While it is typical in the Bend and Central Oregon real estate markets to see a slowdown in sales once we enter into late fall, the change to our market seen in August 2023 did not follow the normal trends. With the 30 year mortgage interest rate now above 7%, the purchasing power of many potential home buyers has been significantly changed. In addition, the number of sellers willing to sell a home which has a mortgage of less than 5% has curtailed new listings coming on the market. This has kept inventory low, pushed prices up and greatly impacted the number of Bend real estate sales.

When we compare August of 2023 with August of 2022, Bend single family home sales on less than an acre show the following trends:
Many of our Brokers have outside interests, hobbies and sometimes additional jobs. Some Bend Premier brokers are passionate about charity, volunteering, serving on various committees (some real estate related and some not), and finding ways to stay involved and busy. However, I doubt any other Broker in Oregon has had such an active role in television and entertainment as Matt Wilson. Besides being an actor, Matt also has worked for NBC in television editing, and last winter worked on NBC's broadcasting of the XXIV Winter Olympics held in Beijing. He found out that he had won an Emmy for his editing work for NBC last month and his Emmy arrived in Bend this week. Congratulations, Matt, on such an impressive award!

Originally developed as the "affordable" option to most of Brooks Resources' subdivisions in Bend, NorthWest Crossing quickly became one of the the most popular neighborhoods within the city, attracting many California transplants as well as locals to the healthy lifestyle characterized by the community. The initial style of homes - mostly craftsman bungalows - has evolved over the years with later phases built in the more modern design now desired by many. However, the resale value of the original craftsman homes has increased dramatically and the appeal of the neighborhood has remained among Bend's most favored.
NorthWest Crossing experienced the same market trends most of Bend had during the past three years with Covid creating a huge spike in demand for homes, leading to multiple offers and rising prices. Although home prices have le...
We track on a monthly basis the real estate single family home sales trends for Bend, and on a quarterly basis those of Redmond. However, there are four other cities in Central Oregon which are important markets to our home buyers and sellers. The small city of Sisters typically has had higher prices than the other Central Oregon municipalities, but the access to the Cascades and other recreational opportunities has been a draw for those who like its quaint, western theme. For many for whom Bend is too expensive, wonderful options are available in La Pine, Madras and Prineville.
For the past three years, all three towns have followed the same market trends for their single family home sales as we have seen in both Bend and Redmond. Lack of inventory with high demand drove home prices up through 2021 into mid 2022, at which time the sharp increase in mortgage interest rates led to a...