The August Bratton Report for Central Oregon is now available…

It is not hard to feel as if we are finally climbing back to a more consistent real estate market here in Central Oregon. Home builders are once again pouring foundations and the local lumber yard trucks are rumbling down the streets once again. For the first summer in quite some time building is taking place outside of NorthWest Crossing. Drive through any section of town and you should be able to find a new home under construction.


This month’s Bratton Report shows that the median price for a home in Bend has risen for the third straight month and the eleventh time in the last year. The median price of $250,000 has not been seen since October of 2008. At that time we were still falling from our giddy high, sliding down and off the cliff into a financial nightmare that bore the recession of the past few years. Accompanying the rise of the median price is its sister, price per square foot, to $130. This too is a level not seen since the fall of 2008.

In a similar manner the sales numbers for the month hit a pace not seen since August of 2006. The numbers climb to just above the steady 170 range of the last few months to 191. One number that rose slightly for the season is the days on market for the average sale bouncing up to 91 days. This might be a reflection of the lack of inventory we have experiencing throughout the summer. As the number of homes available has dwindled buyer’s are now reaching out to properties previously thought to be over priced or having undesirable qualities.

Redmond appears to be on a similar path with the median price of a home rising to $155,000, a level not seen since 2009. Price per square foot has been on the increase here as well, rising for the fifth straight month. The sales numbers for Redmond appear to be in a consistent pattern, bouncing between 40 - 70 homes per month with last month coming in at 61. As with Bend the days on market has increased, this too could be attributed to the lack of inventory.

What Redmond is not seeing to this point is the return of home builders, building permits remain flat and in the single digits. If the sales numbers remain strong and Redmond can see some growth in jobs I would expect a return to new construction next summer. This will be aided if Bend market remains strong opening up Redmond as a more affordable option.

Distressed properties once the fuel for listings in our area, has now dried up for the time being with the enactment of Senate Bill 1552. With the mediation component of this bill in play I would not expect to see an influx of new short sales until early winter at the earliest and spring for foreclosures to return to the courthouse steps. There are many working parts in this bill and it is going to take some time for the lenders, homeowners and the state to figure out how to best work through this process. Once these distressed properties find their way back into the market I would not expect a flood new listings at bargain prices. Instead we will see a steady but diminishing flow with pricing that has the occasional gem amongst them.

For now the trends are in our favor, recovery is close but fragile. This falls politics and the decisions that follow through the winter could put all of our gains in the dumpster. One thing is certain the Central Oregon market is resilient. Central Oregon has too many great qualities that folks from outside our area admire and adore to be kept down for too long.