October 2012 Market Report for the West Side Neighborhoods of Bend, Oregon

For those of you that have been following along for the past couple of weeks, I have been providing a mini market trend report for some of Bend, Oregon’s favorite neighborhoods. If you have not seen your favorite neighborhood feel free to contact me and I can put together a report for your favorite. Today we are going to focus on neighborhoods of Bend’s west side that are not located on Awbrey Butte.

Bend’s west side has been popular for as long as I have lived in Bend (1977). With proliferation of restaurants and pubs along with a great variety of shopping filling out the main thoroughfares, the west side is popular as ever. Neighborhoods that once were mostly comprised of old mill homes have seen a good many of  those homes renovated or removed to be replaced by new more efficient homes. Empty lots have been creatively in filled with new craftsman or contemporary homes. The good news is there is still plenty of opportunity on the west side, though at a higher price than its east side cousins.     

As with the Neighborhoods of Awbrey Butte analysis a few days ago you can see the diversity of these neighborhoods with prices currently running from $180,000 to $1,399,000. October proved to be a more productive month with 12 homes selling versus the 9 that sold in September.  

Currently there is just one home available under $200,000 and four under $300,000. One of these homes under $300,000 a new Pahlisch Homes in the Newport Landing neighborhood, there is not much of a yard but Pahlisch Homes does an outstanding job with their construction and selection of finishes for their homes. In this grouping of homes are some Bend’s oldest and most prestigious homes located on Congress and State Streets. These are classic homes that you find in most towns; they were the homes of the mill managers back in the day. Being that Bend is a relatively young town there are not many homes of this stature which helps them command a healthy price.

If you have questions about any of the homes available on Bend’s west side or the Bend real estate market in general or perhaps you need a source for information. Please contact me, I would be glad to assist you in making informed decisions about Bend real estate.

List Price
Average
Listings
Low
High
Average
Median
$/Sqft
DOM
Active
23
$180,000
$1,399,000
$568,559
$499,000
$237.62
150
New
3
$334,500
$1,195,000
$764,833
$765,000
$359.04
41
Contingent
1
$449,000
$449,000
$449,000
$449,000
$111.83
52
Pending
10
$165,000
$499,950
$309,710
$290,000
$172.09
75
Sold
12
$142,000
$532,041
$281,683
$249,000
$187.06
107

October 2012 Market Report for the Neighborhoods of Awbrey Butte in Bend, Oregon

For those of you that have been following along for the last week or so I have been providing a mini market trend report for some of Bend, Oregon’s favorite neighborhoods. If you have not seen your favorite neighborhoods feel free to contact me and I can put together a report for your favorite. Today we are going to focus on the Neighborhoods of Awbrey Butte.

You might be curious as to what comprises the neighborhoods of Awbrey Butte? In my thinking they are Awbrey Heights, Awbrey Point, Awbrey Road Heights, Bend View, City View, Greyhawk, Hawks Ridge, Heights of Bend, Hillside Park, Tumalo Heights and a few others. These neighborhoods consist of a diverse collection of homes on the lower flanks of Awbrey Butte. There are modest homes built in the late forties to the ultra contemporary with spectacular views of the city and the Paulina Mountains to the south.

The older of these neighborhoods have been extremely popular with folks looking to renovate a classic home into some more contemporary. A key feature for many of these homes is their proximity to downtown Bend. Many of these homes sit on larger than average lots as well lending to a feel of having a larger home.

One other quirk is the tax rate for many of the older homes is significantly less than their newer counterparts throughout Bend. This in part to a property tax limitation measure (measure 50)passed back in 1997. It is a little too complicated to get into right now but in certain circumstances owners of older homes benefit greatly.

In the chart below you can see the diversity of these neighborhoods with prices currently running from $299,000 to $2,395,000. Last month was a slower month for the neighborhoods with only two homes selling versus September when seven homes sold. A portion of that difference may be accounted for in the number of pending sales which is sitting at four more than September. With a decent inventory of homes going in to the holiday season sales should remain consistent. Hopefully this spring we will see an influx of newer listings to tickle buyer’s fancies.

If you have questions about any of the homes available in the neighborhoods of Awbrey Butte or the Bend real estate market in general or perhaps you need a source for information. Please contact me, I would be glad to assist you in making informed decisions about Bend real estate.

                                            List Price Average
            Listings    Low         High          Average    Median    $/Sqft  DOM
Active        14   $299,000   $2,395,000   $658,268   $517,475   $210   159
New             4   $385,000    $750,000     $514,975   $462,450   $159   27
Contingent 0   $0               $0                 $0             $0             $0       0
Pending     5   $285,000     $469,900   $353,880   $290,000   $149   98
Sold            2   $300,000     $390,000   $345,000   $345,000   $191   117

October 2012 Market Report for the Awbrey Glen Neighborhood in Bend, Oregon

As mentioned in a post a few days ago, I am going to attempt to bring you a monthly activity report that should keep you up to speed with how real estate is doing in your favorite Bend, Oregon neighborhoods. Today we are going to focus on a great golf course community in the Awbrey Glen neighborhood.

With October gone it will not be too long before the residences of Awbrey Glen see the return of the local elk herd. This herd numbers forty to fifty of these magnificent creatures. It is not uncommon to see them bunched up on the fairways as they migrate back and forth from just south of The Inn of the Seventh Mountain to the Deschutes River which lies just to the north border of Awbrey Glen. I am sure this is a nightmare for the groundskeepers come spring time as they wake the course up for season.

Spread around the Awbrey Glen Golf Club are comfortable homes of varying styles. Of the six homes actively listed for sale, five have views of the golf course. The homes currently listed in Awbrey Glen range in size from 2200 square feet up to 4000 square feet. The currently homes that are listed sit on lots from just under a third of an acre up to a little over a two thirds of an acre. If you are a golfer looking for a great community to live and golf in these homes should be on your watch list.

If you have questions about Awbrey Glen homes or the Bend real estate market and need a source for information, please contact me, I am glad to assist you in making informed decisions about Bend.

                                                   List Price                                 Average
             Listings   Low              High       Average    Median    $/Sqft     DOM
Active          6     $539,950   $1,999,000  $914,168   $699,000     $181        72
New             3     $399,900     $575,900   $508,267   $549,000     $165        21
Contingent 0     $0               $0              $0              $0                $0               0
Pending     2     $585,000     $610,000   $597,750   $597,500     $189        99
Sold            2     $405,000     $726,500   $565,750   $656,750     $188        329

The October 2012 Bratton Report for Bend, Oregon is Now Available…

October in Central Oregon is spectacular a great time to visit, cool nights, warm clear days and vibrant colors with our fall foliage. Real Estate sales for the month also remained quite vibrant. Where last month according to the Bratton Report we saw a drop in the median price of a Bend, Oregon home, October recovered a third of that slide by coming up to $230,000. When using our Duke Warner Market Trend Report this month’s gain can be traced to the increase in sales of the $325,000 - $425,000 price range. We nearly double out total from the previous month. The market trends report shows that the other price classes saw slight ups and downs for each price class that balanced each other out.


I would expect for November our numbers will take their traditional slide as folks get ready for the holidays. This trend will continue through the first of the year until the holidays pass we then traditionally start a slow recovery into spring. As I mentioned in an earlier blog piece we are currently experiencing a mini bubble which has been brought on by the lack of available inventory. With the current low interest rates and home prices that are quite reasonable buyers are slowly pushing the market trend to a seller’s market.

I would anticipate that this trend will hold until late next spring as home owners develop more confidence in the economy and the local real estate market. It is then they will decide to make their return as sellers and buoy our inventory. At that point I expect to see both sides (buyers and sellers) advantages equal out, while both sides make the most of the low interest rates, while they last.

Possibly you will be one of the bold ones and take advantage of the current trend. This is a great time to get your home sold, holiday staging is the best. If you would like to know more about the market feel free to contact me, there is no obligation and I would love to share what I know with you.

On a larger note Thanksgiving and skiing are just around the corner, I urge you to make the most of both. Life is good here in Central Oregon, we should be thankful for being able to live in such a great part of our country. Central Oregon offers us so much but not all of us are so fortunate, if you can this season help someone less fortunate there are many good causes, pick your favorite and make someone’s holiday a much brighter one.

October 2012 Market Report for the Awbrey Butte Neighborhood in Bend, Oregon

As mentioned in a post two days ago, I am going to attempt to bring you a monthly activity report that should keep you up to speed with how real estate is doing in your favorite Bend, Oregon neighborhoods. Today we are going to focus on those looking to make the top of the butte their home, the Awbrey Butte neighborhood.

October seems like it was a long time ago, yet it was only last week when we had temperatures in the high 60’s. Today we look a bit like our Willamette Valley cousins, it is a bit gray with a slight drizzle, this a fore shadowing of the winter months to come. Most of the brilliant foliage colors of this fall have gone now; soon it will be the beauty of the bare trees and bright white mountains of winter.

There no place better in Bend for gazing those commanding Cascade Mountain views than the west side of Awbrey Butte. Five buyers this month had those views in mind when they chose to make this neighborhood their new home. Two more are awaiting their transactions to reach their end but they too will call the Butte their home.

Awbrey Butte has some of the more amazing homes in Bend. Of the seventeen homes actively listed for sale, nine have amazing Cascade Mountain views, though two are yet to be built to your dream home specifications. All of the homes listed save one are above 3000 square feet in size and the smallest of the parcels sits on a half acre. If you are looking for a special home these homes should be on your watch list.

If you have questions about Awbrey Butte homes or the Bend real estate market and need a source for information, please contact me, I am glad to assist you in making informed decisions about Bend.

                                          List Price                                                Average

             Listings     Low             High           Avg           Median       $/Sqft     DOM

Active         17        $539,950   $1,999,000     $914,168   $699,000      $239     219

New             1         $895,000      $895,000     $895,000   $895,000      $208       27

Contingent 1         $525,000      $525,000     $525,000   $525,000      $185       42

Pending     1         $699,000      $699,000     $699,000   $699,000      $154     105

Sold            5         $365,500      $765,000     $515,700   $455,000      $159     226

Now Serving Duke Warner Market Trends Report for Bend, Oregon Residential Properties October 2012

You have heard recently many times how tight the inventory for home in Bend has become. This is best illustrated when you compare the year to year numbers. When comparing the year to year Duke Warner Market Trends Reports it appears that we maintained a relatively stable number of listings until July when Oregon Senate Bill 1552, a bill that provides distressed homeowners the opportunity for mediation with their lender was enacted. About this same time the effects of a February $25 billion settlement with the big five mortgage servicers over a lawsuit for wide spread mortgage fraud started to kick in along with a Oregon Circuit Court ruling that lenders were required to provide the trail of deed recordings for each tranching of a mortgage.


As mentioned above starting in July our inventory of active listings had dropped by 127 over the previous year. This trend has remained increasingly consistent each of the following months. This month we dropped 217 listings below last year’s number for October.

Contributing to the drop in available inventory has been our strong sales numbers this year, in every month excepting January there has been positive gains in our unit sales numbers as well as dollar volume.

The tight inventory has created is what several of my colleagues have referred to as a micro bubble. As you have heard me mention in previous blogs the current market has many homes, especially the ones that are competitively priced, receiving multiple offers driving up the price of these homes. By no means is this similar to the previous bubbles price run up of 2004-2007. It is a small recovery from a precipice fall of the previous bubble market.

What this means for you if you are a homeowner wishing to sell, strike while the iron is hot! With interest rates remaining low for the near future and well into the next year the amount of willing buyers will remain strong. Competition for the better homes that are priced well will also remain strong. I would anticipate that come late next spring we will see a return to our local real estate market of the homeowners who have sat on the sidelines waiting for the recovery to near its completion. It remains to be seen when that day will come but people are going to see opportunities to get the fairest price for their homes in quite some time and will want to move forward. As these homes return to the market look for an increase in the traditional inventory.

Bolstering the traditional inventory this coming spring will be the number of homes available through the short sale process. In a recent Bank of America seminar their representatives shared that short sales will be the big fives preferred method of disposing of distressed properties. Short selling distressed properties will help them avoid the lengthy, messy and complicated world of judicial foreclosures. At this point their strategy has yet to affect our local market as the number of actively listed homes available as short sales sits at 29, with 47 other listings having offers on them but the sellers are accepting back up offers. These numbers are way off the peak when it was not uncommon to have 60 – 100 homes available through the short sale process.

There is much to consider before jumping in to the market these days. If you are looking for a broker who can represent you in either a traditional or distressed sale, contact me I would be glad to assist you in making an informed decision on what is the best path for you.

October 2012 Market Report for the NorthWest Crossing Neighborhood in Bend, Oregon

 

As mentioned in a post two days ago, I am going to attempt to bring you a monthly activity report that should keep you up to speed with how real estate is doing in your favorite Bend, Oregon neighborhoods. Today we are going to focus on the ever popular NorthWest Crossing neighborhood.

October marked the first full month of fall and winter is knocking on our door today with spitting snow. The last of the brilliant foliage colors of this fall are barely hanging on, soon it will be the beauty of the bare trees shrouded in white.

NorthWest Crossing seems to know no bounds when it comes to real estate sales. Popular as ever, fourteen homes have been sold this past month. Many of the newest homes have sold prior to their completion. The most popular of the new construction has been on NW Frazer Street in the eastern quadrant of Northwest Crossing. Five out of the fourteen homes sold last month were on NW Frazer. It is interesting to note that all of the homes sold on NW Frazer are single level homes and the two active listings for this street are both two story.

Several of the folks I have talked with that are moving into this portion of Northwest Crossing have reached a point in life were they are looking to downsize. Most all prefer not to have stairs to navigate as they get older. This speaks to the diversity of Northwest Crossing, here you have everything from families with plenty of kids to families where the kids have moved on that prefer to simplify their lifestyles. Come to any of the festivals or other events commonly held in the commercial district of Northwest Crossing and you will experience the diversity first hand. This is a wonderfully vibrant part of Bend.

Looking to the future Northwest Crossing has begun to develop the last of the parcels which lay on the eastern fringes of the neighborhood. It is conceivable that within the next two years or less the eastern portion of the development will be filled in. Looking to the future Northwest Crossings developers are solidifying their plans for the western reach of the development. Look for more information on this sector over the next year.

If you have questions about Northwest Crossing or the Bend real estate market and need a source for information, please contact me, I am glad to assist you in making informed decisions about Bend.

                                      List Price                                        Average
              Listings       Low          High     Average    Median  Price/Sqft  DOM
Active            23    $309,900  $749,900   $488,970   $469,900     $212            64
New                8     $389,900  $699,500   $519,625   $479,900     $229            26
Contingent    0
Pending        4     $299,900  $649,900   $475,200   $475,200     $230            68
Sold               14    $215,000  $579,778   $415,063   $415,500     $226         159

October 2012 Market Report for the Broken Top Neighborhood in Bend, Oregon

I am going to attempt to bring you a monthly activity report that should keep you up to speed with how real estate is doing in your favorite Bend, Oregon neighborhoods. At this point this is just an experiment with Broken Top as my first guinea pig.

October marks the first full month of fall, we had a pretty moderate weather pattern for the month which helped keep buyer interest high in most areas of Bend. The foliage colors this year were also a blessing adding some spectacular color to the landscape.

Now that the election cycle has passed and we will soon have a bit more clarity of where we are heading for the next few years, we should start to see more people decide to move on with their lives. Moving up, moving on, downsizing you name it the demand to make these moves has been pent up and I think folks are ready to get on with life.

Neighborhoods of the stature of Broken Top are beginning to move along but in a slower fashion than neighborhoods that have homes of lesser value. Buyers and sellers in this price point have been reluctant to join the recovery party. Sales have tailed off in October when compared to September. In September the Broken Top community had six homes sold compared to October’s single home. The neighborhood will carry a decent inventory of homes in to our winter sales period at fourteen. Generally once we get into the winter holiday period, starting with Thanksgiving and ending after New Years, fewer folks will want the inconvenience of having their homes listed. For staging purposes the holidays are a great time of the year to have your home available for touring since many homes are dressed up for the holidays. It may be the one time of the year you can get away with a slightly cluttered home.

If you have questions about the Bend real estate market and need a source for information, please contact me, I am glad to assist you in making informed decisions about Bend.

                                             List Price                                   Average

             Listings     low         high         average      median     price/sqft     DOM

Active         17   $349,000 $1,950,000   $935,632     $945,000      $233      206

New             3   $475,000    $549,000    $512,450    $512,450      $186        23

Contingent    2   $639,000    $799,900    $719,450    $719,450      $168      325

Pending        4   $329,000    $990,000    $525,750    $392,000      $186        99

Sold             1   $358,000    $358,000    $358,000    $358,000      $190       135

203k Renovations Loans Brining Dreams To Life...

Have you ever found that perfect location that you want to live but the house just is not quite right for you? Would the addition of more bedrooms or an expanded kitchen make it that perfect place? Does that perfect location have a home that is not traditionally financeable due to the condition of the home? It’s time to think outside the box.

In today’s market where there has been little new construction over the past four years a lot of the homes that are coming into the market need help. Surprisingly there is a loan program that could make your dreams come true. Created back in 1978 during our last major housing market down turn the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) put a loan guarantee program together called the 203k renovation loan program, this is a sister program to the ever popular 203b loans that comprise the bulk of FHA loans. The loans which are provided through their approved lenders allows for homes to be purchased and renovated all in one loan package.

These loans are intended for owner occupied residences which includes multiplexes up to four units. Also eligible are homes that need to be moved to a new location, condominiums and mixed use properties, all have more detailed qualifications than a single family residence that will need to be met.

With most mortgages borrowers can only purchase a home that meets the requirements and standards of their lender. Rarely can you find a lender that would release funding for a purchase if repairs or renovation are needed. In most cases this meant the repairs would need to be performed before the sale was completed. Any renovation would need to wait until the purchase was completed and required the buyer to find another funding source, such as a second loan, to pursue any renovation. These additional loans are amortized over a shorter period of time, at a much higher interest expense, often crimping the level of renovation.

The 203k program allows a buyer to roll the purchase and the repair/renovation expense into one long term loan at an amazing interest rate and extremely low down payment, currently as low as 3.5%. Now this does come with a few more hoops to jump through than the normal mortgage process. The extra hoops related to this program are working with a HUD certified appraiser to determine the value of the property, both before and after the project is completed, determining the value of the expenses of construction and materials, as well as working with a licensed contractor to name a few.

With the extra hoops in mind have your team assembled before shopping. The major hoop to clear is having a good grip on what the project will cost. It will take some time to put your numbers together and you will need the help of your contractor and possibly an architect. Complimenting this would be to have picked your lender out and have a discussion with them as to the other concerns that you will want to address before embarking on your quest for a the not so perfect property.

So now you have your team assembled and you have found perfect location. It could be that small two bedroom country home with one bathroom and a bad roof on a beautiful parcel of land with larger than life Cascade Mountain views. With this program as long as you leave the original foundation in place you can expand the home to meet your needs. This of course is not without limitations, luxury items and improvements will not be allowed. So that indoor lap pool will have to wait but adding rooms, dry walling, painting, plumbing, electrical, windows, doors, heating systems, decks and roofing are all allowed.

One of the requirements in the 203k program is for the homes to improve their thermal efficiency; a great partner for this would be to tap into the Energy Trust of Oregon. Energy Trust of Oregon can perform energy audits of your home to help develop a plan of attack for your project. The Trust can also provide cash incentives for weatherization, heating/cooling, water heating/treatment, appliances, lighting, energy saver kits and much more. They also can be a valuable resource for green technologies in wind, solar and hydro power. Energy Trust of Oregon is a great example of being able to use a number of public assistance programs in conjunction with the 203k program. Locally Neighborhood Impact is a great resource for researching what other programs may compliment your project.

Time now to calculate your loan amount, in the 203k program the FHA allows the lesser the following scenarios; The as-is value or purchase price of the property before the renovation plus the estimated cost of the renovation or 110 percentage of the after-improved value of the property this is then multiplied by the appropriate loan to value factor. In Deschutes County the current loan limit is $447,000 which leaves plenty of room to renovate most homes provided you match up well with qualifying income to support your needed loan amount.

Being that this is an FHA loan; the list of pluses for this program is long. Starting with no income limits, accommodating today’s market FHA accepts credit scores down to a 620, debt-to-income ratios that can be up to 50%, cosigners are allowed, super low down payment of 3.5%, gift money can be used as down payment assistance allowed for down payment and seller concessions up to 6%. Interest rates will be a bit higher than what you find on other loan products but generally they run close to where the FHA 203b loan program is to about a quarter percent higher.

I think that we have possibly given you enough information to pique your curiosity. There are some other hoops and nuances that we will not cover here today along with one variation of the program, the streamline 203k for smaller renovations. I would be glad to meet with you to discuss the nuances and the streamline program.

So if the hoops have not daunted you and you would like assistance in developing a team I can help. We can start searching active listings for Bend, Oregon for the perfect project while you assemble your team. It will be exciting helping you turn your dreams into reality.