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In Portland these days, a half million dollars might get you an average house.

The median price of a single-family home in the Portland-metro area reached $479,100 in February, up 17.7 percent from 12 months previous and 4.2 percent from January, according to RMLS, a listing service.

As the busy spring season begins, historically low inventory and attractive mortgage rates are pushing home prices to new heights. Soaring lumber prices are buttressing the trend, raising the costs of new homes.

Inventory has hovered around one month since fall 2020, sending buyers into bidding wars. About six months of inventory is considered a balanced market.

鈥淲e just listed a property on (March 11), and we had a $70,000-over offer immediately,鈥� said Jessica Tindell, president of the Portland Metropolitan Association of Realtors and principal broker of Tindell & Co. Real Estate and Property Management. 鈥淲e continue to see very aggressive offer structures.鈥�

Some buyers are upping their offers after coming up short, Tindell said.

鈥淭hese are buyers that are writing seven or eight offers and losing out, so each time they get a little bit more motivated,鈥� she said.

Low housing inventory is a widespread problem. U.S. housing inventory during December 2020 was the lowest since the National Association of Realtors began keeping track in 1999.

There could be some relief on the way. The NAR has tracked a rise in housing permits for eight consecutive months.

鈥淭here will also be a natural seasonal upswing in inventory in spring and summer after few new listings during the winter months,鈥� NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun stated in a news release. 鈥淭hese trends, along with an anticipated ramp-up in home construction, will provide for much-needed supply.鈥�

High prices are leading to 鈥渁 lot of really sad buyers,鈥� said Andee Zeigler, a principal broker at Living Room Realty.

鈥淚’ve been doing this 13 years, and this is going on the second year now where it’s really difficult for first-time homebuyers in their 30s, born and raised in Portland, who had dedicated their lives in this community and now they’re ready to buy a home 鈥� and they just can’t,鈥� she said.

The market dynamics are also leading to some risky behaviors by prospective buyers, Zeigler said.

鈥淧eople should not be waiving their inspections entirely, and people should not be waiving their appraisals entirely,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hat’s just super-dangerous.鈥�

In Portland, some homebuilders are responding to demand by providing nontraditional types. In Westmoreland, in Southeast Portland, developer Marty Kehoe is building nine attached townhomes of about 2,700 square feet each. The townhomes, expected to be completed in mid-June, will be priced $800,000 to $900,000 apiece, he said.

Asked why he opted to build townhomes, Kehoe said such a project fit within city parameters for the site.

鈥淲e try not to fight the zoning issues with the city,鈥� he said.

In Sellwood, two homes were completed recently along a narrow residential street, across from a New Seasons grocery store. The project involved renovating the existing early 20th-century homes and adding accessory dwelling units. The homes are on the market for $1.295 million each, an eyebrow-raising sum for the neighborhood.

Some buyers are going into transactions with little knowledge of Portland’s property taxes, which can vary greatly for neighboring lots based on homes’ ages, Zeigler said.

鈥淧roperty taxes on new construction are kind of off the charts,鈥� she said. For a buyer of a new home, 鈥渢hey’re looking at property taxes that are double their neighbor’s 1920s bungalow.鈥�

Mortgage rates have begun to inch up, while remaining low by historical standards. The average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage reached 2.81 percent in February, up from a trough of 2.68 percent in December 2020.