December sales rounded off the year with 15 closings for the month! This brought the mountain sales totals for 2013 up to 156 sales. We are happy to see these numbers after climbing out of the slow recovery on the mountain since the bubble times. 

Mt. Hood Real Estate Sales for December 2013

 

You can tell by December's numbers with pending sales up 180% from a year ago that things are improving in our area. Last December was a bit bleak compared to this year. Don't be deceived by the average sales price change of 13.7% for the mountain. Due to some higher end sales, mostly in Government Camp, this number is eschewed to make things a bit rosier than they are for Welches, Rhododendron and Brightwood. The lagging Government Camp market has seen some life in the embers and it's reflected in this chart.

January looks as promising as December. Despite the lack of snow, accessibility for showing homes is exceptionally good for this time of year and many buyers are out to make their purchase now before interest rates climb and purchasing power will be affected. Acting now before rates go up, which are predicted to be nearly a whole point by the 4th quarter would be a good move!