Bend Premier Real Estate Blog

Is Your Bend Oregon Home Ready for Winter?

For those of us who lived through the winter of 2017 in Central Oregon, we remember how winter weather can be hazardous to your home. When the temperature drops and snow accumulates, having prepared your home can ensure you and your property remain safe and warm throughout the winter.

Here are some of the best tips to get your home ready for winter:

1. Blow out sprinklers and turn the system off.
2. Store hoses in the garage and install covers over your outdoor faucets.
3. Store patio furniture in dry location.
4. Seal cracks around doors and windows.
5. Clean your rain gutters and ensure they are working well.
6. Have your roof and chimney inspected by a professional and the chimney cleaned.
7. Make sure your attic space is sufficiently insulated to help avoid heat loss and ice dams.
8. Have your furnace serviced.
9. Prune your bushes and trees and clean up any yard debris.
10. Drain and refill your hot water heater.
11. Install foundation vent covers and keep them on throughout the winter.
12. Lube your garage door moving parts.
13. Tune up your electrical panel.
14. Clean your dryer vents.
15. If your property has been prone to ice dams in the past, consider installing heating strips on the roof eaves.
16. Line up snow shovels and snow blowers early.
17. Have window scrapers, gloves and snow boots ready to go.
18. Make sure you have sufficient batteries, flashlights and lanterns in the event of a prolonged power outage.
19. When the snow starts falling, keep your roof from accumulating too much snow which can result in ice dams. 

Although heavy snow accumulation in Bend is not a normal occurrence, we have had a couple of exceptional winters in the last few years. Heavy snow can happen again. But by preparing for it ahead of time, the need to mitigate its impact on your home can be greatly diminished and your enjoyment of winter significantly increased.

Lack of Inventory a Big Issue in Bend Luxury Home Sales

As is the case in all of Bend real estate, Bend luxury homes are also suffering from a lack of inventory. Since our last post in July, 2020 exclusively looking at the high end market, Bend homes sales over $1,000,000 on less than an acre have continued to be strong with 106 closed third quarter 2020.  This compares with 40 in 2019 and 31 in 2018. For 2020, the price per square foot on closed sales averaged around $400 with the high just under $800. These prices should rise as more and more demand is made on Bend housing, driving the price of some smaller homes above $1,000,000.

As the chart above shows, Bend home sal...

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Smith Rock is One of Oregon's Most Popular State Parks

If you are planning on seeing one of Oregon's most popular state parks, be sure to get there early.  Smith Rock, located north of Redmond and just east of Terrebonne, is an extremely popular destination for most visitors to Central Oregon as well as those locals just looking to recreate, hike, or rock climb.  The iconic rock formation is credited as being the birthplace of modern American sport climbing and is popular with traditional, multi-pitched and bouldering as well with over 1800 rock climbing routes within the park. Most visitors who are not climbers, will hike on many of the trails scattered around the park, some along the Crooked River and others over the rocks - the most popular being Misery Ridge.

Last Sunday we took a longer hiking route we had never done before - the full 7.5 mile loop around the park which included the Canyon Trail to Wolf Tree to Homestead to Burma Road to Summit Trail to River Trail. The total elevation gain was 1200 feet and we did the hike counter clockwise in order to climb the steep, but not difficult Burma Road which brings you to the high point of the hike early in the day. We arrived at the park before 8 am and already there were many cars parked in the limited parking lot. We paid our $5 park fee and enjoyed the morning hiking. The views after the rain the night before were wonderful and the clean air after the wildfire haze most welcome. The Cascades were hidden behind clouds, but every now and then we could catch a view of one of the peaks scattered with fresh snow. 

At Bend Premier, we are always on the hunt for the next best bite in Bend, and today, we found an absolute gem. Tucked away in the back side of the popular Box Factory above The Old Mill, Valentine's Deli does have some "Seriously Good Sandwiches."

When it comes to vegetarian options, we always look for big flavor and an experience that makes you forget there is no meat. The Sierra sandwich at Valentine's Deli did just that. Each bite was an explosion of flavor and had me going back for more. This sandwich was toasted to perfection, giving a nice aromatic experience before even taking a bite. Featuring sun dried tomatoes, provolone, black olives, pepperoncini, arugula, lettuce, onion, tomato and red wine vinaigrette, this sandwich was packed with so many good flavors that married perfectly. We would highly recommend this sandwich to veggie and meat lovers alike.

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Lack of Inventory Remains the Biggest Issue for Bend Real Estate Sales

This summer has seen some of the biggest increases in Bend home values coupled with the greatest demand. Multiple offers driving home prices up, far more buyers than available properties, and low interest rates have all contributed to our current Bend real estate market in which listings are key to sales.

When September 2020 Bend single family home sales on less than an acre are compared with sales from September 2019, the following changes can be noted:

• Average sales price up 26.6% to $671,559*
• Median Sales price up 25% to $549,950
• New listings up 25.2% to 273
• Available homes for sale down 77.9% to 199
• Pending sales up 126.6% to 494
• Sold homes up 30.3% to 284
• Medium days on market down 72.7% to 6
• Months of supply down 83% to 3 weeks
• Average price per square foot up 16.5% to $303
• Medium pric...

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