lower than last spring, and yet homes that are priced right are still closing at or above asking price within 22 days. Rates ticked up slightly to 6.125% at OnPoint this week. This market isn’t broken — it’s bifurcated. The data show two very different outcomes depending entirely on seller pricing strategy.
What the Data Are Actually Saying This Week
The week of April 20–26, 2026 produced a set of numbers from the RMLS — our regional multiple listing service — that, if you look at them one at a time, seem contradictory. Prices are down year-over-year. Days on market are up. Active listings are elevated. And yet new pending deals jumped 17.2% above the same week last year, and the average sale-to-list ratio for closed transactions was 100.1%.
How do you square that circle?
The answer is a market that has split into two completely different experiences — and which experience you’re having depends almost entirely on one variable: pricing accuracy.
Before I dig into each metric, here’s how I read this data. A single week of numbers is noise. My framework uses a 12-week rolling average — taking the last 12 weeks of data and averaging them, then comparing that rolling figure to the same 12-week window ending the same week one year ago. That’s where the signal lives. That’s how I cut through the week-to-week volatility and see what’s actually happening to the market’s momentum.
Interest Rates: A Modest Rise This Week
OnPoint Federal Credit Union is currently quoting the 30-year fixed conventional rate at 6.125% with 0.500 points and a 6.228% APR. That is up from 6.000% the prior week — a modest eighth-of-a-point increase.
Context matters here. We hit 6.250% in early April, pulled back to 6.000%, and have now ticked back up to 6.125%. We are in a range. That range — roughly 6% to 6.25% — is what buyers and sellers should be planning around. It is not a rate environment that makes buying impossible. It is a rate environment that rewards preparation: buyers who have their financing dialed in before they need it will operate with more confidence than buyers who scramble after finding a home.
Supply: Inventory Is Up, but the Story Is More Nuanced Than the Headline
Active listings came in at 6,764 this week — up from 6,708 the prior week. The 12-week rolling average for active listings is now 6,111, compared to 5,496 the same period one year ago. That’s an 11.2% increase in inventory on a trending basis.
Think of the supply side as a faucet and the drain as buyer demand. The water level in the bathtub — total inventory — has been rising all year. 659 new listings hit the market this week. But here’s the nuance: the same week last year saw approximately 795 new listings. The faucet is actually flowing slightly slower than last year. The reason inventory is higher overall isn’t that more homes are coming on — it’s that fewer are leaving quickly. Homes are staying in the pool longer, which keeps the total level elevated.
What this means for buyers: You have real choices. Inventory is at levels not seen in years. You can be selective. You can inspect. You can think.
What this means for sellers: You have more competition than you did last spring. Every overpriced listing that has been sitting for weeks is a reference point buyers will use to evaluate your home. If your pricing isn’t sharp, you’re not competing — you’re providing context for your neighbor’s sale.
Demand: The Signal Sellers Should Not Miss
744 new pending deals went under contract this week. The same week last year: 635. That’s a 17.2% increase year-over-year in new pending sales.
Buyers are not gone. At 6.125%, with elevated inventory and motivated sellers, buyers who are ready are moving. Total pending sales stand at 3,504 — up 5.8% from 3,313 the same week last year. The 12-week rolling average for new pending is 652. Demand is real, it is active, and it is directionally improving year-over-year.
Homes Sold: Modest But Real Improvement
518 homes closed in Portland Metro and Clark County this week. The RMLS data show the same week last year came in at 506 — slightly ahead year-over-year. The 12-week rolling average for homes sold is 468, compared to 431 the same period last year — an 8.6% improvement in pace.
Prices: The Two-Market Reality
The average sale price this week was $610,455. The same week last year: $651,602 — a 6.3% year-over-year decline. The median was $550,000 versus $565,000 last year, a 2.7% decline.
On the surface: prices are down. But now look at the sale-to-list ratios.
- Average sale price as a percentage of asking: 100.1%. Homes that are selling are closing right at or fractionally above list price.
- Median sale price as a percentage of asking: 100.02%. Essentially at list.
- Average sale price as a percentage of original asking price: 97.69% — compared to 97.93% last year.
If homes are selling at 100% of asking, how are prices down year-over-year? Two factors: mix shift (more lower-priced homes closing, fewer higher-priced ones) and the pricing cycle (sellers listing high, cutting, and then closing near the adjusted price). The original-asking figure at 97.69% tells you that story — sellers who start too high close eventually, but they close below where they started and at a cost in time and carrying expenses.
Last year’s median sale-to-list ratio was 101.7%. This year it’s 100.02%. That 1.68% decline represents the end of the broad bidding war era. Homes are not routinely going over asking in multiple-offer situations the way they were. But the ones priced correctly from day one? They still close at full ask.
Price Reductions: The Market’s Report Card
671 price reductions hit the market in the past 7 days. 322 of those were $15,000 or more. Same week last year: 660 reductions.
The 12-week rolling average for reductions is approximately 588 — so this week was slightly elevated above recent trend. And here’s a ratio worth sitting with: 659 new listings came on the market this week, and 671 price reductions happened this week. More price cuts than new listings. The market is sending clear signals to overpriced inventory.
Days on Market: The Median Tells One Story, the Average Tells Another
Average days on market: 66 this week, versus 59 the same week last year. Median days on market: 22 this week, versus 19 last year.
The gap between those two numbers is the story. A median of 22 days means half of all homes that went under contract this week did so within three weeks of listing. That’s a live, functional market. But an average of 66 days means there’s a cohort of homes sitting for a very long time — and those outliers pull the average up significantly.
My 12-week rolling averages: approximately 71 days for the mean, 30 days for the median. Both are measurably higher than last year. The market is not slow across the board. It’s slow for overpriced inventory.
What This Means for You
If you’re a buyer right now:
You’re in the best position in several years. Inventory is up, competition has softened, and sellers who have been sitting are making adjustments. Rates ticked up slightly this week to 6.125%, which reinforces one key message: get your financing squared away before you need it. The buyers winning right now have their pre-approval in hand, know their priorities, and move when the right home appears at the right price.
If you’re a seller right now:
The data give you one clear prescription: price it accurately from day one. The homes closing at full ask are priced at current market value — not optimistic value, not 2022 value, not “what my neighbor got 18 months ago” value. Today’s market value. The 12-week rolling DOM trends and the price reduction volume tell that story without ambiguity. A fresh listing priced at market will attract the 744 buyers who went under contract this week. An overpriced listing will wait for the 671 price reductions to eventually catch up to it.
If you’re thinking about moving up or moving down:
The sequencing of your transaction matters. Sellers of higher-priced homes may find more pricing pressure on their sale, while buyers in lower price ranges still face healthy competition. A conversation with a professional about how to structure the move — timing, financing bridges, contingency strategy — is worth having before you list.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are home prices dropping in Portland Metro?
The average and median sale prices for the week of April 20–26, 2026 are lower than the same week last year — 6.3% and 2.7% respectively. However, homes priced correctly at current market value are closing at or above their asking price. The year-over-year decline reflects mix shift and seller pricing behavior rather than a broad market collapse.
Is now a good time to buy a home in Portland?
Inventory is up 11% year-over-year on a rolling 12-week basis, and buyer demand measured by new pending sales is up 17% from last year. Rates are at 6.125% at OnPoint Federal Credit Union. Buyers who are financially prepared have more options and meaningfully less competition than they had in 2021 or 2022.
How long does it take to sell a home in Portland right now?
The median days on market this week was 22 days — meaning well-priced homes go under contract within three weeks. The average is 66 days, which reflects overpriced inventory sitting for extended periods. Pricing strategy is the primary determinant of time on market.
What are current mortgage rates in Portland?
OnPoint Federal Credit Union is quoting the 30-year fixed conventional rate at 6.125% with 0.500 points and a 6.228% APR as of the week of April 20–26, 2026. That is up from 6.000% the prior week.
What does the sale-to-list ratio tell me about the Portland market?
The average sale-to-list ratio of 100.1% means homes that are selling are closing right at or slightly above asking price. Last year’s median was 101.7% — the decline to 100.02% this year reflects the end of the broad bidding war era. The market is close, but broad multiple-offer situations above ask are no longer the norm.
This analysis is based on weekly data from the RMLS, our regional multiple listing service, for Portland Metro and Clark County — Washington, Multnomah, Clackamas, and Clark counties. Mortgage rate data is sourced from OnPoint Federal Credit Union.
Lauren Perreault, REALTOR®
Fiv Realty Co — Managing Principal Broker
lauren@PDXHomesforSale.com | 503-683-1885
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