Published October 18, 2026 in Market Update

Portland has more sellers than buyers, but some parts still move fast

Here is the one thing every Portland homeowner should know right now. Redfin counted 58.3% more sellers than buyers in Portland in September 2026. That gap shapes your price and your timeline before you list a single photo.

That gap is real. But it is not the whole story. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 2,035 homes sold across Portland in the three months ending August 31, 2026. Sales were actually up 4.1% from the same months of 2025. So homes are still moving. The question is where.

Price cuts are common across the metro

Realtor.com reported that 31.3% of Portland metro listings had a price cut in September 2026. That is nearly 1 in 3 homes. Sellers who price too high are feeling it. The metro median home price sat at $587,750, according to Realtor.com. Mortgage rates are adding pressure too. Redfin reported the weekly average rate hit 7.4% on October 8, 2026, a three-year high. Realtor.com also noted rates surged above 7% for the first time since January 2025.

Speed varies wildly by ZIP code

This is where the city-wide story breaks apart. The Real Estate Data Aggregator tracked how quickly homes went under contract in each ZIP code in the three months ending August 31, 2026. The range is striking. Some ZIPs had more than half of all homes under contract within two weeks. Others sat much longer.

ZIP 97212 led every area the Real Estate Data Aggregator tracked. There, 67% of homes went under contract within two weeks. That share jumped 14 points from the same months of 2025. The median sale price there was $895,000, and homes sold at 103.2% of list price on average. Median days on market was just 6 days.

Some ZIPs are moving slower, and that matters for pricing

Not every part of Portland is quick. ZIP 97209 had a median of 64 days on market in the three months ending August 31, 2026, according to the Real Estate Data Aggregator. Only 12.8% of homes there went under contract within two weeks. Months of supply sat at 7.6, which is well above what most agents call a balanced market. ZIP 97239 also ran slow, at 53 days on market and 20.6% under contract within two weeks.

Where prices rose and where they dipped

Prices did not move in one direction either. The Real Estate Data Aggregator showed some ZIPs with solid gains and others with notable drops in the three months ending August 31, 2026.

ZIP 97218 saw the steepest price drop, down 9.4% year over year. Yet the Real Estate Data Aggregator also shows 50% of homes there went under contract within two weeks, and sellers got 102.7% of list price on average. Prices can dip and demand can still be firm. Those two things can both be true at once.

The rental side of the picture

For anyone watching both markets, Realtor.com put the median asking rent for the Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro metro at $1,578 in September 2026. That was down 2.2% from a year before. The national median for the 50 largest metros was $1,694, also from Realtor.com. Portland rents are running below that national figure.

What this means for you

The city-wide picture, with 58.3% more sellers than buyers per Redfin, is real. But the Real Estate Data Aggregator numbers show Portland is not moving at one speed. ZIP 97212 had 67% of homes under contract in two weeks. ZIP 97209 had 12.8%. Those are not the same market. Your price and your plan should fit your ZIP, not the headline.