
Ask any real estate agent across the country about the current state of the market, they will tell you things have changed dramatically since earlier in the year. Ask a Bend Premier Real Estate Broker about the local market, they will tell you that it is as if the brakes have been hit stopping a jet plane. The fed's increase in interest rates is being done to curtail inflation. When it comes to the housing industry, this tightening is working. Bend home sales are falling, days on market are rising, yet home prices are still up. Mortgage interest rates are now approaching 7% for a 30 year fixed, a figure which hasn't been seen since 2002. Each percentage increase in interest rates reduces homebuyer's buying power by 10-12%. As the number of pending...
We have been tracking Bend single family home sales for many years, looking at the trends, how home prices rise or fall, what the changes are in price per square foot, median and average sales price, months of inventory and days on market. We have consistently compared one month to the same month the year previously in order to follow the long term changes instead of potential anomalies that can occur over a short time period. We have watched and recorded that happened to the Bend home market when the market crashed with the housing recession. And we have watched and recorded the latest changes that happened when the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent stay-at-home orders made Americans realize that home meant a whole lot more than it had in the past & lifestyle was more important than an easy commute to the office.
Sometimes, however, it is good to look at the trends over many months to get a...
As we have been writing for several months now, the Bend Oregon real estate market is definitely changing. Mortgage interest rates have risen impacting the buying power of would-be homeowners, especially first time home buyers. The buying frenzy experienced in 2021 is gone and the inventory levels of available homes are growing. The days on market of active listings are rising, but so are home prices when compared with the year before. However, the trend lines over the past few months are showing a softening in the market with over 254 price reductions in the past week for all Central Oregon listings. When the market softens, those properties priced well as perceived by buyers are those that sell first.
As we have been writing for several months now, the Bend Oregon real estate market is definitely changing. Mortgage interest rates have risen impacting the buying power of would-be homeowners, especially first time home buyers. The buying frenzy experienced in 2021 is gone and the inventory levels of available homes are growing. The days on market of active listings are rising, but so are home prices when compared with the year before. However, the trend lines over the past few months are showing a softening in the market with over 254 price reductions in the past week for all Central Oregon listings. When the market softens, those properties priced well as perceived by buyers are those that sell first.
We have been blogging monthly about Bend real estate trends for many years. Often the data repeats itself month after month and it can feel a bit repetitious. However, since the beginning of 2022, we have noted changes with Bend home sales trends. There may be many things that are contributing to these changes - i.e. inflation, rising mortgage interest rates, the end of the Covid pandemic mask mandates and stay at home orders, the war in Ukraine, and the start of the mid-year election season to name a few. It remains to be seen whether or not these changes will continue as we move into the Bend's peak selling season which runs from mid spring into early fall.
When April 2022 Bend single family home sales on less than an acre are compared with those from April 2021, the following changes can be seen: