Bend Premier is pleased to announce that Danny and Rhonda Adams, both Principal Brokers, have joined the brokerage. Danny and Rhonda have extensive experience in representing clients throughout Central Oregon, but specialize in South Deschutes County, particularly Sunriver real estate. Long time residents of Deschutes County, Danny and Rhonda know the area, have followed the trends, and know how to find the perfect home for their buyers and how to best market their sellers' properties for maximum results. Welcome Danny and Rhonda!

Sparks Lake is a Central Oregon Treasure

After a summer  of forest fires which blanketed the sky and impacted Central Oregon with weeks of choking smoke, this last week we have been blessed with rain, early snow and, at last, smoke free skies.

Today we traveled a short distance from Bend up Cascade Lakes Highway to Sparks Lake, one of the most beautiful of the High Cascade Lakes and favored of renowned photographer Ray Atkeson.  The day was stunningly beautiful and the photo opportunities endless. This is one of many reasons why we love Bend, Oregon!

Bend Premier Real Estate Brokers

Bend Premier Real Estate had a great showing at Amerititle's 2017 Bocce Ball Tournament held at the Old Back Nine golf course in Bend, Oregon. BPRE was represented by two teams, and lots of fun was had by all. Although neither team won, over $7000 was raised for local charities. Congratulations to Katharine Miller, Danielle Gates, Emily Reeves, Carrie DiTullio, Myra Girod, Jack Zika and Lisa Wettstein for their participation.

Bend Oregon Home Sales Mixed

The August 2017 Central Oregon real estate data has been published and the sales for Bend single family homes continue to reflect a similar pattern to what we have viewed this summer. Comparing 2017 month to month, sales are flat; comparing data from the same month 2016, figures are mixed.

The August 2017 sales for Bend single family homes on an acre or less show the following trends when compared with August 2016:

• 8.5% more homes are on the market
• 6.9% fewer homes sold
• 10.8% more homes entered into contract
• The average price per square foot is up 14.2%
• The average active price of a home is up 5.4%
• The average sold price is up 18.6%
• The months of inventory are up 17.2%*

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Bend's Air Quality Hazardous

The Sunday issue of The Bulletin, Bend's local newspaper, contained an article on the 2017 Oregon fire season. According to the article, we are on track to at least equal the amount of acres burned in 2015 when over 600,000 acres of Oregon land caught fire. Through last Tuesday, August 29, 58 fires have burned close to 460,000 acres throughout the state.

In Central Oregon, the impact of the fires has resulted in almost daily hazy sky and sometimes dangerous air quality. This morning, checking the USA Air Pollution Quality Index, Bend's index was almost 400 which is considered extremely hazardous.

Sunday evening we traveled up Cascade Lakes Highway to Sparks Lake. Driving on the road, the smoke became progressively thicker the more we entered the mountains. Driving past Mt. Bachelor, the mountain was invisible behind a thick layer of smoke and even the far end of the parking lot was hard to see. When we reached Sparks Lake, the smoke was extremely thick. We parked in the boat launch parking lot with no other vehicles around (Labor Day weekend the lake would typically be filled with campers and people enjoying the outdoors) and walked the 1/3 of a mile on the Ray Atkeson Loop Trail to the vista point which overlooks the lake toward South Sister and Broken Top. This is what we saw:

The normal view from this point is:

Bend Oregon Real Estate Impacted by Fires

When Bend Brokers show property to perspective buyers, much of what "sells" a home is the view. Our MLS input forms emphasize Cascade mountain, city, river, waterfront, other mountain, and terrain views. When the smoke in the air keeps these views invisible, it is difficult to convince people who do not know the area to trust us - the views are spectacular. When we cannot walk outside without coughing due to smoke, when the elderly and sick are told to stay indoors due to unhealthy air, when windows cannot be opened due to the smoke of burning forests, it is hard to sell real estate. We will follow up in a few weeks with the actual published data on how Bend real estate sales have been impacted by the summer's fires.