Bend Oregon Real Estate Prices Escalated During Covid

We typically look at Bend real estate trends based on comparisons each month - seeing what the data shows the same month a year previously.  This has resulted in some startling information, especially when trends over the past year are reviewed. The Covid pandemic impacted the Bend Real Estate market in ways we never anticipated when the initial stay at home orders were given. However, to get a full idea on what has happened to Bend home prices, it is often very helpful to look at a longer timeline. 

Ten years ago Bend was just starting to turn around from the Great Recession in which poor lending practices led to the mortgage melt down. Real estate brokerages' businesses consisted of working with short sales and foreclosures. It was a very strong buyer's market with months of supply well over six months in all prices poin...

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What's in the July 2021 Newsletter?

• How High Can Bend Home Prices Go?
• Sparks Lake
• Your Home in Bend is Likely Worth More Than it was a Year Ago.
• Have You Ever Had a "Contraband Pizza Pie?"

How High Can Bend Home Prices Go??

The sales figures for June, 2021 have been published and Bend home prices continue to rise as demand is still outpacing supply. However, there appears to be a slight softening of the market as we enter July with extreme heat and the normal real estate trends connected with graduation and vacations coming back as the state moves out of Covid restrictions. Whether or not these trends continue have yet to be determined.

Bend Real Estate Costs a Lot More Than It Used To

When comparing June 2020 Bend single family home sales on less than an acre to June 2021, the following changes can be seen:

• Average sales price up 40.3% to $842,157
• Median sales price up 38.5% to $640,000
• New listings up 19.1% to 299
• Homes for sale down 75.9% to 181
• Pending sales up 101.3% to 469
• Sold homes up 7.8% to 250
• Average days on market down 84.4%...

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We have hiked to Three Finger Jack's base several times through the NE access to it from Jack Lake via Canyon Meadow in the Mount Jefferson Wilderness.  Last Saturday, July 3, 2021, we decided to hike to Three Finger Jack from the South from Santiam Pass along the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT).  The route from Santiam Pass takes hikers through part of the 90,000 acres which burned in the 2003 B&B complex fire. 18 years later, the area still has many burned trees, but new growth is abundant with wildflowers, young trees and mosquitos. And the views toward Mt. Washington and the Three Sisters are evident through the burned trees, many of which have fallen across the trail and need to be either walked around or stepped over.

We had planned on hiking 5 miles in to what was described as a "viewpoint" in one of our hiking books. This hike would be roughly 10 miles round trip with 1500 feet elevation gain. However, as we proceeded along the hike and left the burn scars and entered areas of old growth forest, it became obvious that the trail app we were following was different than that which we read about in our local hiking book. The app led us to a "viewpoint" which was located just below the South Pillar of Three Finger Jack. As we climbed toward this extremely difficult location, we were half way before we recognized we had taken a wrong turn, but since we were half way, we became determined to complete the trek.  The rewarding views were worth the difficulty, mosquito bites, and sore muscles.  Plus we accomplished a "bucket list" item which we never had in the bucket to begin with. According to our app, we actually covered over 2300 feet of elevation gain and 12 miles round trip. We would not recommend this mistake to many, having determined that this unofficial trail is what is used by those few who rock climb the mountain, most of whom are much younger than us. 

In the recent weeks, we have been driving on Galveston and noticing a random sign over The Dough Nut shop. The sign only seemed to appear after The Dough Nut had closed, so we simply had to know more. Walking by, the delectable smell of pizza filled the air and our curiosity grew even more. The pop up sign read "Fratelli" and we knew we had a new underground pizza place to try. 

Fratelli Pies features artisan Neapolitan black market pies made with simple ingredients and in-house cured & smoked meats. The simplicity of these pies only enhances the flavors and makes the pizza a delight to the taste buds. Ordering these pizzas was very simple. We simply found their webpage or Facebook page, clicked the order button, selected what we wanted, paid online, and it was ready exactly when we wanted for pickup. I hear they will deliver too!

We...

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