As reported by KTVZ News, St. Charles Hospital released the last COVID-19 patient today, leaving no coronavirus patients remaining for the first time in six weeks. The hospital reports their peak hit on April 5th when there were 15 patients admitted because of the virus. In other news, the Oregon National Guard is delivering hundreds of thousands of pieces of personal protective equipment to long-term care facilities across the state. Oregon Governor Brown, along with other west coast governors, have begun drafting plans to cautiously re-open businesses and our economy. All of this is excellent news, although nothing will be happening immediately. Caution rules the day, but there appears to be light at the end of the tunnel.
Generally speaking, there is very little value in comparing home sales from one week to the same week the previous year. In the face of a pandemic, these comparisons have value in indicating sales volume. At this time last year, our market was healthy, the economy and stock market were strong, and nobody was talking about a global virus. Despite the differences, the previous week sold homes totaled 85 compared to 92 last year. The average sale price of a house last week was $632,284 compared to 500k the same week in 2019! Yesterday Congress approved another round of funding to replenish a small-business payroll fund to the tune of $483 billion. The replenished fund, combined with increasingly good news on the virus battle in Central Oregon, should keep home prices firm. The other factor keeping housing prices firm is our low inventory, an issue I have talked about all year. Housing prices look to remain stable for the foreseeable future.
