For many years we have tracked Bend real estate trends and have consistently watched home prices rise year over year. Since coming out of the housing recession in 2011, Bend median home prices have risen over 465% from a low of $165,210 in December, 2010 to a high of $775,000 in March of 2022. When the Covid-19 pandemic hit, the rate of Bend home price increase accelerated to over 75% in three years. This rate of increase was unsustainable and since reaching their high last summer, Bend home prices have fallen.
February 2023 was the first month which saw a year over year price reduction in Bend homes. When February 2023 Bend single family home sales on less than an acre are compared with those from February 2022, the following changes can be seen:
When we study Bend real estate sales in 2022, we can state with confidence that the first six months were very different that the second half of the year. The first half of the year was a continuation of what was seen in 2021, with Bend single family home sales greatly impacted by lack of inventory and relatively low interest rates. It was an extremely strong sellers' market with multiple offers and contingency waivers a normal occurrence. However, the second half of the year was highly influenced by rising mortgage interest rates with these more than doubling in just a few months - something that had never happened before in the country's history. The high mortgage rates changed the buying power of potential Bend homebuyers, and the sales of
As we published last month, the Bend real estate market is in transition. The steep rise in mortgage rates and continued home price increase has impacted Bend homebuyers to the point where home sales have slowed beyond normal seasonal levels. It is as if the brakes have been hit and all onboard are bracing for an impact. What that eventual impact will be remains to be seen.
When October, 2022 sales of Bend single family homes are compared with those from October, 2021, the following changes can be noted:

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...