Posts from August 2016

A growing concern with appraisals has impacted Bend OR real estate transactions within the last few months. The concern does not revolve around the value of the property, but instead, whether or not the home can be evaluated by a licensed appraiser within the time allotted within the contract. Changes to lending requirements implemented last October due to federal regulations (i.e. TRID) have extended the timeframe for most home buyers using a loan to purchase their property. Escrow timeframes under TRID have increased from 30 days to 45 on average. Real estate professionals have adjusted to the lengthened timeframe for most property purchases when loans are involved to accommodate TRID requirements. However, the newest problem, just seen within the last few months, involves appraisals. Home values in the Bend real estate market are rising and appraisals, in general, are coming in fine with the value the appraiser assigns to the property. However, the ti...

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Home prices in the Bend real estate market have joined numerous other major cities in surpassing the housing boom peak of 2006-2007. Other major U.S. cities that have set new highs according to CNBC News today include Portland, Seattle, San Francisco, Denver, Dallas, Austin, Boston, Pittsburg, and Charlotte. Bend's average home price May through July, 2016 of $432,000 exceeds the previous high of $429,000 reached in the same months in the peak in 2007*. And with June 2016 marking 50 consecutive months of national price appreciation, the U.S. overall is within just 1.1% of a new national record high.

But the big question everyone is asking, is the Bend real estate market in another housing bubble like the one back in 2007? The answer is yes… and no. While we are experiencing once again the rapid growth...

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Can you imagine a building so tall that you could watch the sunset twice?  At the Burj Khalifa in Dubai you can watch the sunset at the base of the building, then take the elevator to the observation deck on level 148 (highest in the world) and watch the sunset all over again.  Of course it doesn't hurt that the elevators can wisk you to the to the observation deck at 1823 feet in less than a minute.  Currently the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa measures 2717 feet in height (828 meters), including 163 floors above ground, 58 elevators, a 304 room Armani hotel, 6 exclusive restaurants, and 900 residences. It took 6 years, 12,000 workers, and 22 million man hours to complete.  But despite all the amazing technology that went into this masterpiece, the exterior windows are still cleaned the old fashioned way... with a bucket of water and a squeegee. 

For those of us who have lived in Bend over 5 years, we have seen many changes impacting our town. Visually, there are new parks and schools, a 4 year college under construction, new homes being built, and many new cars on the road. But what has truly happened to Bend single family home values over the last 5 years? TrendVision data from Central Oregon MLS provides the following information:

• The average active listing price has gone from $425,000 to $623,000 -  up 46.6%
• The average sold price has gone from $237,000 to $439,00 - up 85.2%
• The months of inventory based on closed sales has gone from 5.6 to 2.4 - down 57.6%
• The price per square foot of sold homes has gone from $123 to $216 - up 75.6%

When July 2011 is compared with July 2016:

• The number of homes avai...

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Anyone who lives in Bend cannot help but be aware that new construction is occurring all over the city. It is hard to find a Bend neighborhood that does not have a new home going up, if not there, then just a few blocks away.

With all the new homes being built, what are the Bend real estate trends that we see? According to TrendVision, data through July, 2016 reflect strong sales in Bend new construction. When comparisons are made to July, 2015, the sales of new homes in Bend are up 26% with the average price per square foot up 28.9% during the same time from $190 per square foot in July 2015 to $245 per square foot in July 2016. The days on market remain unchanged over the same period.

Reflecting a strong sellers' market, the price of new homes in Bend is rising at a greater rate than resale homes.  The average price now in Bend for a new home is $487,000; the same time last year the price was $372,000, an increase of 30.9%. And the inventory remains very tight,...

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