PORTLAND, Ore. — When the housing market is at its peak, it can contribute as much as 6 percent to the economy.
During a recession, that figure drops by half, according to the New York Times.
Which is one reason that economists track such indexes as the Dow Jones U.S. Home Construction Index. That figure had dropped by some 25 percent last fall, leading the Times and other publications to project that the country is experiencing a housing slump.
Lately, though, that figure has bounced back, indicating that contractors believe more homeowners are ready to buy.
In Portland, such matters can be easily followed with the Business Journal's Heat Index, a quarterly set of rankings based on the number of listings in ZIP codes, as well as median sale prices and days on the market. The measures, compiled by PBJ Data Editor Brandon Sawyer using data provided by the Regional Multiple Listing Service, include areas both within Portland proper as well as several sizzling 'hoods in such locales as Tigard and Beaverton.
All told, 6,712 homes were sold in Portland's 99 metro area ZIP codes during 2019's first quarter for a median sale price of $412,701. Those homes spent a median of 30.1 days on the market.
This year's early figures indicate an 8.5 percent decline in homes sold. Last year's totals, though, didn't include Clark County, Wash.
The average home price in those ZIP codes only grew by 0.1 percent from 2018's first quarter. The average days on the market shrank by 10.4 percent as the pace of home sales increased.
Click through on the slideshow above to learn which Portland areas were, by this measure, the region's "hottest."
The Portland Business Journal is a KGW News partner.
