Portland, OR Housing Market
AI-powered market intelligence for the Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA metro area.
PropertyIQ Scores
Portland, OR Market Analysis
Market Overview
Portland’s PropertyIQ Score is 5 out of 100, signaling a weak housing market. The score reflects soft home value momentum: 12-month momentum is 0.90%, while 3-month momentum is -1.40%. Median days on market is 61, and 30.5% of listings have had a price cut. These metrics point to slow sales and seller price adjustments.
Compared with Oregon averages, Portland’s fundamentals are mixed. Median home value is $542,843, above the state average of $496,113. Rent index is $1,818, above the state’s $1,525. Unemployment is 4.9% versus 5.2% statewide, and median household income is $97,436 versus $83,011. Portland has stronger income and employment metrics than the state, but housing prices and rents are also higher. The median home value’s year-over-year change is $-1, essentially flat.
With 8,935 homes for sale and high price-cut activity, current conditions appear more favorable to buyers than sellers, even though the local economy is stronger than the state average.
Key Trends
First, home value momentum has turned negative in the short term. The 12-month momentum of 0.90% is barely positive, while the 3-month momentum is -1.40%. The year-over-year change of $-1 confirms that home values are roughly flat to slightly down.
Second, sellers are facing longer marketing times and more price reductions. Median days on market is 61 days, and 30.5% of listings have had a price cut. This combination suggests buyers have more time and negotiation power.
Third, local economic strength has not boosted home prices. Median household income is $97,436, about $14,425 above the state average, and unemployment is lower at 4.9%. However, the median home value is $542,843, about $46,730 above Oregon’s average. The rent index is $1,818, also well above the state’s $1,525, so housing costs remain high despite higher incomes.
Fourth, inventory is substantial at 8,935 homes for sale. Combined with a 61-day median time on market, this suggests supply is not being absorbed quickly at current price levels. Population growth data is not available, so demographic-driven demand cannot be assessed.
Who Is This Market For
This market is best suited to financially qualified, patient owner-occupants who plan to stay for several years. The median home value of $542,843 is high, but Portland’s median household income of $97,436 is above the state average, which helps some local buyers manage the cost. Price cuts and longer days on market may give buyers more room to negotiate.
Rental investors may also be drawn to Portland because the rent index of $1,818 is above Oregon’s $1,525. However, the weak PropertyIQ Score and negative 3-month price momentum make short-term appreciation unlikely. Investors would need to rely on long-term rental returns rather than quick gains.
Move-up buyers may benefit from larger inventory and price cuts when buying, but they also face a 61-day median days on market when selling. First-time buyers may find the median home value challenging, although above-state median income and lower unemployment provide some support.
Outlook
Near-term conditions point to continued softness unless price momentum improves. The 3-month home value momentum of -1.40% is more recent and negative, while the 12-month momentum is only 0.90%, and the year-over-year change is $-1. With 30.5% of listings cutting prices, a 61-day median days on market, and 8,935 homes for sale, the data does not show rapid absorption or upward price pressure. At the same time, Portland’s unemployment rate of 4.9% and median household income of $97,436 are stronger than Oregon’s averages, which may support demand over time. Population growth is not available, so the outlook cannot account for new resident demand. Based on these indicators, the market is likely to remain buyer-friendly in the near term, with prices flat to slightly negative until time on market or price-cut activity improves.
AI-generated analysis based on current market data. Last updated October 3, 2026.
Get Portland, OR market updates
Choose your role for tailored insights.
Portland, OR market data
Portland, OR Housing Market Overview
Portland, OR's median home value is $543K, up 0.9% over the past year. Homes here sell in a median 61 days. Its PropertyIQ Score of 5 sits below the state average of 50, marking a market positioned to lag its state over the next three years.
PropertyIQ tracks the Portland, OR housing market through two complementary lenses: price momentum from Zillow home-value trends over 3 and 12 months, and demand pressure from how quickly homes sell and how often sellers cut prices, drawn from Realtor.com. The PropertyIQ Score distills these into one number that predicts how this OR market is set to perform against its state benchmark.
Pacific Coast housing markets feature the nation's highest price points alongside strong wage growth from technology, entertainment, and trade sectors. Supply constraints from geographic barriers and regulatory environments create persistent affordability challenges but also strong long-term appreciation potential. Within the Pacific, Portland, OR's PropertyIQ Score of 5 runs below the Pacific norm.
For the Portland, OR market, PropertyIQ calculates a single score each month from four inputs: twelve-month Zillow home-value momentum, three-month Zillow home-value momentum, median days on market from Realtor.com, and the Realtor.com price-reduced share. The score is computed nationally across all metros and calibrated so 50 equals the state average. Across the validation history, metro markets in the top score band have outperformed their state by roughly 1.7 percentage points more per year than bottom-band markets. Momentum here has been positive, with home values up 0.9% over the past year.
Explore the interactive map to see how Portland, OR compares to neighboring metros, or view the full market dashboard for detailed analytics including time-series trends, score breakdowns, and AI-generated market reports.
Counties in the Portland, OR metro area
ZIP codes in the Portland, OR metro area
View all 118 →Top markets in OR
Market data through August 2026. Sourced from Zillow, Realtor.com, Redfin, U.S. Census Bureau, FRED, BLS, and BEA. Per-statistic source and date shown above.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Portland, OR a good place to buy real estate in 2026?
PropertyIQ doesn't label markets simply good or bad. Instead, the PropertyIQ Score measures a market's demand momentum against its own state, where 50 marks the state average. Portland, OR currently scores 5, a very weak-momentum reading that leaves it positioned to lag its state over the next three years. For buyers, cooling demand usually brings more inventory, longer sale times, and real leverage to negotiate on price. Backing that up, the median home value here is $543K, up 0.9% over the past year. So whether Portland, OR is right for you comes down to your goals: a rising-momentum market can favor long-term appreciation but offers less room to negotiate, while a cooling one hands buyers more leverage. Treat the score as a timing signal to weigh alongside your budget, holding period, and plans for the property, not a verdict on the market's quality.
What is the PropertyIQ Score for Portland, OR?
Portland, OR's PropertyIQ Score is 5, indicating very weak momentum on a 1-to-99 scale. The score distills four transparent inputs into a single number: Zillow home-value momentum over the past 12 months, Zillow home-value momentum over the past 3 months, the median days homes spend on the market from Realtor.com, and the share of listings with a price cut, also from Realtor.com. Rising values and faster sales push the score up, while slow sales and frequent price cuts pull it down. The scale is calibrated so 50 equals the state average, meaning a score above 50 predicts the market will outperform its state over the next three years and a score below 50 predicts underperformance. PropertyIQ computes the score across every US market nationally, then recenters it against each state, so 5 places Portland, OR below its state benchmark.
Are home prices in Portland, OR rising or falling?
Home prices in Portland, OR are rising. Over the past year, the median home value increased 0.9%, reaching $543K. Over the latest three months, values slipped 1.4%, a sign near-term demand is softening. PropertyIQ derives these figures from Zillow's home-value index, which tracks the typical value across the market rather than only the homes that happened to sell, giving a steadier read than a raw median sale price. Both the 12-month and 3-month momentum readings feed directly into the PropertyIQ Score, so this price trend is one of the core signals behind Portland, OR's current score. Keep in mind that appreciation can vary widely by neighborhood and price tier across the metro area, so treat these figures as the market-wide baseline rather than a guarantee for any single property.
How quickly do homes sell in Portland, OR?
In Portland, OR, homes sell in a median of 61 days from listing to pending sale, based on Realtor.com market data. Median days on market is one of the clearest real-time reads on local demand: when homes move quickly, buyers are competing and sellers hold the advantage, while lengthening timelines signal cooling interest and more room to negotiate. Alongside sale speed, about 31% of active listings here have taken at least one price cut — a complementary demand gauge, since a rising share of reductions often precedes slower sales and softer prices. Both median days on market and the price-cut share feed directly into the PropertyIQ Score, where faster sales and fewer cuts push the score higher. As a general guide, medians under about 30 days indicate a brisk, competitive market, while medians well beyond 60 days point to buyers regaining leverage. Actual time on market still varies by price band, property type, and season, so treat the median as a market-wide baseline.
How current is this metro area data?
This Portland, OR market data is refreshed on a monthly cycle, with the latest figures current through August 2026. PropertyIQ ingests fresh data every month from a range of authoritative sources: home values and rents from Zillow, days on market and price-cut activity from Realtor.com, additional housing signals from Redfin, demographic and housing-stock data from the U.S. Census Bureau, mortgage and macroeconomic series from FRED, and employment figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The PropertyIQ Score itself is recomputed every month once the new source data lands, so the score and its four underlying inputs always reflect the most recent complete reporting period rather than a static snapshot. Because official housing data is typically released with a short lag, the current-through date usually trails the present by a few weeks, which is normal across the industry and not a sign the data is out of date.