Bend Premier Real Estate Blog

When you drive around Bend, have you noticed there are a lot of red front doors? Although for these homeowners the reasons might be aesthetic, around the world red doors actually have a lot of meaning. The Chinese, for example, believe red is a lucky color and would paint their doors red before the Chinese New Year. Red doors can be an important element of Feng Sui by allowing "chi" to be drawn into the home. Catholics often paint their church doors red to remind people of Christ's sacrifice. During slavery, red doors were used to by the Underground Railroad to show this particular home could provide safe haven. There is even rumor that people would paint their doors red as a sort of "no solicitation" sign to that annoying Fuller Brush salesman… but again, that's just rumor. But the story we like most is that homeowners in Scotland paint their doors red to show that they have paid off their mortgage. Will you be painting your door red soon?

We have known for the last several years that the increased demand for Bend housing has pushed prices upward. The cost of a single family home has gone up 11% over the last year to almost $200 per foot while the amount of available inventory has dropped over 20%; the average price of a single family Bend home is now $389,725 (COAR MLS statistics). People continue to move to Bend, loving the Central Oregon lifestyle. However, we are now at a place where the price to live here can exceed the budget of many locals. How did we reach this situation? Bend is not the only American community experiencing a housing crisis. According to Lawrence Yun, the National Association of Realtors® chief economist, 3 million American homes which should have been built over the last 6 years were not. These 3 million homes were the minimum amount needed to keep up with the country's growing population but they were not built, mostly due to banking's hesitation to finance new...

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Ever wonder about where the richest people in the world live? Many would be surprised that billionaire Warren Buffett still lives in the Dundee-Happy Hallow Historic District of Omaha, Nebraska where he grew up in the same home he purchased in 1958 for a mere $31,500. Surprised? I know we were.  Named by Time Magazine as one of the most influential people in the world, this 6000 square foot relatively modest stucco house (recently appraised for under $1 million dollars) is just a tiny fraction of his estimated net worth of $66.2 billion dollars. But to be fair, Warren Buffett also owns a second home in Laguna Beach, California estimated at about $4 million, but still just a small fraction of his net worth. We're guessing one of the secrets to his success is being frugal. 

It's not that Kyle MacDonald had a "paperclip fetish." Actually, he says that "the best thing I ever did was to trade away that silly red paperclip in the first place." Which is exactly what he did when in 2015 he posted a picture of the red paperclip in the barter section of Craigslist and asked if anyone had something they were willing to trade for it which was "bigger and better." The first trade was for a writing pen shaped like a fish.  Then Kyle traded the fish pen for a doorknob.  Each trade was always for something "bigger and better" until after just 14 trades he ended up with a house located at 503 Main Street in Saskatchewan.

We love Bend! And if you own a home, you may love what has happened with Bend real estate values even more! During 2015, the average price of a Bend single family home increased 11.1%.  Bend homes have consistently been increasing in value since 2011, when the average price of a Bend single family home was $240,128; today Bend's average home is almost $386,000. If you bought your home anytime in the last 5 years, you most likely have seen an increase in your home's equity. What has caused this? People have continued to move to Bend; we all love the lifestyle  - from the many brew pubs to the amazing outdoor recreational opportunities and the beautiful, clean environment, good schools and fabulous parks! But while people in abundance continue to move here, the amount of homes being built has not kept up with the demand. At the start of 2015, there were 3.5 months supply of Bend homes for sale; at the end of the year there were 2.8 months - a balanced housing market has 6 months supply. At Bend Premier Real Estate, we cannot find homes for all our buyers. Those properties which hit the market are quickly snatched up and multiple offers have driven the sales price even higher. If you have ever considered selling your Bend home, now may be the best time for you to put your home on the market.

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