Oregon Supreme Court Decision a Game Changer

Yesterday the Oregon Supreme Court handed down its ruling on the validity of MERS participation in a property foreclosure. The high court’s opinion appears to favor the lenders and should mark a return of the lenders pursuing non-judicial foreclosures.

For those who have not followed the mortgage/distressed property scene, MERS is a entity created by some of our nation’s largest banks to assist in parsing mortgages into palatable pieces that are re-engineered into saleable securities. The issue resolved by Oregon’s highest court was whether or not MERS could act on behalf of the lenders in a foreclosure proceeding. It was contended that since MERS was not named in the original

loan documents they had no rights for pursuing a foreclosure on a distressed property. The high court has opined that MERS may not initiate the foreclosure action but they can participate in its execution.

In Oregon a lender has two methods of foreclosing on a property. Previously the most popular and least painful for all parties concerned was the non-judicial process. When the MERS issue was forced to the high court, lenders pulled out of non-judicial foreclosures at a record rate. Lenders then switched to the more lengthy and involved process of a judicial hearing to resolve the foreclosure. The foreclosure process when combined with the legislations creation of SB 1552 that allows for distressed property owners and their lender to mediate a solution was brought to a screeching halt. This in turn helped create a void in the amount of properties available for sale.  

Today there are five bank owned properties actively listed for sale in the Bend real estate market. There are another five bank owned properties that are pending sales. It will be interesting to see how long it takes the lenders to refill the pipeline. At the height of the distressed market we would have 50 -70 bank owned properties on the market. I do not expect those numbers to return but for awhile I think that it would be plausible to see 25 – 40 properties available for sale.

Another interesting affect will be if distressed property owners feel more obligated to attempting a short sale. These numbers have also dropped off dramatically with only twelve homes actively available for sale in our multiple listing service, another twenty six have offers but are accepting back up offers and a whooping sixty three that awaiting the determination of the lender to their worthiness.  

   

Considering how ineffective lenders are at moving through their processes quickly, I would not expect a big surge of distressed properties in to the active market but a more methodical and consistent filling of the pipeline. This would complement our recovering market quite nicely and add balance to our topsy turvy world.

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.

Duke Warner Realty Market Trends Report for Bend, Oregon September 2012…

Across the board fewer is the key word for this Septembers Duke Warner Realty Market Trends Report.


The Bend market as a whole saw a dramatic decrease in the number of new listings that came into the market this past month. September dropped to 115 new listings the third fewest new listings to enter the market in the past three years. To contrast there have been upwards of 180 new properties entering the market every month since last March.

Sold and pending sales numbers for the month of September also cooled off a bit from the previous months. The $325,000 - $525,000 price range experienced a 46% decline from the previous month. This same class of properties had fewer new and active listings. This drop may be attribute to tighter underwriting standards for mortgages making it harder for folks to qualify for funding of these purchases. With the difficult time financing their next purchase, these same buyers are reluctant to put their current homes on the market.


In the still smokin’ hot $125,000 - $225,000 market there appears to be more cash buyers who are investors that do not have the same issues in funding. These cash buyers have been making it a challenge for first time home buyers to purchase due to the slower timeline of having to involve their lender. The homes in this class make a lot of sense to investors as they pencil out well for rental properties which remain in high demand.


A continued decrease in the number of available distressed properties will only add to the current inventory woes. The number of bank owned homes in Bend that have been recorded with Deschutes County is at the lowest point in the last twelve months of 73 properties. This number has been on a constant decline since January of this year. In tandem with this number is the decrease in the number of homes entering foreclosure, this while the number of rescissions for Notices of Default has doubled from the previous months. This trend may attributed to the failure of Oregon SB 1552 to gain traction with the larger lenders and recent circuit court rulings requiring lenders to document the chain of title.


Coming up in a few days will be the Bratton Report for the Bend real estate market, I would expect that that report will reflect the same trends as found here in the Duke Warner Realty Market Trends Report.

Feel free to contact me for a more thorough discussion about today’s real estate market in Bend and how it could affect your decisions to enter the market now or in the future.

Summer Sales on Bend’s West side were rockin’ this past summer…

The West side of Bend encompasses a great area of Bend with many outstanding neighborhoods. For the sake of this report I have limited the information here to the flats of the west side. The borders run from NW Ogden Ave on the north, the Deschutes River to the east, SW Simpson to the south and roughly NW 17th to the west.


While sales this year compare favorably to last year’s in the number of homes that were sold, there was a decrease in the average and median price of the homes sold. The median sale price dropped by $22,000, while the average sale price dropped by $43,000. This is surprising considering the lack of consistent available inventory for sale which usually sends prices higher.

Also puzzling in the price break down is that we had considerably more distressed properties on the market last year. Distressed homes are notorious for selling below the market averages. As of the time of this writing time there are no actively listed distressed properties. We have seven pending sales that are distressed properties and over the course of the summer there have only been four properties that have sold that would be considered distressed (bank owned or short sale properties).

The drop off in distressed properties this summer could be chalked up to the passage of Oregon SB 1552 which requires the larger lenders to mediate a reasonable solution with the distressed homeowner and a recent Oregon Circuit Court ruling that judged that lenders must be able to document the chain of ownership of the lien (loan). So far according to the mortgage brokers that I have spoken with, the big boys have decided not participate in SB 1552 as the rules are too vague and the bill does not have strong enough measures to compel the lenders to partake.

So while the cat is away most of us are enjoying the wave of traditional sales. It is amazing how much easier it makes the process of buying (or selling) a home. The biggest hurdle right now to homeownership is qualifying for today’s unheard of low mortgage rates. Mortgage brokers today have been pulling their hair out with the constant revisions in loan underwriting standards. As with most things in life when the pendulum swings to far one way it is sure to go just as far the other direction. Where previously all one had to do to get a loan was be a warm body now they one might be chilled by all of the hoops one is required to jump through to get there loans.

Regardless of the process I strongly recommend that if you are thinking of owning property in Bend today’s market is about as good as it gets. If you are looking to sell or would like to buy feel free to contact me for a no obligation conversation of how the market would work out for you.


Sold

NW Cumberland Ave    2 bedrooms     1 bathrooms      763 square feet    
   acres 0.130    year built 1922              $109,900 list price        $121,000 sold
NW Federal St             1 bedrooms      1 bathrooms      624 square feet    
   acres 0.120    year built 1932              $179,000 list price        $160,000 sold
NW 12th St                 4 bedrooms      1 bathrooms    1732 square feet    
   acres 0.340    year built 1922              $189,000 list price        $170,000 sold
NW 3rd St                   2 bedrooms      1 bathrooms      780 square feet   
   acres 0.130    year built 1919              $189,000 list price         $184,000 sold
NW Portland Ave         3 bedrooms      2 bathrooms     2100 square feet   
   acres 0.250    year built 1940              $245,900 list price         $185,000 sold
NW 14th St                 2 bedrooms      1 bathrooms     1142 square feet   
   acres 0.110    year built 1929              $194,900 list price         $188,000 sold
NW Elgin Avenue         2 bedrooms      2 bathrooms      890 square feet   
   acres 0.136    year built 1928              $215,000 list price        $215,000 sold
NW Lexington Ave       3 bedrooms      2 bathrooms     1216 square feet    
   acres 0.110    year built 1992              $225,000 list price         $225,000 sold
NW 12TH St                3 bedrooms     1.75 bathrooms 1456 square feet    
   acres 0.110    year built 1974              $249,900 list price         $225,000 sold
NW Baltimore Ave        2 bedrooms     2 bathrooms      1172 square feet    
   acres 0.130    year built 2001              $225,000 list price         $225,000 sold
NW 4th St                   2 bedrooms     1 bathrooms      1078 square feet     
   acres 0.140    year built 1922              $244,900 list price         $230,000 sold
NW Federal                 3 bedrooms     1.50 bathrooms  1388 square feet    
   acres 0.115    year built 1946              $245,000 list price         $239,000 sold
NW Elgin Ave              3 bedrooms     1 bathrooms        980 square feet    
   acres 0.110    year built 1984              $239,500 list price         $240,100 sold
NW Element                3 bedrooms     2.50 bathrooms  1517 square feet    
   acres 0.080    year built 2012              $245,000 list price         $250,000 sold
NW Milwaukee Ave       2 bedrooms     2 bathrooms      1217 square feet    
   acres 0.070    year built 1995              $259,000 list price         $254,000 sold
NW Union St               2 bedrooms      2 bathrooms      1500 square feet    
   acres 0.110    year built 1920              $269,000 list price         $255,000 sold
NW Ithaca Ave            4 bedrooms      3 bathrooms      1972 square feet    
   acres 0.130    year built 1996              $262,450 list price         $262,450 sold
NW Milwaukee Ave      2 bedrooms      2.50 bathrooms 1214 square feet    
   acres 0.070    year built 2002              $265,000 list price         $265,000 sold
NW 7th St                   3 bedrooms      2 bathrooms     1508 square feet    
   acres 0.160    year built 1920              $265,000 list price         $265,000 sold
NW Davenport Ave      3 bedrooms      2 bathrooms     1487 square feet    
   acres 0.140    year built 1996              $249,900 list price        $267,000 sold
NW Albany Ave           3 bedrooms      2 bathrooms     1192 square feet    
   acres 0.130    year built 1923              $239,500 list price        $270,000 sold
NW 4th St                   2 bedrooms      2 bathrooms     1256 square feet    
   acres 0.110    year built 1922              $285,000 list price        $272,000 sold
NW Elgin Ave              3 bedrooms      2 bathrooms     1224 square feet    
   acres 0.115   year built 1996               $275,000 list price        $272,000 sold
NW Newport Hills Dr    3 bedrooms      2 bathrooms      1720 square feet   
   acres 0.210    year built 2012              $279,900 list price        $285,000 sold
NW Newport Ave         3 bedrooms      2 bathrooms     1350 square feet    
   acres 0.150    year built 1920              $299,900 list price        $285,000 sold
NW Elgin Ave              3 bedrooms      0 bathrooms     1365 square feet    
   acres 0.140    year built 1995              $289,000 list price        $289,000 sold
NW Cumberland Ave    3 bedrooms      2 bathrooms     1386 square feet    
   acres 0.115       year built 1925           $289,900 list price        $289,900 sold
NW Element                3 bedrooms      2.50 bathrooms 1718 square feet    
   acres 0.115      year built 2012            $295,000 list price        $295,000 sold
NW Criterion               4 bedrooms      2.50 bathrooms 2162 square feet    
   acres 0.100    year built                      $315,000 list price        $315,000 sold
NW Hartford Ave         3 bedrooms      2 bathrooms      1224 square feet    
   acres 0.180    year built 1965              $325,000 list price        $318,000 sold
NW Rockwood             4 bedrooms      2.50 bathrooms 2335 square feet    
   acres 0.230    year built 1996              $315,000 list price        $321,000 sold
NW Knoxville Blvd        5 bedrooms      2.75 bathrooms 2806 square feet    
   acres 0.210  year built 1996                $345,000 list price        $323,500 sold
NW 18th St                 3 bedrooms      2 bathrooms      1873 square feet    
   acres 0.270    year built 1995             $349,900 list price         $325,000 sold
NW Newport Hills Dr    3 bedrooms      2 bathrooms      1877 square feet    
   acres 0.130    year built 1995              $329,000 list price        $329,000 sold
NW Albany Ave           3 bedrooms       2.50 bathrooms 2238 square feet    
   acres 0.205    year built 1997              $350,000 list price        $339,000 sold
NW Stannium Road      3 bedrooms      2 bathrooms     2061 square feet    
   acres 0.210    year built 1998              $350,000 list price        $340,750 sold
NW Baltimore Ave        4 bedrooms      3 bathrooms     2439 square feet    
   acres 0.130    year built 2003              $369,900 list price        $369,900 sold
SW Allen Road             3 bedrooms      2.50 bathrooms 2014 square feet    
   acres 0.150    year built 1998              $389,000 list price        $389,000 sold
NW Baltimore Ave        5 bedrooms      3.50 bathrooms 3562 square feet    
   acres 0.130    year built 2006              $399,000 list price        $399,000 sold
NW Hill Point Dr          4 bedrooms      3 bathrooms       2842 square feet    
   acres 0.270    year built 1996              $419,000 list price        $409,000 sold
NW Harmon                4 bedrooms      2.75 bathrooms 2200 square feet    
  acres 0.115   year built 1992                $465,000 list price        $426,000 sold
NW 18th St                  5 bedrooms     4 bathrooms      4397 square feet    
   acres 0.390    year built 1998              $559,999 list price        $560,000 sold
NW Kingston Ave          6 bedrooms     4.50 bathrooms 3495 square feet    
   acres 0.400    year built 2003              $595,000 list price        $595,000 sold
Listing Count 43
Averages 1,732 square feet, $179.21 price per square foot,
   121/121 days on market,    $295,264 list price           $289,363 sold price
High 595,000                  Low 121,000                      Median 272,000

Pending

NW Precision               3 bedrooms      2.50 bathrooms 1718 square feet
  acres 0.110    year built 2012               $318,750 list price
NW 18th Ave               4 bedrooms       2 bathrooms     2248 square feet
   acres 0.210    year built 1994              $328,000 list price
NW Newport Ave         3 bedrooms       2.50 bathrooms 1724 square feet
   acres 0.110    year built 2012              $329,900 list price
NW Criterion               3 bedrooms       2.50 bathrooms 1718 square feet
   acres 0.120    year built 2013              $341,200 list price
NW Federal St              2 bedrooms      2 bathrooms     2376 square feet
   acres 4792    year built 1920                $425,000 list price
NW Troon Blvd            4 bedrooms      3 bathrooms     2429 square feet
   acres 0.200    year built 2012               $470,000 list price
Listing Count 27
Averages 1,635 square feet, $170.87 price per square foot,
   98/103 days on market,    $273,556 list price
High 470,000                   Low 135,000                       Median 282,000

Active

NW Newport Ave          3 bedrooms       1 bathrooms       855 square feet
   acres 0.110    year built 1920                $179,900 list price
NW 14th St                  4 bedrooms       1 bathrooms     1440 square feet
  acres 0.230    year built 1935                 $199,900 list price
NW Lexington Ave        3 bedrooms       1 bathrooms     1332 square feet
   acres 6098   year built 1937                  $229,000 list price
NW Fresno Ave            3 bedrooms        1 bathrooms    1120 square feet
   acres 0.120    year built 1916                $229,000 list price
NW Awbrey Road         3 bedrooms        1 bathrooms    1129 square feet
   acres 0.130    year built 1950                $307,000 list price
SW Knoll Ave               3 bedrooms        3 bathrooms     2259 square feet
   acres 11800    year built 1976               $313,900 list price
NW Kingston Ave          3 bedrooms       2 bathrooms     1596 square feet
   acres 0.140    year built 1980                $315,000 list price
NW Precision                3 bedrooms       2.50 bathrooms 2162 square feet
   acres 0.100    year built 2012                $319,000 list price
NW Union St                3 bedrooms        2.50 bathrooms  896 square feet
   acres 0.110    year built 2012                $329,000 list price
NW Albany Ave            3 bedrooms        3 bathrooms     2261 square feet
   acres 0.130    year built 1936                $345,000 list price
NW Criterion                3 bedrooms        2.50 bathrooms 2328 square feet
   acres 0.090    year built 2012                $345,000 list price
NW Rockwood Lane      4 bedrooms        3.50 bathrooms 2880 square feet
   acres 0.280    year built 1996                $350,000 list price
NW Newport Ave          3 bedrooms        2.50 bathrooms 2028 square feet
   acres 0.260    year built 1999                $364,900 list price
NW Federal St              3 bedrooms        1 bathrooms      1268 square feet
   acres 0.190    year built 1948                $375,000 list price
NW 17th St                  4 bedrooms        2.50 bathrooms 2642 square feet
   acres 0.170    year built 1998                $434,900 list price
NW Albany Ave            3 bedrooms        2.50 bathrooms 2000 square feet
   acres 5500    year built 2012                 $499,950 list price
NW Elgin Ave               3 bedrooms       2.50 bathrooms 2751 square feet
   acres 0.110    year built 2012               $559,950 list price
NW 17th St                  5 bedrooms       4.50 bathrooms 4312 square feet
   acres 0.260    year built 1999              $599,900 list price
NW Harmon Blvd          3 bedrooms       2.50 bathrooms 2712 square feet
   acres 0.190    year built 1992              $888,000 list price
NW Allen Road             3 bedrooms       3.50 bathrooms 2800 square feet
   acres 0.220    year built 2012             $1,195,000 list price
Listing Count 20
Averages 2,089 square feet, $203.22 price per square foot,
   79/79 days on market,    $418,965 list price
High 1,195,000                Low 179,900                     Median 345,000

Featured properties may not be listed by the office/agent presenting this blog.

Information has not been verified, is not guaranteed and is subject to change.
Source Central Oregon Realtors Association multiple listing service.

Bend, Oregon Real Estate Market Summer Stays Strong…

The Duke Warner Market Trends Report for August is out and the upward sales trend has made it through the summer. As one might expect with summer being the busier selling season, the numbers for August rose slightly over the July numbers. The number of properties listed as active dropping slightly. The most active category of homes remains in the under $225,000 range followed closely by the next bracket of $225,000 -$325,000. As reported previously the competition for nice properties that are well priced in these price ranges is stout. Rarely do we submit an offer on a home in the $150,000 range and not have to compete against several other buyers. The upper reaches of the market also continue to see steady sales results which helps balance the market.


As has been the trend for the last several months the distressed property market has been dampened. Once the fuel for our newer listings this segment has now become a trickle. The newly enacted Oregon Senate Bill 1552 has effectively shut down the number of default notices being served which may have slowed down the number of homes falling into this category. The required mediation of the Senate Bill has affected the number of folks moving toward short selling their properties. Most folks in distress are waiting to see what the mediation process will bring before committing to selling their property.

From what I have observed, this segment of the market had already been in decline long before the Senate Bill was enacted. This makes for the likelihood that we are nearing the end for this episode of the housing collapse. I have no doubt that we will continue to see distressed properties on the market but the fantastic opportunities of the last few years have largely been gobbled up and finding new treasures will take more work.

If this is the end of the collapse it may be some time before we see a fully recovered market. Most folks are wary of what the next few months will bring. With the politics of an election year dominating the decision making of business owners, the lawmakers and Wall Street, it could be months before there is any clarity to where the economic markets are heading. This uncertainty continues to dampen the jobs market and saps the strength from folks who want to sell their property and move on with their lives.

Bend is showing its durability and desirability, more than once we have been presumed to be a failing community but every time our spirit shines through. The qualities that have drawn folks to Bend since long before there were saw mills and ski hills remains here today. The beauty of the river, the mountains and the dry climate will always be what endures and draws people to Central Oregon.

Summer Has Finally Arrived on the High Desert…

While the rest of the nation has been sweltering for months Central Oregon is arriving to the party a little late but in grand style. After a false start right after the Fourth of July we have been enjoying days in the mid-eighties while cooling off in the evenings to the high 40’s or low 50’s. This has made attending our many outside events like our Farmer’s Markets, Chris Isaak or Counting Crows concerts and the low key “Alive After 5” concert series in the Old Mill district quite enjoyable.


Not late to the party is our local real estate market. We continue to see improvement across the board. Reviewing our Duke Warner Market Trends Report shows the market under $300,000 remains the hottest with almost 70% of the homes sold in July being in this category. Include in this category are homes under $225,000 which remain most sought after properties with first time homebuyers and investors squaring off against each other to compete for these properties.

To illustrate, the other day a client submitted an offer on home in the mid-one hundred thousand range only to find that they were one of thirteen offers. This was the third time within the month that they had missed out on a home. Not to worry this week they were successful in their bid to find a home, out bidding several other parties.

It is interesting to see the lag in perception to reality. Many folks who have been waiting to time the bottom of the market are now finding that they have missed the mark by several months. Most are surprised at how difficult it is to find a good property at the bargain pricing they have been hearing about for the last several years. Undaunted they continue to seek out their bargain property amongst a limited inventory.

Several are still waiting in the wings for the much vaunted shadow inventory. There is no doubt that there are number of distressed properties that lenders have not processed. Are their numbers significant enough to cause the market to shift once again? Probably not, lenders appear to process these properties as fast as they can, leaving a fairly stable number of homes on the market at any one time.

Complicating the picture is the recent enactment of Oregon Senate Bill 1552. This bill requires larger lenders to offer “foreclosure avoidance measures” including mediation between the lender and the borrower. The lender is required to provide a substantial amount of documentation as to the history of the loan, something that is not easily done in today’s world of tranching the loans into smaller parcels to be securitized for investors. The advent of this bill will most likely delay the inevitable for most distressed properties, eventually they will find their way to the market. The likelihood of this being a tidal wave of properties hitting the market is slim. Once they find their way to market the market conditions are likely to be more favorable for the seller.

The popular refrain of folks who missed the buying opportunities of the last downturn was “I wish I would have bought property when the market was down…” will once again be a popular refrain of those missing the opportunities of today’s market. Will you be one those who could of, would have or should have? Do not be one of those folks, contact me soon to discuss today’s market…

Summer is here and so are the June Bratton and Duke Warner Market Trend Reports…

The Bend market trend numbers have remained steady as we go over the past few months. With summer we have seen a slight increase in the number of active listings with the number of sold properties remaining consistent with the previous three months. The number of sold properties has remained fairly level over this period.

What to expect this summer?? One is that the Northwest weather rarely follows the rest of the nation; while the rest of the country swelters we have had a relatively cool summer thus far with only one week of hot weather. What is sweltering in our neck of the woods is the real estate market under $300,000. We continue to see multiple offers for good homes that are reasonably priced. Many of these homes will be tied up within a matter of days of coming onto the market. The continued pressure on the available inventory is leading to slight price increases if not when the property is listed then when a property has multiple offers.

We are also seeing a continued decrease in the number of Bank owned homes that are available. Currently in Bend (not including the outlying areas) there are 18 active listings available and 44 pending sale listings. I think we all know of several properties that are sitting out there vacant with signs in the windows and no owner insight… the dreaded shadow inventory!! So far the banks have shown inclination to move quickly to resolve issues with these properties and bring them to market. I would like to say that this all part of the plan to keep the market stable but my experience with banks/lenders would make me think otherwise. The lenders do not care they move to their own rules at their own pace. Unless they show a willingness to throw more money and manpower at the shadow homes my thoughts are that they will continue to dribble out for the immediate future.

Conversely the availability of properties being short sold remains constant with 50 homes in an active listing status, 58 are in a contingent sale status with back up offers being accepted and 79 in a pending sale status.

It will be interesting to see how Bill 1552, passed last fall by the Oregon house and senate, has an effect on the market. Designed to provide help distressed homeowners in communicating with their lender to arrive at a solution for their dilemma. The key feature of this bill is to bring lenders and homeowners together to mediate a reasonable solution for both parties.

The optimism that we have reached the bottom combined with the low inventory of desirable homes has brought an increase in the number of building permits issued for new homes. While NorthWest Crossing has been at the center of this activity for sometime we are starting to see signs of live in other sectors of town. Group PacWest has revived the eastern portion of the former Palmer Homes Gardenside neighborhood off of SE 27th Street with great vigor. Elsewhere throughout town you will see other signs of building life, nothing like we saw in the mid 2000’s, which is a good thing.

Summer is a great time to explore Central Oregon, get out there and have some fun before it is gone!! If you need a guide for Central Oregon properties do ot hesitate to contact me, I love to show what we have avaiable.

Next up is what some believe to be Central Oregon’s best season fall.

Spring is in the air...Duke Warner Market Trends Report for April and more...

Wow, this is what spring looks like in Central Oregon… the Rhododendrons are beginning to bloom, the trees and grass are green once again and the sun being out is a regular event, it is has been warm and wonderful outside. This may be the spring season we have been waiting for, one that sees warm days and sunshine instead of the endless winter of last two years. So far the spring skiing/biking/yard work has been fantastic with sun filled weekends for the last month and a half.

With the start of spring we have seen only a slight increase in available homes. According to our Duke Warner Market Trends Report at the end of April we had 405 homes on under one acre that were actively marketed in Bend. As of this writing we have jump slightly to 457 homes. On this beautiful Monday morning it is past noon and we have yet to see one new listing hit the Bend market for the day.

If you are a property owner that has been sitting on the sidelines waiting for the doom and gloom to end possibly this is your time to spring forward. Interest rates remain low at today’s rate of 3.85%. This is not likely to change this summer for a variety of reasons. Of course with the low inventory there is less competition from other properties. This too is unlikely to change over the summer as lenders have been slow to process distressed properties. Oregon’s SB1552 a bill designed to end dual tracking by the larger lenders and require the lenders to mediate with their borrowers is likely to slow the processing of distressed properties even further.

On the flip side there are still opportunities out there for buyers. While bank owned properties have decreased for the time being, the leading value category is in homes being short sold. It is true that short sales can be a pain and have a reputation for taking months to complete. For the buyer who can wait out the process they represent a segment of the market that has the greatest value. Today there are 49 short sale and 27 bank owned homes that are actively marketed in Bend. These numbers have decreased dramatically from years past adding to the decrease in our inventory.

Time will tell if the lenders ever get a handle on how to process the large number of homes that have been foreclosed (or are in the process of foreclosing). For now there are plenty of properties that are sitting out there waiting for someone to finish processing them so they can return to the market. Until then if you are going to buy it would be best to have a great lender on your side, come well armed with an approval letter from them and know your limits. If you like a property weigh the pros and cons carefully, if it is a sound and well priced property consider making your offer at the asking price or risk missing out to those who will. This seems strange considering how there are still so many property owners who cannot sell their homes but many of those are in their position due to price or location.

If you or someone you know needs assistance with properties in Bend and Central Oregon, give me a call or send me an email. I am glad to assist and referrals are always appreciated.

The March Bratton Report for Bend, Oregon…

The March 2012 Bratton Report for the Bend real estate market was released over the weekend. The report confirms much of what was covered in my previous blog detailing the Duke Warner Realty Market Trends Report.


Both reports show a good size jump in the number of properties sold last month, a trend that appears to be continuing into this April. The hot classes are properties priced between $100,000 and $150,000, closely followed by the $150,000 to $200,000 range. With such strong movement in the lower price range look for these trends trickle upward and help the mid range priced homes sell this summer.

Fueling much of the buying is the tight rental market for Bend homes, currently running at 4.2% according to annual rental report release recently by the Central Oregon Rental Association. This is leading to investors returning to the market to snap up good homes that are well priced. Many of these homes are distressed properties either being bank owned or homeowners short selling their properties.

Predictably this competition is drying up the inventory of available homes. As of this writing there are 32 bank owned and 62 short sale homes actively listed. It is expected that the short sale listings will increase as we march closer to the July 1st implementation of Oregon House Bill 1552.

In case you have not followed Oregon HB 1552 it is intended to end the dual tracking policies of the larger lenders. With a three month implementation window from the bills inception there is much that is not known on how this bill will affect homeowners in distress. The bill calls for homeowners and lenders to participate in mediation to arrive at a solution that will allow the homeowner relief through loan modification, short sale, deed-in-lieu and lastly foreclosure.

This bill primarily directed at Oregon’s non-judicial foreclosures. Oregon allows lenders to pursue foreclosure through non-judicial and judicial proceedings. Lenders traditionally have taken the non-judicial procedure because of its simplicity and relatively quick timeline. With the new requirements placed on lenders there is a strong possibility that lenders may now pursue foreclosure through the judicial process. This will allow lenders to retain their rights to pursue any deficiency tied to the debt beyond the foreclosure. Another benefit to the lender in the judicial foreclosure is the short notification timelines, the question will be if the procedure timelines and avoiding the mediation process will be enough to offset the 180 day “Right of Redemption” period required in all judicial foreclosures.

Either way this breaks expect to see an influx of “Notices of Default” filed before the July 1st date, this in turn should create a wave of short sale listings and a bump to our inventory. The question how big will the wave be? And how far will it travel?

Duke Warner Realty Market Trends for March are out!!

There are good signs that our real estate market is stabilizing and a recovery for the region has begun. If our two larger markets Bend and Redmond remain strong it should be a matter of time before our smaller markets like Prineville and south Deschutes County follow suit.


The market for homes under $225,000 is getting more and more competitive, not just in Bend but Redmond too. Redmond is selling homes under $125,000 as fast as they come onto the market. If you are going to buy in this class you better be prepared to act quickly as most well priced homes are receiving multiple offers. If you do not have a mortgage person guiding you on this process use this link to a list of mortgage brokers that have done well for our clients in the past.

For the second month in a row the number of homes that have taken a price reduction has fallen. This trend holds sway mostly in our hot categories with homes under $325,000. The categories above $325,000 are holding relatively steady in terms of price and quantities of homes available with a slight improvement in the number of homes sold.

Overall our inventory has slipped below 400 homes actively listed for sale. At any one time there is an average of 40 bank owned properties and 60 short sales that are actively listed for sale, both of these numbers have been on a downward trend but appear to have stabilized. It will be interesting to see how the recently passed Oregon House Bill 1552 which goes into effect in late June and was design to provide relief and clarity for distressed homeowners affects our distressed sales market. There are a variety of opinions on how the lenders are going to react but there is nothing decisive to report yet.

Builders too are feeling confident in the direction of our local market, last month was had the second highest number of new home permits being issued in the past twelve months. To see the most dramatic illustration of these new homes head out to NorthWest Crossing were more than a dozen new homes are under construction.

Click on the city of your preference to see this month’s Duke Warner Market Trend Report. The Bratton report will follow once it is released.

Bend       Redmond