The Bend Oregon real estate market has to do without this broker every Wednesday afternoon because that’s my time with my grandchildren! Today my wife and I took them to our house keepers and she let them ride her pony! Great day!
Here’s a virtual tour if you are interested. http://www.distinctivehometours.com/tour.asp?tour=PonyRide
I have many clients asking me if they should sell their home now in this buyer’s market or wait until “the market comes back?” There is no one answer for this question. It depends on the circumstance of the individuals.
We are advising our younger clients who want to sell their home and buy a larger more expensive home to wait and watch the market. Prices are falling and it looks like they will continue to fall this year and maybe bottom out next spring.
We are advising our clients who are looking to down size and don’t want to wait 5 years to sell now. The person down sizing will loose money if they wait for the market to bottom out and sell in the next year or two.
Assume you own a $500,000 home and want to buy a $300,000 home. If the market goes down another 10% by next spring you loose $20,000 by waiting. Your existing home looses $50,000 where as the smaller home only looses $30,000 in market value.
We have initiated a 90 Day Sales Program to sell homes for our clients and stop the loss of market value. It has been very successful. The statistics show that if a property is priced right and marketed properly it will easily sell within 90 days.
It’s a buyer’s market and there are many homes to choose from. A large part of the Bend Oregon real estate market is over priced but there are still some really good buys out there. We set up our buyer clients on our New MLS Listing Notification program where all new listings and price reductions are automatically e-mailed to them. When a bank repo or a really well priced property hits the market we are the first ones there!
Here are some interesting Internet links about Bend and Central Oregon.
Virtual Tour of Bend Oregon – http://DestinctiveHomeTours.com
Visitor’s Center - http://www.VisitCentralOregon.com
Schools – http://www.Bend.K12.or.us
City Information – http://www.ci.Bend.OR.us
Fishing – http://www.DFW.State.OR.us
Skiing – http://www.MtBachelor.com
Weather – http://www.SRH.NOAA.gov
Private Schools – http://www.CascadesAcademy.org
Birding – http://ecbcBirds.org/
Road Reports – http://www.TripCheck.com
MLS Search - http://bendoregonrealestateexpert.centraloregonrealtors.com/
Bend Oregon Chamber of Commerce – http://www.bendchamber.org/
There are currently 1,723 homes for sale in Bend Oregon that are listed in the MLS. I would guess that 70% of these homes are listed over the current market value. The statistics show that homes that are selling in 60 days or less are selling over 98% of the list price. Homes that are priced right sell fairly quickly.
The homes that were on the market for more that 120 days sold for 94.32% of the list price. What the statistics don’t show is what the percentage of the original list price the homes sold for. We have listed and sold properties that had been previously listed with other Brokers. Some of these homes have sold for as much as 40% of the original list price. 81 homes have sold in Bend within the last 30 days. There are currently 144 pending sales.
| Active: 1723 | Pending: 144 | Sold: 81 | Other: 0 | Total: 1948 |
| Bedrooms | Bathrooms | Square Feet | List Price | Selling Price | Days on Market |
| 0-30 Days | 31-60 Days | 61-90 Days | 91-120 Days | 120+ Days |
Enough statistics! The reality for sellers is that if they price their property at or near market value they can expect it to sell within 90 days. We have a 90 Sales program that has been successful in selling homes quickly in this market.
The reality for buyers is that a new listing that comes on the market and is priced right is going to sell quickly. We’re working with a young couple who have seen three homes that they wanted to buy and they dilly dallied around and all three homes sold to someone else. All three homes were newly listed and sold close to list price.
About 70% of the homes for sale in Bend today are over priced. But there are good buys out there and good buys coming on the market daily. We set our buyer clients up on a New Listing Notification program. Any new listing or price reduction that matches the criteria of the home they are looking for is automatically e-mailed to them.
It’s a good time to buy a home in Bend. There are some really good prices out there. In five years we will all look back and say “Wow! We could have bought that home for $xxx,xxx in 2008!
If you would like to make a comment on this post or on the Bend Oregon real estate market click on “comments” below.
The Bend Chamber was founded in 1926. The mission statement of the Chamber is “To Enhance the Economic Vitality of Bend.” With over 1,550 members, the Bend Chamber is the largest Chamber of Commerce in Oregon and one of the largest in the Northwest.
The Chamber’s roots go deep into Bend’s history. Although there had been business alliances in Bend as early as 1907, the Chamber’s profile began to rise in the 1920s and 1930s as tourists – then as now – began discovering Bend’s ample and unique recreational opportunities. Over the years, the number of Chamber members has grown along with the number of Bend residents.
Some of the Chamber’s earliest members include Miller Lumber Co., Bend Garage, (now Bob Thomas Chevrolet), and the law firm now known as Bryant, Lovlien & Jarvis. All of those businesses still are thriving in Bend.
The Bend Chamber always has been progressive: its first woman president served in the 1960s. She was Irene Bostleman, who ran Carlson Sign Co. after her husband Ted Carlson died. Their son, Peter Carlson, now is president of Carlson Sign Co. and was the Chairman of the Board of the Chamber in 2005.
The Bend Chamber of Commerce supports many businesses including those involved in selling Bend Oregon real estate. You can check out the Chamber’s web site at: http://www.bendchamber.org/
There’s a new listing of a river front cottage in Bend Oregon. It will hit the market officially next week. This cute cottage sits on the rim rock overlooking the Deschutes River in SW Bend. It’s on almost one acre and has a trail down to the river. It also has mountain views! Virtual tour link 
If you’re serious about buying
One of the reasons people are buying homes in Bend is the music. The Les Schwab Amphitheater is where a lot happens. It is a beautiful outdoor riverfront Amphitheater built in the historic Old Mill District in 2001. The Amphitheater was named in honor of a remarkable Central Oregonian, Les Schwab.
The amphitheater will accommodate approximately 8000 patrons for concerts and other events in a casual outdoor setting. All summer long the Amphitheater will present some of the biggest names in entertainment plus free concerts by local and national performers every Sunday.
BB King just finished a concert. Brooks and Dunn will perform on Wednesday, August 6th. Cheryl Crow will be here on Thursday, August 28th. There are many other great artists that will be performing through August. Music is one of the many reasons people live in Bend. You can see the schedule here. http://www.bendconcerts.com/wells-fargo-summer-concerts.shtml
According to the Central Oregon MLS there are 444 vacant homes for sale in Bend. These homes are priced from $155,000 to $3,250,000. This does not include homes on over one acre, town homes or condos.
There are an additional 53 vacant homes for sale on acreage and 118 vacant condos and town homes. That’s a total of 615 vacant dwellings for sale in Bend in the MLS. No one knows how many other homes not listed are sitting vacant.
It’s going to be another year or more before this inventory is sold. Homes are selling right if they are priced right and out of town buyers are still moving to Bend. Now is a good time to buy!
The Bend Bulletin reported a .3% rise in housing prices in the Pacific states from April to May of this year. These states include Oregon, Alaska, California, Hawaii and Washington. They also reported prices were down 14.5% from a year ago. This report was based on a federal House Price Index released Tuesday.
The report did not say how many sales this was based on. I’m sure the number of sales was down substantially from 2007. As previously discussed in this blog real estate statistics can be a tricky thing. Bend’s prices were up in May and June but the statistics were skewed because of the low number of sales and the increase in the sales of more expensive homes.
Take it from a man on the front lines. The Bend Oregon real estate market continues to decline with prices falling. There are 155 short sales on the market along with several bank repos. There are more and more homes coming on the market where the seller has to sell. Homes are selling if they are priced right.
I predict prices will continue to fall until next spring. How much no one knows. There are some good opportunities out there and a nice selection of homes to choose from. It is a good time to buy.
The Bend Oregon real estate market continues to chug along. Prices are still falling. There are now 101 homes on the market in Bend $200,000 or less. The least expensive is a one bedroom 1 bath fixer upper for $115,000. Next in line is a 2 bedroom one bath home for $125,000.
The median priced home is $189,450. Homes in this price range are 3 bedrooms, 2 baths around 1,300 square feet. The average price per square foot is $159.38. There are several newer homes that are bank short sales for $120.77 per square foot. These homes are 3 bedroom, 2 1/2 baths and , 1,656 square feet. They are priced at $200,000.
There is still 100% financing available for those buyers that have substantiated income and a good credit report. Prices may go down some more but interest rates could also go up. Now is a good time to step into a starter home in Bend Oregon.
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