Duke Warner and Bratton Market Reports for May 2012

After several weeks of unusually warm weather the Central Oregon region has returned to a more typical weather pattern. Unlike our weather our real estate market continues its phenomenal hot paced recovery. Both the Duke Warner Market Trends Report and the Bratton Report illustrate the continued strengthening of the Bend, Oregon real estate market.

The current refrain from my clients is “I could just kick myself!! I could have had this same property for so much less last year…”. While it is true that as little as six months ago you could have purchased a property for quite a bit less than you can today, there is  not much use in sulking as that ship has set sail. By not acting soon you could be saying the same thing next year at this time but with higher interest rates. Higher interest rates equal less home buying power for the average buyer.

The Federal Reserve has committed to purchasing mortgage back securities until spring of next year. Their 40 Billion dollar commitment is helping hold down the interest rates to near record lows. Should the real estate market and the national economy continue to strengthen it will be unlikely that the Fed will continue to prop up the market. The market would then return to a free market situation where rates are sure to rise.  

Today’s low rates combined with a tight inventory of desirable homes under $350,000 have many feeling like they are experiencing 2004 -2005 all over again. While I do not think we are on the same path history does tend to repeat itself. The run up we are currently experiencing should level off in the fall going into winter. Many of the construction permits for new homes pulled this spring will be completed and into the market. This will be combined with the return of the average home seller who feels the market has stabilized enough to put their home on the market and get a decent price for their home.

One other factor unique to Oregon could be the return of the big banks releasing more distressed properties to the market. By late June the 2013 Oregon legislative session will have ended. In reaching the end they should have reached their conclusion of re-writing the mortgage mediation bill. The current incarnation (SB 558) is to include judicial foreclosures in addition to the non-judicial foreclosures. Non-judicial foreclosures where covered in SB 1552 from last year.

Contributing to resolution of how distressed property foreclosures will be handled in Oregon will be the Oregon Supreme Court handing down their ruling on the legality of MERS handling foreclosures on behalf of the lenders. One way or another the big lenders should have an idea of the path they will take to resolve their inventory of distressed properties by summer’s end. This should result in a return of bank owned (REO) homes in a decent quantity to our market place. 

    

Bottom line rates are low; the economy is improving and now is a great time to invest in the future of Bend and you.

#centraloregon, #bendoregon, #dukewarner, #billpanton, #shopbendhomes

March 2013 Duke Warner Market Trends Report

Today was snow globe day in Bend this morning we looked like one of those snow globes that turn upside down to have all of the snowflakes cover the village in the globe. Goes to show how spring weather in Central Oregon can through myriad of conditions on any given day. This morning there was an inch and a half of snow on the ground. Now I can see the blossoming tree across the street.

Just like spring flowers there have been many new listings budding out. With our market being slightly heated up like a warm spring day there are many folks out pruning the new blossoms. According to our Duke Warner Market Trends Report  the Bend market had 230 new property listings this month but the bump in the overall number of active listings available was slight. The pruning was achieved through the pending sales and sold properties; both showed a healthy increase in their numbers. March produced sales of 155 homes versus 100 homes in February being sold. This is a close match to March of 2012 when 153 homes were sold. With the amount of interest in purchasing homes this year we should at least mirror last year if not see a healthy increase in sales activity this summer. 

Follow this link Duke Warner Market Trends Report and Bratton Report for this month and prior month’s history of activity. If you have questions about the Bend real estate market and need a source for information, please contact me, Bill Panton.  I am glad to assist you in making informed decisions about Bend and Central Oregon.

#centraloregon, #bendoregon, #dukewarner, #billpanton, #shopbendhomes

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!!

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.

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.

The August Bratton Report for Central Oregon is now available…

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

Updated March Bratton Report...

Due to a change in how our local MLS tracks residential homes there are some errors in The Bratton report this month. The error decreases the amount of homes sold last month by 22 properties, which brings the median price of homes down $2000 to $198,000. Days on the market goes up by one to 120. Price per square foot remains the same.


The Redmond changes are bit more pronounced for the median price, dropping from $131,000 to $113,000. The sales classification is a little less dramatic, dropping from 52 to 48 and days on the market dropped by one.

Our local multiple listing service recently changed how properties that sat on over one acre were classified this lead to the discrepancies.

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

February’s Bratton Market Report for Bend, Oregon Now Being Served

February’s Bratton Market Report for Bend, Oregon Now Being Served


The Bratton Report numbers for last month has the median price for a home in Bend moving up from $186,000 in January to $199,000 in February. Moving in concert with the median price is the number of homes sold last month moving up twenty homes to 134, with the price per square foot inching up as well to $111. A reoccurring number for this report is 111, in this case representing the days on the market. This number has flat lined for the time being with the same number being recorded for January. Building permits hit a level not seen since July of 2008 but still remains a weak at 28 permits.

It will be interesting to see if the number of building permits increases seasonally this year. From what I have witnessed most of the building permits have been issued for west side projects in Bend with Northwest Crossing leading the way. The price point for these new homes remains above $300,000. Given the competition we are seeing for homes under $250,000 I would not be surprised to see builders buoyed by this information and be more willing to step to shoulder the risk of building lesser priced spec homes. Some might think this would be crazy but if the opportunity to purchase a new home versus a seasoned home came up I think a good portion of folks will choose the newer product.

With 65 lots under $30,000 that have either sold or have pending sales since last March and 13 lots currently available for sale, could these lots be the basis for builders that brings new homes to the market for under $250,000?

For now the recovery continues, we will need to monitor how the incredible increases in gasoline prices effects the overall economy and the positive gains we are beginning to see. Will we see continued confidence and recovery? Or do we continue to bounce along the bottom, waiting to release the pent up demand to move forward?

Now Serving Duke Warner Realty's February Bend Market Trends Report

Duke Warner Real Estate Trend Report is now available on my web site http://www.shopbendhomes.com/ .  I should have the Bratton Report available in just a few days, once it is released.

February’s report shows that we are continuing to see a decline of available listed home. The decline this month is slight with ten fewer homes actively marketed. We actually had more new listings this February than the previous month but with the market heating up were able to sell more homes.

The competition for good homes under $200,000 is getting pretty stiff, last weekend there was one newly listed home that received 31 offers on the first weekend. Others are not quite so dramatic but still are garnering plenty of attention from potential buyers. It will be interesting to see if this new found competition will lead to an influx of traditional sellers in the spring and summer selling months that are just around the corner.

Another trend to watch that could support the thought that we have reached the bottom of this downturn is if the amount of price reductions each month continues to decrease. This number has continued to fall as sellers are coming to market with a more realistic idea of what their properties are worth in today’s market. This in turn should help sellers get there properties sold in a quicker fashion.

We are still waiting for the much vaunted shadow inventory to hit the market. Many of my colleagues are in agreement that this may not happen in great quantity here in Bend. The recent court battles over robo- signing by the big lenders has been resolved for the most part and lenders have re-filed notices of default with the county but the amount of filings are nothing like we have seen in the past few years. What we will most likely see from these new filings is an increase in the number of homeowners that attempt a short sale and eventually a few more bank owned listings.

As of this writing the current number of homes actively listed as short sales is 46. On the bank owned side our inventory is down to 33 homes stick built homes. The number of homes in the bank owned category over the past couple of years had fluctuated between the high seventies and the low nineties. The blip from homes that are currently receiving their notices of default will hit the court house steps early this summer. As this passes we may see increase in the amount of bank owned homes going into the winter months.

The wild cards to the upcoming spring and summer selling season are the Presidential elections (with all their promises and rhetoric) this fall, the forecasted higher gas prices that should affect the overall economy and the stability of the European economy. With little control over any of these, I think those of us with the means will move forward with their lives and take advantage of the favorable real estate market conditions in Central Oregon property.

If a friend or you would like a personal assistant for your Central Oregon property endeavors I am available and look forward to hearing your goals.

My Tardy Bend, Oregon Market Trends Report for January 2012

Once again I am tardy with last month’s market trend reports for Bend, Oregon.

Things are looking better here for the real estate market in Bend, Oregon. Once again we are hitting the top of a couple of “Best of Lists”. Check out these two links from the past month,

Mount Bachelor uphill from 'Beer City USA'   seattletimes.nwsource.com

http://adventure.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/trips/best-ski-towns-photos/

Bend continues to be one of the finest places to live, work and play. Local Pete Alport has put together a short Youtube video piece that helps define why so many of us choose to live here. 360 Degrees of Mt. Bachelor by Pete Alport www.youtube.com

Our local real estate market continues to recover as we bounce along the bottom. As mentioned in this blog previously it is my humble opinion that we have hit the bottom of the market. My observation through hindsight is that we bottomed around the spring of 2009 and have been bouncing up and down in small increments for the last three years.

Currently new listings are on the rise but our inventory continues to shrink. Last month there were 22 new listings above the previous month, yet overall inventory of residential homes in Bend dropped by 73 to 432 homes.

Of these listings distressed properties continue to have a smaller presence in our market. As of today (2/21/12) there are 41 bank owned, 48 short sale and 353 traditional sale residential properties actively listed. Of course this is leading to quite a bit of competition for the better priced homes. We still continue to see the seller who believes they need to recover a good portion of their investment made back in the hay days of 2004 -2006 but more often folks are coming around to the reality that those dollars are gone for the foreseeable future.

With that said now is the time to take action!! If you have been sitting of the fence waiting for someone to declare we have hit the bottom, it has now been declared so get off the fence. Interest rates are low but will not stay there for much longer, home prices are still low but our selection is limited. We see incredible properties all the time; they just do not last long. So if you are jumping in to the market come prepared. Have your funding squared away, talk to a good lender; get pre-approved for your loan. I have a couple of very highly regard mortgage specialist I can recommend. If you are a cash buyer have your proof of funds easily accessible and let’s go hunting for a property in Central Oregon.

Come and Get It….December Market Trend Reports for Bend, Oregon

The holiday season brought moderate success for retailers as people seem to be ready for some good news and are tired of the same old doom and gloom. For the housing market in Bend the news has remained the same for the past few months.


Going back to August of 2011 the sales numbers have been remarkably similar in all price categories with home under $325,000 leading the way for homes sold. With all the media coverage of a swollen distressed homes market our numbers representing the current inventory just do not support such coverage locally. The inventory numbers continue to sink with just over 500 homes offered in Bend, as recently as this past August that number exceeded 600.

By far the most active segment of the market remains homes priced $225,000 and under. This price range tends to help satisfy both the first time home buyer and the investor who is looking for affordable properties that will generate a positive return. With the occupancy rate for rental properties remaining low (around 4%), we will continue to see multiple offers on well priced homes under $325,000 as they tend to be the ones that pencil out the best for the investor who has the means to pick up these homes.

Currently 276 homes are listed over $325,000 and in this category there are some great values, they just take a little more time to discover but there is little competition for them.

As the world economic markets remain unstable look for that to affect our mortgage rates as investors look to the relatively safe Dollar and our bonds as a haven for their money. Their incoming funds may lead to a slow rise in mortgage interest rates. If rates raise look for more buyers to get off the fence and take advantage of the historic low rates currently offered. With the current low inventory of desirable homes expect the competition for those homes to increase.

To view the Market Trend Reports for Bend click here.

Ho Ho Ho Merry Christmas, Here are the Bend Market Trend Reports for November 2011

A friend queried me about the trend he was seeing in the Bratton report; he was concerned that the drop in the median price of Bend homes might be an ominous sign. How if we are bouncing along the bottom could the median values drop by so much? When you pull back and look at the bigger picture the market for homes above $225,000 has remained very soft while everything below that has been moving tremendously well.


This has skewered the numbers and perceptions of those who do not dig deeper for the cause. Are there a good number of homes available for sale above $225,000? Of course, are they selling? Not so much. Right now many people who might move up or those who want to sell feel the economic conditions are too unsettled for them to take the chance of making a move.

This trend also shows that those who are not intimidated by the current economic conditions are buying up the well valued homes. The greater concentration of these homes has been in the $225,000 and under price range. Many feel that in this price range should things fall a bit further that their losses would be minimal since the fall is incrementally smaller. An even greater pull is that many feel they will not see these same purchasing opportunities come our way again for some time.

As we move through the coming year the combination of a pent up need for people to move forward in their lives and economic conditions that should continue to stabilize will lead to a steady improvement in the median value of homes as the higher valued homes begin to sell once again.

To see the market trends for Bend follow the link
Bend Market Trends Report.

Bouncing Along the Bottom in Bend, Oregon... Real Estate Market Trends for October

Before you get into the holiday season you may want to check out the latest market trend reports. This is a great time to pick up property in Central Oregon.


Our local data belays what we often hear in the daily news, from the data in the reports it appears that we have stabilized for the moment. The amount of homes actively listed on the market hit a high in August and September and now is slipping back down as we head toward winter. Distressed homes have retreated as well during this period and now comprise 45% of the market with short sales being about 60% of the distressed category. As we slip back down in inventory for the winter months the overall trend has been fewer homes on the market. We are currently down sixty to one hundred actively listed homes from previous years.

Driving this stabilization trend is the continued strong interest from investors and first time home buyers in the under $250,000 class of properties. This has led to sellers receiving multiple offers on properties that represent good values and has them selling quickly. It has also been surprising to see so many cash buyers. With the tightened underwriting rules for financing properties many capable buyers are by passing today’s amazingly low interest rates and bringing cash to the table.

The investors we see coming into the market are looking at the super low vacancy rates for rental properties in the Bend area and calculating solid returns for the next few years. The other attraction is the remarkably low prices and good values on many properties. This has occurred as sellers have come back to reality of what their property is worth today and will be worth over the next few years.

The biggest hold up in the having the real estate market continue to grow is the lack of confidence that the local job market will improve and the national economy’s lingering stagnation. With the upcoming Presidential election the opportunity that our economic turmoil will turn around is slim. With housing being such a huge component of the national economy it would not be surprising to see continued new programs and new road blocks offered up by both parties to help sway voter confidence thus adding to the lack of confidence.

My take is that the market will stay the same undulating course over the next 18 months. Eventually Bend will see slight gains at first but as confidence returns so will Bends popularity. All of the things people from outside of Bend loved before are still here waiting for them and it is just a matter of time before those who hold the dream to move here act. When those who lust for Bend act on their dreams expect to see return to predictable positive gains in real estate.

Have a great Thanksgiving!!

Cheers,

Bill

Time to Fall Back... September Bend Market Trend Reports

September has now passed and the glory of fall colors is upon us. Central Oregon is ablaze with vibrant colors. The usual big storm that tends to shake and shed the trees of their foliage has passed us by leaving us with a spectacular fall. Cool clear nights warm and sunny days bless all those who venture outdoors this time of the year.

In many ways the local real estate market reflects the same, the bluster of activity expect from lenders renewing their pursuit of foreclosures has yet to materialize. Interest rates have remained low and stable with little blips upward, only to settle back down. Inventories of good homes at reasonable prices remains thin as the amount of properties listed dropped slightly from August. Right now with the low inventory on good homes it is not uncommon to have multiple offers on a property soon after it appears on the market.

September numbers across the board dropped from this year’s highs that were achieved in August. Distressed property sales in relation to total properties sold has remained in the forty percent range for the fourth month in a row. This is a welcome relieve from last year when they comprised sixty plus percent of all sales. Recently we have seen more foreclosure activity at the court house steps, these properties should appear back on the market toward the end of November.

This will be good news for investors and first time home buyers looking for good value properties. For others the uncertainty with the jobs market combined with concern for the stock market and its affect on retirement income have many buyers and sellers frozen. It could take getting past the upcoming election cycle before we see a return to confidence in the overall market.

Check out the Duke Warner Realty Market Trend Report, the Bratton Report, the Bratton Notice of Default Report and a new report put out by the Bratton Appraisal Group, the Distressed Sales Analysis Report at shopbendhomes.com.

May Market Trends Report

Once again I am tardy with the last month’s market trend reports from both Duke Warner Realty and the Bratton Report. Please accept my humble apologies.

Summer has brought a predictable uptick in the inventory around town for properties in the middle price range of the market. Finding good homes under $125,000 remains a challenge as most good ones are snapped up within days of being listed on the market.

Lenders are now feeling more confident about their abilities to foreclose on properties without legal consequences. With this new found confidence we saw a spike in re-filings of Notices of Default in April and May. It will most likely be late September before we see those homes hit the market as bank owned properties. Some of those homeowners have chosen not to wait and have entered their properties into the market as short sales. Right now short sales are providing some of the best opportunities in the Bend market for those who are patient.

If a friend or you need to buy or sell, short sale or traditional sale, rural or urban property or just need some information give me a call. I am ready and waiting to assist you in achieving your goals.

November Market Trend Reports for Bend, Oregon now available....

Just in time for the holiday's the numbers for last month are now available at shopbendhome.com .


The under $225,000 remains the hottest portion of our market with investors and first time home buyers leading the way. Those who have hesitated in putting their offers on these homes are finding themselves on the outside looking in and are learning to bring strong offers to the table quickly. For the month the under $225,000 range there were 81 homes in a pending sales status and 69 homes sold. This makes the third month in a row the inventory for homes in this range has held to under a three month supply.

The rest of the market has slowed with a little more strength showing up in the $325,000 to $425,000 range with rise in the number of pending status for sales while actual sales have dropped off slightly.

In the overall market the list price to sales price ratio has flattened out to a 2% difference, showing that sellers and buyers are getting closer in their expectations for what a property should sell.

For winter buyers there are great values being brought to the table by sellers who are in the $325,000 and up price range. Their homes have been on the market a bit longer and they tend to have had the most room to give a little in their pricing expectations and have adjusted accordingly. With interest rates continuing their slow climb upwards this winter could present some of the best opportunities for those looking to move up in the level of home they could purchase.

Enjoy dissecting the numbers and have a fabulous holiday season!!!