After years of trepidation, homebuyers are finally hitting the housing market. But, as they do, many are making the surprising choice to hunt alone, rejecting the assistance of what's known in real estate as a buyer's agent.

Many experts say this is a bad move — worse, for example, than trying to sell a house without an agent. For one thing, in most cases, a buyer doesn't pay an agent; the buyer's agent splits the commission with the seller's agent, so the services are essentially free to t...

Portland Metro Real Estate Market Report thru August 2013

 Year-to-Date Summary

There have been 19,891 accepted offers and 18,231 closed sales in 2013, up 16.3% from 17,105 pending’s and 18.4% from 15,402 closed sales in the same period last year. The 26,850 new listings so far this year represent a 10.7% increase from the 24,262 entered the first eight months of last year.

Average and Median Sale Prices

The average sales price so far this year is $309,200, up 14.1% from the same period in 2012...