Market News

I am pleased that we can, at last, say that the Oregon economy is expanding. Although this rate of expansion is certainly not at the level that I would like to see, it is now outperforming the U.S. as a whole, which is a promising sign.

Our region’s economy continues to expand but the rate of growth is tapering. This is not surprising, and as long as we can continue to say that our region is growing at a faster rate than the country as a whole, we are in pretty good shape.

The markets covered by this report are seeing their labor forces grow, which is encouraging. More people are either looking for work or have obtained positions. I think that the temporary slowdown that was seen in June is just a blip and that the market will return to positive employment growth as we move through the rest of the summer.

The average home price in Western Washington in the first half of 2014 was $355,335—up by 4.6 percent over the first half of 2013. As is seen in the chart to the right, all but four counties saw average sales prices rise compared to a year ago. Price growth has been tapering over the past year, but remains generally positive.