Portland Housing Market: July 2026 Monthly Pulse
July gave us a market that's settling down a bit after a strong spring and early summer. Nothing dramatic happened this month, and that's worth noting on its own. After two years of a market that felt unpredictable, a quiet month is a good sign.
The headline numbers
The median sale price across Portland metro came in at $555,000 in July, down slightly from June's $564,900. That's a normal seasonal pullback, not a warning sign. Compared to July of last year, the median is flat at $555,000. Closed sales tell a more encouraging story: 2,167 homes closed in July, up 8.1% from the 2,005 that closed in July 2025.
New listings held steady too. We saw 3,004 new listings hit the market in July, up 2.5% from last July, though down 5.1% from June as the usual late-summer slowdown set in. Inventory ticked up to 3.3 months, still solidly in balanced-market territory. Homes are moving in about 54 days on average, a day faster than June.
Pending sales dropped 12.5% from June to July, which sounds bigger than it is. Pending sales always cool in mid to late summer as buyers who were house hunting in the spring finish closing and fewer new offers get written. Compared to July 2025, pending sales are down a modest 2.0%.
What's happening by district
This is where July gets interesting. North Portland pending sales rose 8.4% year over year, the strongest showing among the four core districts. NE, SE, and W Portland all posted year-over-year declines in pending sales, ranging from about 7% to 16%.
At first glance that split looks like a warning sign for three-quarters of the city. It isn't, at least not on its own. July 2025 was an unusually strong month for pending activity in those districts, so this year's numbers are being measured against a high bar. A decline against a strong baseline reads differently than a decline against a weak one, and this is the second kind.
North Portland's median sale price landed at $485,000 in July, NE Portland at $525,000, SE Portland at $470,000, and W Portland at $670,000. All four districts remain within a few percentage points of where they stood a year ago on price, even with the pending sales swings.
Year to date, the trend is still up
Looking at the first seven months of 2026 against the same stretch in 2025, new listings are up 0.6%, pending sales are up 4.4%, and closed sales are up 5.0%. Average sale price is up 0.5% and median sale price is flat. None of these are big swings, and that's the point. This has been a year of gradual, steady movement rather than sharp corrections in either direction.
What this means if you're buying or selling
If you're selling, July's numbers support pricing realistically rather than testing the top of the market. Buyers are still active, but they're not going to bid up a home that's priced ahead of where the comps land.
If you're buying, the slight dip in median price combined with inventory holding near 3.3 months means there's a little more room to negotiate than there was in May or June. Homes are still moving in under two months on average, so this isn't a market where you can afford to wait indefinitely on a property you actually want.
If you're watching one of the districts with a pending sales decline this month, don't read too much into a single data point. We'd rather walk through what's actually happening in your specific neighborhood than have you guess from a metro-wide chart.
Read the source data
All figures in this post come directly from the RMLS Market Action Reports for July 2026. You can download each report below.
Navigating a Move to or from Portland?
Whether you are buying first, selling first, or trying to do both at once, the process has more moving parts than most people expect. We work with clients who want to understand their options before making a move.
We follow the Portland market closely because it is the market we work in every day.
If you have questions about what these numbers mean for your specific situation, whether you are thinking about selling, buying, or just trying to understand where things are headed, we are easy to reach.
Kim Campbell, Realtor | PSA, RENE | Licensed Oregon Broker
Francisco Salgado, Realtor | MCNE, EA | Licensed Oregon and Washington Broker
Campbell Salgado Real Estate Group with Soldera Properties
