In most areas, the ratio between buyers and sellers remains the same throughout the year.

Oh, no. That's bad news. I think there was more inventory at Christmas.

It appears that I want what everyone else wants. The good news is that I'm an all cash buyer, so if a good house ever appears, I have an advantage. Do people wait for the school year to end before listing? Do they prefer to list when it isn't raining as much?

Do people wait for the school year to end before listing? Do they prefer to list when it isn't raining as much?

People list their house when they have to move. :)

Inventory is always changing, so just keep looking and something will come up!

Portland is now a suburb of San Francisco. I would probably make sure I have a relationship with a very savvy RE agent...someone who may have access to pocket listings or in house listings.

I grew up in Portland but have lived in Chicago for many years. My husband and I always had it in mind to retire there, but that may not happen. Prices are pretty insane there right now and it's hard to tell if it's a bubble. I was just there a few weeks ago and visited a friend in her new home in NE. Not close in and not a great neighborhood. I could not believe what she paid!

As a dedicated real esate browser, in my area there is definitely a bump in inventory in the spring for family homes as families list in April and May for close in July. Not to say the ratio changes, there are probably more buyers at that time as well, but everything heats up. I also notice more houses coming on the market after a sunny weekend when the lawns start to look good. When it rains for weeks on end things seem to slow down, I honestly think sellers are waiting for a nice day to get photos taken.

My area has a definite winter though, and market gets super slow from November through March. I think this is true for much of Canada.

I see there is seasonality in pricing in Portland as well which means sellers are probably waiting for when they know the market is hottest.

http://www.pdxmonthly.com/articles/2016/1/25/an-insider-s-insight-on-portland-s-crazy-real-estate-market

And yes, this monthly report indicates more closings in summer and more listings in Spring. Although it's fairly flat.

http://portlandrealestateexperts.com/portland-real-estate-market-report-december-2015/

I also think that although closings happen year round, the amount of closing in the winter and early spring is a little deceptive. You see that prices take a dive in winter and early spring.

I think what happens is that a lot of what closes in those months is "leftovers" that have been sitting on the market awhile, have severe defects or unrealistic pricing, and need a significant price drop to move. Right now theoretically inventory is high in my city, but there is so much garbage sitting around on the market that's been up for (well, we have a SUPER slow market) but 200 or even 300 days. If a nice quality family home comes up in those months, it's snapped up right away. I see lots of nice homes sold in days. But that quality inventory is severely lacking and buyers are getting a little hairy, like you. If I wanted to sell my house I would absolutely list it right around now because I think buyers would trample a path to my door in desperation.

Yes, there's definitely some bad houses that have been sitting on the market for months. The good thing about having to wait is that I've learned what's hard to sell in Portland. If it's on stilts clinging to the side of a cliff, it doesn't sell. There are also some overpriced flip jobs out there.

What neighborhoods are you looking at? Some have low inventory, and some have practically zero (Sunnyside, Buckman, Richmond, some NW). There seemed to be a moderate amount available in Laurelhurst, Irvington, Grant, as they are more expensive.

I'm a Portlander and I bought a house (after renting here for 5 years) in Jan. after seriously looking for 1 month and moderately looking for 12 months.

The realtors kept saying inventory would increase but it never really did, in my opinion. It's really tight, if no new homes were listed, in about 1-5-1.6 months all the homes would be sold. A realtor told me that a healthy market for buyers would have 6 months of inventory.

You are at an advantage by having cash, for sure! You probably know that most offers in desirable areas are well above asking and have 15-40 offers, and happen within 3-7 days of listing. So there is an 'okay' inventory, but it goes sooo fast, some real estate sites can't keep up!

Because of the fast pace, I went with Redfin. I did my own looking and arranging tours. I couldn't even afford to wait around for the first realtor I worked with to call or email me back to schedule something. I had already missed out by the time we could connect!

We bought in Sabin, and paid waaaay too much for a small fixer we can't afford to fix up (for now, at least!). But it's a great block and people are really turning it around.

There is a trend in Sabin, Vernon, Albina and along the Interstate corridor to buy neglected old homes and fix them up. It's the alternative to A) building new (hard to do here, due to the urban growth boundaries) and B) buying an already nice house in an equally nice neighborhood because there is such little movement there.

Some of these homes are just gorgeous - big old four squares and lots of craftsmans - but they often require cash because the bank won't lend on a leaky roof or whatever.

Yes, it's a major hassle and cost to renovate. But it's cheaper and quicker than waiting around. And a great investment. A house like ours fixed up would sell for $150 more today.

Nothing meets your parameters here- but there is the opportunity to create it! I've obviously been bit by the renovating bug, and totally understand if that's of your cup of tea. Just putting it out there.

Keep us updated!