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Real estate sales cooled, but prices continued to rise in 2017 in Portland’s residential market as eager buyers snapped up available homes, according to newly released year-end data.

The historically low inventories of recent years eased in 2017. Portland was one of only four large markets in the U.S. that added to its homes inventory last year, according to Realtor.com data published by The New York Times.

鈥淚 would characterize it as one of the strongest markets we’ve had in years in terms of growth and price appreciation,鈥� said Edward Petrossian, president of the Portland Metropolitan Association of Realtors and a broker for RE/MAX Equity Group.

Closed sales fell 3.6 percent year over year, according to RMLS, a real estate listing service. Sales slipped precipitously in December, down 10.3 percent compared to December 2016.

Home prices continued to appreciate in 2017, according RMLS’ year-end data. The median home price rose 9 percent to $379,900, up from $347,000 in 2016.

New listings jumped in December, with 1,617. It was the strongest December showing for new listings since 2011.

Portland ended the year with 1.6 months of inventory, still far below what industry experts consider a balanced market. Homes had little trouble selling in 2017: They spent an average of 50 days on the market, down from 62 days in 2016.

The RMLS data cover the Portland-metro area, including Tigard, Hillsboro, Gresham, Troutdale, Beaverton and other suburbs.

New construction is making an impact, with homes coming online in areas such as Cornelius, West Linn, Oregon City and Gresham, Petrossian said.

鈥淣ew construction is coming on very strong, and I expect to see more this year,鈥� he said.

That’s in line with national trends, said George Ratiu, managing director of housing and commercial research for the National Association of Realtors.

鈥淥ur expectation is that inventory, nationally speaking, will increase in 2018, in part because we expect builders to ramp up production of new homes,鈥� Ratiu said. 鈥淗ow much remains to be seen because consumers have obviously been driving the demand side.鈥�

Higher inventory levels in Portland are reflected by slowing population growth, Ratiu said. Although still healthy, population growth in the Portland area slipped to 1.5 percent in 2016, according to the Census Bureau. Data for 2017 weren’t yet available, but a state economic forecast pegged population growth last year at 1.8 percent.

鈥淧opulation growth in the Portland-metro area 鈥� which had been very, very strong in the early 2000s 鈥� has been slowing down,鈥� Ratiu said.

Meanwhile, home construction has been increasing. Building permits for single-family homes and condos were on track to reach nearly 17,000 by the end of 2017 in the Portland metropolitan statistical area. That compares to an average of 13,200 from 2013 to 2016.

鈥淵ou are returning back to prerecession levels,鈥� Ratiu said. 鈥淚t’s good news. It means the supply is increasing.鈥�