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

World's Best Ski Towns - National Geographic

A little more recognition for Bend and our friends at Mt. Bachelor...

World's Best Ski Towns - National Geographic

Bend, Oregon Residential Real Estate Trends for June 2010

Here is my take on the Bend, Oregon real estate market at early summer. Currently there is more interest from buyers from out of the area than folks that live here. People who live here are still nervous about the lack of jobs and the uncertainty of what the future will bring, many are waiting for more pain to come. Buyers from out of the area see this market as a great opportunity and generally come from areas with a rosier outlook on the economy. They are buying properties as rentals, retirement homes or second homes. The better properties that are priced well are moving quickly to these people.

Overall the market is stronger than a year ago but is by no means healthy. The properties that are being purchased are usually very good deals but not necessarily distressed. Inventories of homes is down to an 8.8 month supply, one year ago we had 14.4 month supply. We have been in the 8 month range since March of this year. The stats break out that 21.21% of the homes sold the last three months are short sales, 34.38% are REO's and the remaining 44.41% are traditional sales. The traditional sales are closing at a rate of 95.93% list price to sales price, short sales are at 98.13% and REO's are at 96.47%. Here is a scary number that most folks do not consider, the original list price versus the sales price, the number has improved from last year's 79% and is now at 85%. We have been in the mid 80% range since December of last year; I would expect that number to improve as people lower their expectations for what their home is worth.

To sum it up the lower end of the market $225,000 and under, there will not be much more downward movement. The $225,000 through $425,000 has all sorts of properties and pricing strategies. While most properties are priced reasonably there will be some more movement downward. Most brokers realize the value in having correct pricing but sellers can be quite headstrong on the original pricing wanting to give the higher price a shot before succumbing to reality. The $425,000 and up market has the most room for more downward pressure.

Charted below are the trend numbers for the past three months. To view in a full screen click on the box in the lower right.