Bend Premier Real Estate Blog

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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South Sister is a Challenge!

Probably one of the most hiked mountains in the Cascades, South Sister, while not a technical hike, is a challenge. In roughly 5.5 miles, hikers climb 5000 feet to the summit of Oregon's third highest peak at 10,358 feet. In the 35 years we have lived in Bend, we had never hiked South Sister until Saturday, October 3, 2020, thinking that the normal summer crowds would be gone by then. We were surprised to find out that was not the case.

We started our hike at Devil's Lake off Cascade Lakes Highway at 6:45 am. The first mile and a half was in wooded old growth forest, but the trail climbed steeply through the hemlocks and opened up once we reached the plains overlooking Moraine Lake. There the view of South Sister became prominent. Even that early in the morning we met people coming down from the mountain, having enjoyed watching the sunrise from the peak.

Past Moraine Lake, the rocky trail started to climb steeply. We had to carefully watch where we stepped and made sure our footing was secure. There was several places where the trail wasn't clearly defined and we had to pick and choose our way up the mountain. Climbing up over a moraine, we reached the final stop before the last push up the saddle to the summit at Lewis Glacier and its lake. The trek to the top is very slow and steep with loose rock and cinders - and on the trip down many, many people to step around. Once we passed 10,000 feet, we got above the inversion that moved into Central Oregon with high pressure and trapped smoke from the wildfires still burning in the area. This impacted our views from the top - which we have been told are fabulous for hundreds of miles - but did create interested images to see the effect of smoke and bad air quality.  

According to forest service personnel, starting next year, the hike up South Sister will be by permit only to limit the number of people on the mountain at one time. Based on our experience, that will be a positive move. The hike is challenging enough, but it can be dangerous having to step around people on parts of the trail where loose stones and cinders along with steep slopes can create hazardous situations. We returned to our car at 5 pm, having taken all day to hike up and back the 5000 feet with sore muscles but satisfaction at finally having reached the summit.