Courtesy of The Oregonian:

Oregon’s housing market is likely to weather the national housing storm, according to experts who spoke Nov. 29 at the Home Builders Association of Metropolitan Portland’s 2008 Housing Forecast. John Mitchell, a Portland-based economist, columnist and business analyst, predicts

Oregon’s housing market will experience several market corrections in 2008, including declines in construction lending. Those corrections will lead to a smaller industry, he said, as well as tighter credit standards that will make it more difficult for marginal borrowers to purchase a home. But Mitchell said he also expects a strong rebound in 2009. “I’m betting we’re going to make it through this without a recession,” said Mitchell, who has 35 years’ experience in the

Oregon market. “But it’s going to be a different world. It’s going to take time to work through all the pressures of the market. We went through a period that was abnormal. We’re now getting back to something more normal.” Jerry Johnson, a real estate market and regional economic development consultant with Johnson Gardner, and David Ludwig of

Vista Market Intelligence also spoke to the sold-out crowd of 700. “For the past few years, people in housing markets all over the country came to see property as an investment, like stocks,” said David Nielsen, CEO for the HBA. “Housing ‘day-traders,’ buying homes to quickly flip them, are rapidly leaving this market. Housing is returning to what it used to be — buying a stake in your community, a place to call your own. “In 2008, buyers will have great selections and will likely be able to get more for their money than in the past several years,” Nielsen added. “People with good credit will have ample access to loans, and buying a home is going to be fun again.”

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 5th, 2007 at 11:45 am and is filed under NWHomeCenterNews, Oregon Info, PDX Housing Trends, BUYER's Info. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.