Central Oregon Real Estate Sales Feeling Impact of Covid-19 Pandemic

The March 2020 real estate trends have been published and they reflect both the start of the Covid-19 pandemic and the closings from strong February home sales. Central Oregon schools shut down Friday, March 13th and stay at home became the norm the following week.  Since the start of the pandemic, home sales have dropped, new listings have slowed, and more sale fails than normal have occurred, often due to buyers losing jobs and no longer qualifying for loans.  However, Central Oregon real estate sales are still happening, although at a different rate than normal for this time of year.

Bend Home Sales Mixed

When March of 2020 is compared with March of 2019 for the sales of

Lack of Inventory Impacting Bend Real Estate

A mild winter and continued high demand has led to a boom for February 2020 home sales in Bend. When the February 2020 sales of Bend single family homes on less than an acre are compared with February 2019, the following changes can be noted:

• Homes for sale down 36.7% to 252*
• Homes sold up 17.6% to 127
• Homes pended up 51% to 219
• Average price per square foot up 7.3% to $265
• Average days on market up 10.1% to 131
• Sold/Original listing price difference percentage unchanged
• Average active price up 13.2% to $771,000
• Average sold price up 11.7% to $564,000
• Months of inventory  down 46.1% to 2

Bend Home Sales Not Following Normal Trends

Winter is typically a slower time

Bend Home Sales Surging

The Bend real estate market has been strong since coming out of the recession.  However, the figures from January 2019 were beyond expectations with the number of new ratified sales contracts hitting new highs.

When January 2019 is compared with January 2018, the following trends can be noted for Bend single family residences on less than an acre of land:

• Homes for sale were down 29.6% to 269*
• Homes sold up 3.1% to 131
• Homes pended up 24.6% to 177
• The average price per square foot on sold home was up 6.1% to $259
• The days on market were up 1.6% to 130
• The sold/original listing price difference was up 1.1% to 96%
• The average active price was up 5.8% to $752,000
• The average sold price was up 6.7%

Bend Home Sales 2019 Show More of the Same

As we move from 2019 to 2020, it is always good to look back and see how the sales from one year may affect the next. For Bend Real Estate in 2019, the trends provided more of the same with lack of inventory impacting home prices, days on market and closed sales.

When the 2018 figures from Bend single family homes sales on less than an acre are compared with those from 2019, the following can be seen:

• The numbers of homes offered for sale were down 17.2% from 396 to 328 at the end of the year
• The numbers of homes sold were down 4.2% from 2452 to 2352
• The number of homes pended were down .8% from 2417 to 2397
• The average days on market were unchanged at 103
• The sold/original listing price

A Surprising Number of New Bend Home Sales in November

Traditionally as the weather cools and we move toward the end of the year, Bend home sales decrease. There are fewer buyers actively looking for homes in the winter and the holiday celebrations of most families impact real estate sales.

This year, however, there has been a large uptick in the number of Bend homes which went into contract during November.  When Bend single family home sales in November 2019 are compared with those from November 2018, the following changes can be noted:

• The number of homes for sale are down 10.5% to 408*
• The number of homes sold are down 1.8% to 167
• The number of homes pended are up 23.6% to 183
• The average price per square foot on sold homes is up

Bend Home Prices Still Going Up

Will the top of the market come anytime soon?  We are often asked that when we work with buyers. The Bend Oregon real estate market has been strong since coming out of the recession and prices have risen yearly since 2011.  2019 has followed the trend with Bend home prices up each month over the same time frame in 2018. Extremely low inventory persists and the demand for Bend homes remains high.

The real estate data on Bend Oregon single family home sales for October 2019 have been published and the following changes can be noted when compared with October 2018:

• Bend homes for sale down 5% to 480*
• Bend homes sold down 1.8% to 221
• Bend homes pended up 21.4% to 221
• Days on market unchanged at 103

Central Oregon Cities Show Varied Growth

Out of area buyers often think of Bend exclusively when they consider moving to Central Oregon. However, Central Oregon has several towns and small cities, all with their own urban "vibe" and lifestyle.  Bend is by far the largest town with its population now pushing 100,000. However, Redmond has been a great neighbor to Bend with home prices considerably less than the larger city to the south. 

Besides Bend and Redmond, Sisters offers both a closer location to the western half of the state plus a more intimate small town feeling, permeated by seasonal tourist traffic from nearby Black Butte Resort and such renowned festivals as the Sisters Quilt Show and the annual rodeo.

Prineville, Central Oregon's

Bend Real Estate Prices Still Increasing

The September, 2019 data has been published and the price for a Bend single family home on less than an acre is still going up.  Although September is traditionally among Bend's biggest months for price reductions when sellers whose property did not sell during the summer lower the asking price to hopefully get a buyer before winter hits, Bend home sales in September 2019 still reflect higher prices than the same month a year before.  When Bend single family home sales on less than an acre in September 2019 are compared with September 2018, the following trends can be noted:

• Homes for sale down 6.7% to 556*
• Homes sold up 8.7% to 212
• Homes pended up 9.7% to 214
• Days on market down 4% to 95

Bend Oregon Home Prices Up

The Bend real estate market continues to be impacted by a limited supply of inventory, rising prices and changing seasons. August 2019 was a strong month for Bend home sales and we believe the lack of summer forest fires may have impacted our market positively.

When August 2019 is compared with August 2018 for Bend single family residential sales on less than an acre, the following trends can be noted:

• Homes for sale down 5.5% to 585
• Homes sold down 5% to 248
• Homes pended up 4.1% to 229
• Average price per square foot up 4.3% to $266
• Average days on market down 4.4% to 86
• Sold/original listing price difference is 0
• Average active home price is up 2.9% to $681,000
• Average sold price is up 7.1%

Bend Home Prices Keep Rising

The July 2019 figures are out and Bend single family home prices continue to go up while closings are down.  However, homes in pending contracts have had a huge increase over the year before.  When July 2019 is compared with July 2018 for Bend single family homes on less than an acre, the following changes can be seen:

• Homes for sale down 6.1% to 604*
• Homes sold down 1.6% to 239
• Homes pended up 28.3% to 263
• The average price per square foot for sold homes up 4% to $261
• The average days on market down 5.3% to 90
• The sold/original listing price difference is unchanged at 98%
• The average active price is up 4.9% to $686,000
• The average sold price is up 9.2% to $544,000
• The months of inventory