Bend Premier Real Estate Blog

Lack of Inventory Impacting Bend Real Estate Sales

The June 2020 MLS figures have been published and it is clear that a lack of inventory is greatly impacting Bend home sales. Ever since coming out of the great recession, we have been in a seller's market with less than six months supply of homes.  However, despite the Covid-19 pandemic (or perhaps because of it), we are seeing many home buyers actively searching for Bend homes and now have less than 1.5 months supply. For Bend properties priced less than $400,000, our brokerage has been involved in several multiple offers - some as high as nine offers on the same home. This is creating a sense of desperation for some looking for a Bend home this summer.

When June 2020 is compared with June 2019, Bend single family home sales on less than an acre reflect these changes:

• Average sales price is up 15.5% to $603,020*
• Median sales price is up 4% to $463,000
• Original average list price up 10.7% to $640,247
• Original median list price up 12.9% to $525,000
• New listings down 19.1% to 246
• Homes for sale down 66.7% to 329
• Pending sales up 116.5% to 511
• Homes sold down 3% to 229
• Months of supply down 71.2% to 1.5
• Average price per square foot up 7.5% to $238
• Median price per square foot up 5.6% to $262
• Dollar volume of closed sales up 12.1% to $138,091,640

Does the Urban Flight to Rural Areas Matter to Bend OR Real Estate?

We have been reporting how the Covid-19 pandemic appears to be encouraging city dwellers to rethink living in an urban area and instead, consider relocating to the suburbs or even a more rural location where a home office and a yard can positively impact a "stay at home" situation. In discussing this with our Bend Premier Real Estate Brokers, we are hearing that many of the buyers they are working with have this thought process and believe that Bend Oregon may be the perfect place for them to experience a new lifestyle. The urban flight is impacting home buyers in Bend. We have very little inventory and great demand. Now is a perfect time to list Bend homes.

* Data from Multiple Listing Service of Central Oregon

Golden Lake is a Rarely Visited Site in the Three Sisters Wilderness

We have hiked to Green Lakes many times over the years. The 4.5 miles to the lake posted on the forest service sign by the trail head we believe is to the first lake the trail reaches and not to the far lake which usually takes another 1/2 hour to 45 minutes of hiking.  We have gone to the far lake often, but have never gone past that last lake until this year.  The trail further into the Three Sisters Wilderness continues past the last Green Lakes, over the creek and up a hill.   We decided to travel a short distance on this trail to see what we could find, having checked out a map noting a meadow and Golden Lake. 

Most people traveling into the Three Sisters Wilderness will backpack in and camp, but with our early start, we just hiked in and out. Our initial short distance idea expanded a bit, but the hike to Golden Lake was well worth it.  The trail led over snow patches, but once we reached the lake, the beauty of the yellow wildflowers, the stunning views of Broken Top, South Sister, Middle Sister and North Sister and the absolute privacy with no one else around was an experience we shall remember for years to come. 

Stephanie Edgerly is being recognized by Washington Federal Bank in LaPine as the featured Realtor of the month of July as part of their reopening celebration. Congratulations to Stephanie for this recognition and to Washington Federal for featuring such a wonderful Broker. 

Bend Premier Real Estate is pleased to announce Ashley Mahana, Scott Robinson and Shaun Cardot have joined the brokerage as Brokers working in Central Oregon.  Each broker brings a unique background and approach to their work as real estate professionals, but all will do a great job in working with their clients.

Scott joins Bend Premier from the teaching profession. Scott is a geologist and avid biker, interested in local politics and transportation issues and bring his background in education to help empower his clients with knowledge as they make their real estate decisions.

Ashley recently moved to Bend from the Seattle Metro area where she has been a licensed real estate agent for the past 6 years.  Ashley has a background in the military and customer service and believes that problem solving is among her best attributes in working with her clients - that and a belief that her clients' needs must always come first.

Born and raised in Bend, Shaun brings a wealth of knowledge of Bend's past and present, knowing the neighborhoods intimately having grown up in the community. He was licensed in Bend for several years before moving to North Carolina where his wife was a licensed agent. Coming home to Bend means Shaun can work again in a town he really knows and enjoys.

Iron Mountain is a Must Do Hike for Many

We first heard about Iron Mountain 5 years ago when a friend told us about this amazing hike in the Central Cascades off Hwy 20 near Tombstone Summit. When we took the hike, it was past the peak time for the annual wildflowers, but this year the flowers were blooming and the views were stunning.

If you have never hiked Iron Mountain before and are up for several miles, we suggest you park at the Tombstone Summit parking lot, walk 15 minutes through the beautiful nature trail which begins at the end of the lot (bear left down the trail off the gravel road), and then carefully cross the highway to the start of the Cone Peak Trail.  This trail takes you gradually up in elevation through old growth forest until the trail opens into stunning fields of wildflowers.  Continue along the trail, back and forth into the forest and out until you come to the branch to climb to the top of Iron Mountain. This steep trail is well traveled and eventually brings you to the top where a fire lookout used to be, but now is set up as a sitting area with Cascade mountain locates. After enjoying the view, climb down and continue the loop back through old growth forest to the official Iron Mountain parking lot (careful crossing the highway again). Once we crossed the highway, there was an easily missed path that takes you shortly to a sign going right to the Iron Mountain parking lot or left to the Old Santiam Wagon Road.  We walked .3 miles on the Old Santiam Wagon Road (again bear left) to the Tombstone Summit parking lot to get back to our car, climbing steeply at the end. The entire hike was 6.9 miles with roughly 1900 foot elevation gain. This was a wonderful hike at a great time of year.