The average sale price of a home in the Portland area broke the $400,000 mark in May, rising to $402,500, according to the latest report from the Regional Multiple Listing Service.

It's the first time the number has reached such heights, said Dustin Miller, a broker with Realty Trust Group who closely follows the numbers each month. The median sale price -- with half costing more and half costing less -- crossed the $350,000 barrier, increasing to $354,500 in May, the report found.

Inventory remained very low last month, not budging from the 1.4 months posted in April. The figure estimates how long it would take for all current homes on the market to sell at the current pace. Six months indicates a balanced market.

"Low supply [and] high demand raises prices," Miller said. "Easy math for Econ 101."

Lennox Scott, chief executive at John L. Scott Real Estate, said in an email that his firm is seeing 60 percent of homes coming onto the market sell within 30 days - "many within the first week," he added.

"A healthy/normal market would have 30 percent selling in the first 30 days," Scott said. "Price appreciation continues, especially near job centers, where homes coming on the market are snapped up instantly by the backlog of buyers."



As happened the month before, the ultra-low inventory slowed the pace of sales in May compared to the same month in 2015. The 2,896 closed sales in the region last month marked a 10.9 percent monthly increase over April but reflected a 1.6 percent annual decrease from May 2015.

-- Luke Hammill

lhammill@oregonian.com

503-294-4029

@lucashammill