Bend Premier Real Estate Blog

There are a lot of Questions with Bend Home Sales

As we published last month, the Bend real estate market is in transition. The steep rise in mortgage rates and continued home price increase has impacted Bend homebuyers to the point where home sales have slowed beyond normal seasonal levels.  It is as if the brakes have been hit and all onboard are bracing for an impact. What that eventual impact will be remains to be seen.

When October, 2022 sales of Bend single family homes are compared with those from October, 2021, the following changes can be noted:

• Average sales price up 6.4% to $823,360*
• Median sales price up 4.4% to $680,000
• Average list price up 17.6% to $934,365
• Median list price up 4.7% to $725,000
• New listings down 23.2% to 129
• Homes for sale up 34.5%...

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Green Lakes is One of Central Oregon's Most Beautiful Hiking Destinations

We have hiked to Green Lakes many times over the years, with each visit unique and special.  However, the hike we experienced 10-29-22 has to have been among the very best, something we would call magical. The first snow of the season had fallen earlier in the week, but the day was brilliant with clean, clear air (all summer forest fires finally out due to the snow). The trail was a bit icy, but with microspikes, the packed snow was easy to manage.

The early snow covered a lot of the fall foliage, but Fall Creek with its numerous waterfalls was full and beautiful. And every now and then some lovely fall color could be seen.

When we reached Green Lakes, the handful of people we saw during the hike all traveled to the peninsula on the main, largest lake.  However, we hiked to the first, smaller lake, post-holing through one foot of snow to the far side of the lake which provided us with stunning views of South Sister mirrored in the lake water. We sat on a fallen tree trunk and watched the lake and mountain for 45 minutes, seeing the clouds near South Sister's summit eventually blow away. During this time, we didn't see another person. On our return to the main trail, the views of Broken Top were the best we had ever seen from Green Lakes. It was truly a magical day.

What's in the October, 2022 Newsletter?

• The Brakes Have Been Hit with Bend Home Sales

• Fun Facts You May Not Know About Halloween

• Horrifying Design Trends 2022

• The Journey to Buy a Home

Lots of Sun and Exposure on Little Belknap Crater Hike

Wear a hat and have good shoes if you decide to hike to Little Belknap Crater. With little shade, summertime temperatures can be high, so a fall hike is recommended. This was the second time we hiked to Little Belknap, so we knew what to expect.  We took this hike on October 15, 2022, the last day for the required 2022 Central Cascades Wilderness Permits and we saw a total of 10 other people the entire time. It was a beautiful fall day with temperatures reaching the 60's, and despite some haze from the Cedar Creek fire which has been burning in the Willamette National Forest since early August, the views were good.  After taking in the sights from the top of Little Belknap, we elected to continue on the Pacific Crest Trail to see if we could reach George Lake near Mt. Washington, a place we have never been.

As we hiked past Little Belknap and the end of the acres of lava rock, we entered the forest and enjoyed the trees and fall foliage before, to our surprise, we were back trekking through lava rock interspersed with dead trees, the result of the 2017 Milli Fire. However, there were signs of new life with young trees and plants and even chipmunks and ground squirrels.  Once we reached the end of the lava, the PCT turned left and the trail continued around the flanks of Mt. Washington. However, we had already hiked over 5 miles. Knowing we still had to hike out, we turned around and returned the way we came; we will have to find George Lake another day. All in all we traveled over 10.5 miles with 2000 feet of elevation gain mostly over difficult hiking conditions with the loose rock. 

We are always on the lookout for the next great culinary creation in Bend, Oregon and today we stopped by a winning location. Papi Chulo's in the Box Factory has a simple menu packed with flavor that we are eager to try again. Even from our first bites of a simple chips and guac appetizer, we knew this was a flavor experience Bend has been needing.

We absolutely had to try the birria items on the menu this time around as we both love the their taste.

The birria burrito is packed with stand alone flavor. The meat is perfectly seasoned and slow cooked; it just melts in your mouth. The simple addition of cheese, onion, and cilantro do a great job of complimenting the meat without taking over the show. This burrito when dunked, and I mean DUNK it, in the birria soup is ju...

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