Hillsboro Year-End Real Estate Market Advisory: Stable Values, Tougher Selling

Hillsboro Year-End Real Estate Advisory (2025): Holding Steady — With Downward Pressure

As I mentioned, every quarter, when I do a deep dive into the real estate market for buying and selling, I am among the most experienced real estate brokers in Greater Hillsboro, Oregon. For four decades plus I have been at the very top of the broekerage rankings and nobody has logged more time in the trenches. This is what I do – the Herald is a passion project, albeit one that eats up much of my off-business hours. So when it comes time to offer a market report, I feel pretty qualified to share how the year went and where we are headed as a community when it comes to buying or selling homes, land, and investment properties. For me, it was another busy year helping dozens of clients sell and buy real estate in the Hillsboro area. This year, I sold two churches, a handful of farms and investment properties, handled a few commercial leases around town, and dozens of residential properties. It was a wild year indeed, and my clients did very well overall. But we had to GRIND- the Marketing was more focused, the pricing right on point, and nothing came easy. So now is a good time for me to share with all of you where we are as a real estate market and what the numbers show-

The market has had many challenges nationally and here locally too.

Year-End Market Real Estate Market Report for Hillsboro, Oregon-

Hillsboro closes out 2025 in a market that’s neither booming nor breaking. The data shows a clear theme: prices are mostly flat-to-slightly down, inventory is improving in the bigger picture, and buyers are taking more time—forcing more price cuts and negotiations to get deals done.

The national backdrop: “more supply, slower market.”

Nationally, 2025 was a year of normalization. Active listings rose meaningfully (Homes.com cites 1,302,638 active listings in November, +17% Year Over Year), while price growth cooled. The Nation’s hottest website for 2025 was Homes.com, where I advertise the listings I represent in addition to Redfin, Zillow, and Realtor.com- not ot mention many others. Homes.com did an excellent deep dive into the National report.

At the same time, existing-home sales remained muted: NAR reported 4.13 million homes sold in Nov 2025, with a national median existing-home price of $409,200 and 4.2 months of supply. National Association of REALTORS®+1

Mortgage rates did ease, but stayed high enough to keep affordability tight: Freddie Mac’s weekly survey put the 30-year fixed at 6.18% (Dec 24, 2025). Freddie Mac

Oregon: flat prices, more listings, fewer sales

Statewide, Oregon is basically the definition of “holding its own.” The Oregon REALTORS/RPR November report shows:

Listings: 19,075 (+7.4% Year Over Year)
Sales: 3,184 (-12.7% Year Over Year)
Median sales price: $500,000 (+0.3% Year Over Year)
Inventory: 5.03 months (with 6 months noted as “balanced”) Ow.ly

That’s a steady-price market with soft demand pressure (sales down) and more choice (listings up).

Washington County: slightly down on price, slower pace

Washington County’s closed-sale trend (Redfin, Nov 2025) shows a mild cooling:

Median sale price: $550,000 (-3.5% YoY)
Average days on market: 52 (up from 37 last year)
Homes sold: 530 (up from 509 last year) Redfin

So: more time, more negotiating, and a modest price dip year-over-year.

Hillsboro: stable-ish on price, slower to sell — and sellers are cutting

A LOCAL EXPERT’S TAKE on Hillsboro, Oregon, relative to real estate sales.

2025 was the year we saw thousands of Intel employees who were laid off in 2024 and 2025 needing to exit the valley. We also lost hundreds of other jobs here in Hillsboro.
Thousands of people lost their jobs, and predictions of a market crash persisted on social media.
Adding to that is the very real threat of ICE disruption- hundreds of arrests this year have led to business retractions and disrupted homes, families, and businesses.
Key point: With those two downward pressures, high interest rates, and hundreds and hundreds of new homes still being erected in South Hillsboro, this market should have taken it on the chin…. but it didn’t.
That speaks volumes to the quality of life here in our communities.
- People are leaving Portland (thousands per year), and many of them are coming here for the schools, the parks, the affordability (Property Taxes are 30% lower), lower crime, and overall livability.

We have given some ground, but not very much, and the numbers prove that out. Lower rates, should they come into the low 5% range, will drive buyers back into the market to some extent. If we see job growth, which is unlikely to be robust in this economy in Oregon, the market will take off again. Predictions of a 30% correction have not yet materialized, and it is unlikely they will. Remember, this market we have now was built on 3% interest rates, and many sellers are choosing not to sell because they do not have to.

On the closed-sale side (Redfin, November 2025):

Median sale price: $499,960 (~$500K) (-3.9% Year Over Year)
Average days on market: 46 (up from 38 last year)
Homes sold: 89 (down from 95 last year) Redfin

On the active-listing side, Altos Research, which has the best data in my view, shows this snapshot as of Dec 27, 2025:

Chicago Title provides brokers and buyers a very focused market look and a carefully calculated Market Action Index- you can see that entire report right here!

Highlights:

Median list price: $595,000
Market Action Index: 38 (up from 36 last month)
Inventory: 148 in total for Zip Codes 97123 and 97124
Median days on market: 102 (avg 130)
Price decreased: 52% (price increased 1%)

Oregon Heritage Farms Sold By Dirk Knudsen, Broker — One of my favorite properties I sold this year was Oregon Heritage Farms in Scholls (OR), just outside Hillsboro. This legacy farm will live on to produce food for 1000s of local families!

Here’s the key interpretation: Altos’ Market Action Index is designed as a quick “buyer vs seller” read—Altos notes that above 30 indicates demand is relatively robust (seller market). Altos Research+1

But that must be tempered by the fact that the Hillsboro details also show a 102 median Days On Market (DOM) and 52% of all listings used price cuts to get the home to sell—which is precisely what Altos regularly flags as a sign of demand resistance: when offers are scarce at the asking price, more sellers reduce prices to find the market. Altos Blog+1

Bottom line: Hillsboro is seller-leaning in structure (limited supply), but buyer-driven in execution (longer market times and widespread price cuts). That’s what “holding steady with downward pressure” looks like. We, as brokers, are capable of very accurate pricing. Sellers need to listen to brokers and carefully review comparable sales; only sales from the past 3 or 4 months should be used. Too many brokers agree to “try the market” at the seller’s desired price, and the result? Homes will sit, and buyers will not respond.

The Hillsboro, Oregon real estate market in 2025 did not gain any ground– there was no measurable upside. But there was minimal, if any, reduction in value. In fact, I dove even a little deeper and looked at the average price per square foot that homes are selling for.
The facts are that the higher-priced homes lost more value than those in the middle and lower price sectors.
The market is active, but with more and more buyers focused on townhomes, older homes, and smaller, newer homes.
The RPR Report for December shows the Median cost per square foot for a home was $301, up 1.3% from December.
The number of properties for sale was down 15.2% but that is a Holiday event every year.
We also see that the Median Living Area Square Footage is falling. Buyers are buying lower-priced homes but are willing to live with less space.

RPR-NAR puts out great data and charts, and you can find their reports right here- https://www.narrpr.com/market-trends/54134100

In the following graph, you will see;

The number of homes that sold in November was down from October- again, that is the holiday adjustment.
The average price of the homes that sold was 99.47% of the asking price; this does not account for internal credits that buyers and sellers are negotiating, which is money the seller gives off the price for closing costs, loan fees, brokerage fees, etc.
On the far right-hand side, you will see that the average days on the market were significantly lower in November, which is tightening the housing supply.
According to RPR, there are now 2.89 Months of homes for sale on the market. Based on the sales we have seen month to month, this could be an indicator of strength- we will know more on this as soon as January gets going!

What this means right now

If you’re selling in Hillsboro

You can’t “wish-price” it. With so many listings cutting, pricing correctly up front matters more than ever. (The market is rewarding well-priced homes and punishing “just-try-it” pricing.)
Plan for negotiation: credits, rate buydowns, repairs, and realistic concessions are back in the toolkit—especially with rates still in the 6% range. Freddie Mac. As I stated at the top of the story, my sellers had to give up some things to get their prices, and the buyers understand now that they can ask- and they will.
The win: Homes are still selling, and prices are not collapsing—Hillsboro is hovering around ~$500K median sold even after a soft year-over-year dip. Redfin

If you’re buying

Time is your friend again. Days on market are up, and price reductions are common—meaning you can negotiate without the “panic bid” dynamic. But you’d best pay attention. Homes do not sit forever, and when things take off again, you will be on the outside looking in. Stay active and in the hunt- the best homes are getting ready to come along, and most sellers will work with you to help you get a sale done. Redfin+1
Watch the gap: Listing-side numbers can stay high while closed-sale medians stay flatter—because the market “clears” through reductions and concessions. This I alluded to up above – the sales prices are reported, but not the concessions. Make sure your buyer’s broker is informing you about these factors and working out the best possible options for you.

The 2026 hinge: rates + inventory – there is no other story

Homes.com’s year-end framing is straightforward: inventory improved in 2025, price growth slowed, and the market is likely to keep grinding rather than snap back—unless rates drop sharply. Homes.com
For now, with rates still around 6.18% at year-end, the most likely path is more of this: steady pricing overall, but downward pressure on anything priced above the comps. Freddie Mac+1

Closing Thoughts-

Here in Hillsboro, I think 2026 looks the same as 2025 unless something drastically changes. Rates might make it into the mid 5% range- sales will continue at a steady pace, prices will stay flat, and perhaps creep down some.

If you are selling, price to sell within 30-60 days, and openly discuss what you are willing to offer for the buyer’s closing costs and concessions. You will sell. Also, remember that wherever you are moving to may have a similar market, and your buying power is greater than before.
If you are buying, you will have more choices. Get a good broker, get prequalified, and get in the game. The “A” houses and properties will sell fast- those gems with the right locations and features- even in a more challenging market, they sell first. Get educated on the many benefits of owning a home, and know the comps- your broker can build a complete model of how to master this market.
- Buyers – you also need a Broker, so hire a great one and find one who will work with you on commissions. I charge only 1% to represent buyers, and in 90% of cases, I am paid by the seller once we negotiate a deal.

Best of luck to everyone in 2026. If you are working on a real estate transaction, this market report should help you understand our Market!