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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW October days break heat records in Medford ... Another wolf makes its way into Southern Oregon ... Our View: Let Medford voters decide on marijuana sales ... October days break heat records in Medford ... Another wolf makes its way into Southern Oregon ... Our View: Let Medford voters decide on marijuana sales ... HOME SALES Jackson County real estate demand up, supply down Current scenario sets the stage for spike in prices Comment By Greg Stiles Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Greg Stiles Mail Tribune Posted Jun. 4, 2015 at 12:01 AM By Greg Stiles Mail Tribune Posted Jun. 4, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Social News The local real estate market is heating up, but agents say they are running low on homes to sell. Southern Oregon Multiple Listing Service reported Jackson County's inventory of homes on the market declined at the end of May by 7 percent, year over year, following a 4.1 percent decline in April. Coupled with low mortgage interest rates, the scant selection continues to push median prices higher. The county's median sales price for a three-month period ending May 31 was $225,000, up 10.3 percent over the same period in 2014. Springtime sales activity, meanwhile, accelerated 13 percent, with 608 sales compared to 537 for a similar period in 2014. There are multiple reasons for the lack of properties on the market, agents said, and the problem won't likely go away anytime soon. "There are people who have thought about selling, but they're not seeing what they want to buy," said John L. Scott Real Estate broker Terry Rasmussen. "I hear that a lot. In order to have an abundance of inventory, you need an abundance of houses. If the same people are buying and selling and moving around from one house to the next, it doesn't create any more inventory." Investors snapped up scores of houses from 2008 to 2011, during the economic downturn, before normal market conditions began returning. Those rentals provide good cash flow and return on investment, creating little enticement to flip houses. That has crimped both the sales and rental markets. "I get a couple of emails a day from agents saying they are struggling to find any place to rent for their clients," Rasmussen said. "They can't find a short-term rental or anything." Colin Mullane, of Full Circle Real Estate in Ashland, said a lack of inventory keeps the heat on prices, which have seen double-digit gains for months. "There are definitely more buyers than sellers right now," Mullane said. "The pent-up demand is several years old. The buyers who were absent from the market between 2008 and 2012 are looking. We're seeing buyers who either couldn't or wouldn't move when prices were crashing." Another factor, he said, is related to a broader national trend. Historically, home owners moved every seven years, but that figure is stretching out to nine or 10 years now. "With sustained lower interest rates, sellers have been more inclined to stay put and refinance at a lower rate," he said. Although new construction has generally been restrained in size and price when builders do create a subdivision, they likely acquired lots when they were at a low point. "A builder can sell a dozen houses at $175,000 and recoup his money in six months rather than 18 months at a higher price," Mullane said. "He would rather sell fast and move on to the next project." That, of course, can keep owners of existing homes, who were hoping to sell closer to $200,000, from putting their home on the market, he said. There just might not be the motivation to sell for many homeowners, suggested Sue Saunders, an agent with Windermere Van Vleet in Medford. "If you don't have a job transfer, or total relocation, and there's nothing on the market you want, why move?" Saunders said. "There is fear of the unknowns, too," she said. "I was talking to a construction guy and he said in the '90s when people thought it was too expensive to move, they just decided to remodel." Reach reporter Greg Stiles at 541-776-4463 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GregMTBusiness , on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/greg.stiles.31 , and read his blog at www.mailtribune.com/EconomicEdge . By Greg Stiles Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Greg Stiles Mail Tribune Posted Jun. 4, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. 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