There's no denying the last couple of years have been tough for anyone trying to buy a Bend Home because there haven't been enough houses to go around. But things are starting to look up.
There are more homes up for grabs this year. The graph below uses the latest data from Realtor.com to show in April 2024 there were more homes for sale than there were over the last few years (2021-2023):
Bend real estate is entering its peak selling season from late spring until early fall. With this season a rise in home inventory levels typically leads to greater buyer interest and more sales as buyers who may have been sporadically looking for homes get more serious about their purchase, often wanting to negotiate a sale and closing before fall. Sellers who may have been waiting until spring and summer when landscaping is alive and curb appeal can be its best will put their homes on the market hoping to sell quickly. And real estate brokers may find that both buyers and sellers they have been in communication with through winter are now ready.
The April figures fo...
Discovery West is the latest subdivision in the NorthWest Crossing area of Bend's Westside. Developed west of Summit High School and with 40 acres of parks with miles of trails, the project offers a variety of housing options, ranging from apartments, town homes, cottages and single-family homes. Discovery West is being built under the "transect" concept of urban development in which the housing density decreases the further out people go from the urban core. The goal with this type of development is to help mitigate wildfire risk and the impact on wildlife.
There is a lot of new construction occurring in Discovery West. As a new subdivision, many contractors are building spec homes, but also custom dev...
Despite the trends for January and February 2024 in which prices seemed to stabilize, the sales price of Bend homes rose unexpectedly in March. The year over year figure shows both median and average Bend home prices were up over 12% and inventory levels were down. When coupled with the steep rise in prices, affordability remains a major problem for potential Bend home buyers.
When March 2024 is compared with March 2023 for Bend single family homes on less than an acre, the following trends are noted:
For the 4th week in a row, the thirty year mortgage interest rate has risen which has impacted real estate sales across the country. With these rates now pushing 7%, the buying power of Bend homebuyers has diminished.
With this change, few sellers are putting their homes of the market. Why sell a home with a great interest rate when the replacement home will cost so much more to finance? Both Bend home buyers and Bend home sellers are making decisions based on the cost to finance and when mortgage rates rise, often the decision made is to do nothing.
Although there is always a downward seasonal adjustment for Bend home sales in the winter, the number...