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Latest Real Estate News – November 3, 2026

By Tim Penner · Penner Group Properties · November 3, 2026

A quiet suburban street in the Portland metro on a crisp November morning, with craftsman and mid-century homes, bare maples scattering amber leaves, and low golden light

The November 3, 2026 Edition · Portland Metro & the Willamette Valley

The Short Version

Election Day arrived with mortgage rates easing for a second straight week: the average 30-year fixed mortgage is 7.24% for the week of October 29 per Freddie Mac, down from 7.32%, with the 10-year Treasury near 4.91%. The national data kept showing a cooling but orderly market, NAR's pending home sales index fell to a record-low 66.0 in September, and Cotality's November 3 report put September prices essentially flat month over month. In the Portland metro, the latest full report still reads $545,000 median, flat year over year, with 4.2 months of supply and homes taking 68 days to sell, while the November update notes buyer traffic down about 15% year over year. Around our towns, the picture is more patient than panicked, and every one of our service areas still has a plan that works at these rates.

We publish a dated news edition here whenever the week's numbers and headlines are worth a plain-English read for buyers and sellers across Beaverton, Hillsboro, Cornelius, Forest Grove, Sherwood, Newberg, Wilsonville, and Woodburn. This edition covers Election Day, the latest rates, the national sales reports, the Portland metro picture, and what each of our communities can expect through the rest of November.

7.24%

Average 30-year fixed mortgage, week of October 29, 2026

Freddie Mac PMMS, down from 7.32% and a second straight weekly decline; next reading November 5

66.0

NAR Pending Home Sales Index, September 2026

A record low, down 7.3% month over month and 11.3% year over year

$545,000

Portland metro median sale price, September 2026

Flat year over year; 4.2 months of supply and 68 days average market time, latest full RMLS report

$575,700

Washington County median sale price, September 2026

Up 0.3% year over year, the county that holds Beaverton, Hillsboro, Cornelius, Forest Grove, and Sherwood

The rate is the Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey reading for the week of October 29; the pending index is NAR's September figure; the market figures are the RMLS-based September 2026 Portland metro and Washington County reports. See the sources at the bottom of this page.

The National Picture: Rates Easing, Sales Slow, Prices Cooling

The week's national headlines split into two stories: mortgage rates drifting down from their October peak, and sales and price reports cooling in an orderly way. Here is what the numbers actually said:

  • Pending sales fell to a record low. NAR's Pending Home Sales Index dropped 7.3% month over month in September to 66.0, its lowest reading on record, down 11.3% year over year, with all four regions declining and the West off 9.2%. NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun pointed at the fast rise in mortgage rates, which averaged about 7.4% for much of September and early October.
  • Existing sales are holding near generational lows. NAR's September existing-home sales ran at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.99 million, up 1.5% from August but down 2.2% year over year, with the median existing-home price at $417,500, up 1.3%. Inventory sat at 1.60 million homes, and annualized sales near 4 million remain softer than any year since the mid-1990s.
  • New home sales eased but builders are still building. New single-family sales ran at a seasonally adjusted 676,000 annual rate in September, down 0.6% from August and 5.3% year over year; the median new-home price was $400,400. There were 476,000 new homes on the market, an 8.4-month supply, the most buildable inventory in years.
  • Home price growth keeps cooling. The Case-Shiller national index rose 2.1% year over year for August, and FHFA's HPI was up 2.4%. Then Cotality's November 3 U.S. home price insights put September national single-family prices up just 1.7% year over year and down 0.3% month over month, the largest monthly decline in years, with the national median above $400,000 and the firm now forecasting annual growth to slow to roughly 0.9%.
  • The rates story for our buyers and sellers keeps easing, for now. The average 30-year fixed mortgage was 7.24% for the week of October 29, a second consecutive weekly decline, and the 10-year Treasury, the benchmark mortgage rates track, closed near 4.91% on November 2, down from its 5.31% early-October peak. The next Freddie Mac reading is due November 5, and the Fed's December 8-9 meeting still looms with markets pricing roughly a 73% chance of a hike.

The honest read: a market settling, not cracking. Sales are slow because affordability is stretched, prices are flat to gently down because inventory grew, and rates eased two weeks running because the Treasury market finally caught its breath. Our note on rates easing to 7.24% walks through the rate math in full.

Portland Metro: September Still Holds, and November Reads Softer

The metro's freshest official report is still September's, and the latest commentary points the same way: a balanced market with more leverage shifting to buyers:

  • September is still the latest full picture, and it reads balanced. RMLS-based figures put the metro median at $545,000, flat year over year and up 0.9% from August, with the average near $630,500, up 2.2%. Inventory reached 4.2 months of supply, the highest of the year, and average market time ran about 68 days, up from 57 in August.
  • The transaction side is slower than the price side. Closed sales totaled 1,752 in September, down 7.9% month over month, and pending sales fell to 1,760, down 12.6% from August and 17.9% year over year, while new listings rose 1.9% to 2,487. Slower does not mean stopped; it means buyers are comparing more homes and negotiating terms again.
  • The November market update reads softer still. The Portland metro's November 2026 update, published late October, reports buyer traffic down about 15% year over year, pending sales down 18%, and prices at their lowest since 2022 after falling more sharply since April, with new-listing levels normal and putting pressure on sellers heading into the holidays. None of it is a crash, but it is the clearest buyer-favorable signal of the year.
  • Washington County, where most of our offices sit, is holding value. The county's September median sale price was about $575,700, up 0.3% year over year, with the metro average around $612,000. Our most active territory is stable at the median even as market time stretches and concessions become common.

For the full walkthrough of September's report, see our note on the market shifting to buyers, and for the seasonal road map, the winter market outlook.

What This Looks Like Across Our Service Areas

The metro median is a useful starting place, but the value of a local team is the local picture. With rates near 7.24% and a possible December hike still on the calendar, here is how the environment plays out in the communities we serve every day:

Beaverton & Sherwood

Washington County stays our most active territory. Beaverton's median sale price measured about $576,000 over the three months ending September, down 1.8% year over year with homes going pending in roughly 33 days, and Zillow's home value estimate sits near $532,000. Sherwood's typical values ride higher, near $631K. Condos and townhomes keep an entry point that full-size houses no longer offer. See what homes cost in Beaverton and our Sherwood spotlight.

Hillsboro, Cornelius & Forest Grove

The westside technology corridor keeps household incomes steady, and it is showing more patience than the metro core: Washington County reporting puts Hillsboro homes at roughly 66 days to sell, against a metro average near 52. Cornelius keeps growing, about 22% since 2020, with new construction such as Sekisui House PNW townhomes and a 230-unit Laurel Crown subdivision moving through the pipeline, and the Cornelius-Forest Grove average sits near $518K. Our Hillsboro, Cornelius, and Forest Grove guides cover the local picture.

Newberg

Wine-country living keeps Newberg a steady blend of commuters and locals, with median sale prices in the low-to-mid $500Ks, roughly $517K to $536K depending on the tracker, and market time near two months. The pace suits sellers who price against current closed comparables and buyers who want room to compare. See our Newberg guide.

Wilsonville & Woodburn

Down I-5, the two ends of the payment spectrum: Wilsonville's median closing price runs about $626,900 across recent closings, with a Zillow home value estimate near $630,800 and homes typically pending in about 26 days, while Woodburn's Zillow estimate is about $424,100, up 0.5% year over year, with typical prices near $429,900. Woodburn keeps drawing first-time and move-up buyers even at 7% rates. See living in Wilsonville and living in Woodburn.

Every one of these communities has its own rhythm, and the full map of our service areas shows the range we cover, from the metro core to the Willamette Valley.

Oregon Policy and Portland's Improving Ranking

Two Oregon items made the week's news cycle, one encouraging and one practical:

  • Portland climbed seven spots in the latest ULI and PwC rankings of U.S. markets for real estate prospects, reported November 2, 2026. It is one data point among many, but after years near the bottom of investor surveys it is the kind of headline that starts conversations, and we will be watching whether it shows up in demand numbers.
  • Oregon's 2026 real estate law changes became official news this week. Senate Bill 1523 updates landlord-tenant law, including a formal definition of a "tenant portal," and the 2026 package also carries new HOA and housing-development rules. Landlords, HOA boards, and buyers of new construction all have small but real changes to learn, and we will unpack the details as the rollout settles.
  • Election Day lands with no housing measures on Oregon's ballot. As our dedicated note explains, the November 3 ballot carries no statewide measures at all, and Portland's only city measure, 26-267, is a budgeting-process proposal, not a housing or rent change. Housing policy this cycle gets set by the races, not the measures.

Our Election Day note covers the ballot, the history, and what the market actually watches after the polls close.

What We Are Watching Next

Three dates sit on the calendar for anyone planning a move in the next six weeks:

  • November 5: the next Freddie Mac weekly rate reading, the first November number on the 30-year fixed.
  • November 18-20: RMLS typically releases its October Market Action Report, the first full picture of October activity for Portland and the Willamette Valley.
  • December 8-9: the Fed's final scheduled meeting of 2026, with markets currently pricing roughly a 73% chance of a quarter-point hike.

For planning purposes, treat the window before December 9 as the period when the current rate environment is most likely to hold. If a transaction works at 7.24%, you are not betting on a correction, you are locking in a workable one.

Sources

The figures in this note come from these public reports and coverage, retrieved November 3, 2026. Monthly payment figures and town-level estimates draw on the sources cited and are the team's own arithmetic, not quotes.

Not sure what this week means for your move?

We track pending and sold data across the Portland metro, Washington County, and the Willamette Valley all month long, and we read the national reports the way you would hope your team does. Call (971) 777-3137, write to Concierge@pennergroupproperties.com, or send a note through the contact page, and we will walk through the rates, the numbers, and your plan, whether you are buying, selling, or just being curious.

Talk to the Team