Residential Highlights. In spite of a prevailing belief that the real estate market is dead, the Realtor's Multiple Listing Service reported that the Portland metro market perked up handsomely in August. With the exception of new listings, all measures improved compared to August 1999 figures. Area Realtors listed 4,262 properties, only 1.0% fewer than in August 1999. Accepted offers were up 3.2%, with 2,629 pending sales reported in August 2000 versus 2,548 in the same month last year. Closed sales were up by 2.5% (2,226 vs. 2,172). And unsold inventory fell to 6.3 months, down from 7.4 months in July and similar to August 1999. Average market time for August sales crept up from 70 to 71 days, with North Portland reporting only (average) 50 days and Canby/Oregon City reporting a sluggish 93 days. Was August just a blip on the screen, or can we predict a fall rally? Read on. . . .

Year-to-Date Trends. With the favorable August numbers, the gap has closed somewhat between activity year to date in 2000 compared to the previous year. New listings lag by 1.7% (34,085 vs. 34,673), accepted offers by 4.0% (18,373 vs. 19,144), and closed sales by 5.7% (16,179 vs. 17,152). Appreciation will be something to watch in the upcoming months. Comparing the 12 months ending August 2000 with the 12 months ending August 1999, there has been a 5.6% increase in average sales price. A year ago appreciation stood at 3.7%. With respect to local areas, we've seen the greatest appreciation this year in the Lake Oswego/West Linn market (14.4%) and West Portland (11.7%). Appreciation has lagged most noticeably in Milwaukie/Clackamas (1.2%) and in Tigard/Wilsonville (2.8%). (For a closer look at how well homes in your neighborhood are appreciating, think to give me a call sometime.)

Will these trends hold through the end of the year? That's dependent on the usual suspects -- interest rates, which are moving favorably lower, and the metro area economy, which some analysts predict has a rosy future. Let's take a closer look at both:

"Study Forecasts Robust Growth In Technology Sector" read the headline in the September 19, 2000 Oregonian. According to an Oregon Technology Benchmarks report, Portland's technology employers expect to add 25,000 jobs in the next three years, "increasing the tech sector's employment base by more than a third and cementing its place as the engine driving the state's economy." The results from the benchmark study were based on responses for 72 technology companies that represent about 45 percent of Oregon's technology workforce.

The rosy forecast replaces some of the pessimism that has surrounded the tech sector in recent months. The sector experienced only modest growth in 1999 as the industry weathered the remnants of the Asian economic flu and the Federal Reserve's lock-step interest rate increases.

Fed Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan appears to be bringing the economy in for some sort of landing after six hikes that raised the all-important federal funds rate to 6.5 percent from 4.75 percent. Manufacturing has cooled, nationwide home sales have tapered off, and stock indices have flattened, among other things. Barring a rally in oil prices, mortgage hunters could see lower rates in the next few months as a result.

Hey, autumn's here. I hope all of you had a great summer and that the coming months are filled with fun, family, friends - and not too much rainfall!