Happy Holidays and a Belated Bratton Report for November 2012

Happy Holidays to All!!!

It has been quite some time since we have had a white Christmas here in Bend but this year Bing Crosby would have been proud. Over six inches feel in the days preceding Christmas this year making for a snow globe wonderland.

The Bratton Report for November is a bit tardy on my part and for that I apologize. The holiday season combined with moving to a new home has made for some hectic times taking me out of my normal rhythms.

Enjoy the report and we will be posting again in the New Year.

May you all have a safe and fun New Year’s celebration!!

Santa Likes These Numbers for Bend, Oregon (Duke Warner Market Trends Report)

Here’s to a happy and joyful holiday season for everyone. A warm holiday season it has been so far here in Bend, Oregon. This has not stopped Bendites from enjoying a great start to our ski season. Living in Bend has such great advantages to the daily grind, it is so nice to enjoy the snow in the morning then follow it up with an afternoon bike ride or escape the grind by heading out to the slopes for a quick hour or two.

Linked here is an early Christmas gift this month’s Duke Warner Market Trends Report.

In this month’s report we actually have seen an increase in active listings, while new listings coming to the market have declined. While most active listing categories are down but relatively equal to last month, listings in the $225,000-$325,000 range have jumped. This category saw an increase of 34 more homes actively listed. Many of these homes have come into the market to take advantage of the favorable reporting the last few weeks. The number of listings in the pending sale category also has dropped dramatically by 68 transactions. The homes that sold in Bend also dropped but this appears to be in line with the season.

Watching our daily sales trends makes me think that December will continue to be solid. One category in a pinch is with those trying to complete their short sales before year’s end. The “Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act and Debt Cancellation” for distressed homeowners expires then which could leave many successful short sale clients with enormous tax liability. While there has been intense lobbying to extend tax relief, it is being drown out by the fiscal cliff bickering. The effect this bickering has on the rest of the market remains to be seen. This bickering has cast a constant pall on the joyful holiday season and has effectively been the Grinch that is stealing Christmas and beyond. Soon Santa will come and go, as will this crisis too.

I have refused to give in to the Grinch’s his year and have asked Santa to send more referrals. I am pretty sure that Santa will not mind a little help from those of you out there that know someone in need of a hard working broker. Help keep the coal out of my stocking, I am easy to reach.

Have a great Holiday Season and spread a little joy to those known and unknown to you!!

 

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.

The Bratton Report for September 2012 is ready for you…

This month’s Bratton Report is similar in content to the Duke Warner Realty Market Trends Report. The combined information from both reports shows a picture of a real estate market were some key indicators are down for the month after two months of steady growth. The slowdown is about a month early when compared to previous years.

In this Bratton Report we find that the median price of homes in the Bend, Oregon market has fallen, the days on the market have increased and the number of sales for the month has fallen. The September numbers are more typical of what we traditionally see in October.

After rising the past two months the median price of a home here in Bend has shrunk back to $220,000. This is a level seen many times over the past few years, though at that those times it had been the high mark for those respective periods. Fall of the last four years has led the way for a decline in the median that last until the first of the year. This annual hibernation has averaged a decline of 20%. Should the pattern hold, we should see a median sale price around $175,000 by December.

Once the distraction of the holidays and election season have passed expect the pricing along with the other market indicators slowly build until the spring months when the market should accelerate building to the summer highs. This is a trend that has held true all but a very few years regardless of the economic or political climate. The exception being the red hot winter market of 2005 which heralded market conditions that hopefully will not be seen anytime soon.

My expectations are that when the market returns for its annual upturn after the first of the year we will see continued strength in our market. Bend, Oregon is and always will be a place where folks want to live and play. This desirability will keep us on a trajectory of having a sustainable even growth real estate market.

For more information on today’s market conditions or to list/sell your property fell free to contact me.

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.