Sting pretty much got it right (click on the photo below) . . . especially timely today.

April 2020

The first couple of weeks of the month looked pretty dismal . . .

perhaps a bit of a hangover from the shelter-in-place ruling, the awkwardness of having kids (without friends)  around the house 24/7, the discomfort (and perceived lack of cool) of wearing a mask in public, or maybe just a general fear of the unknown and concerns about leadership.  But, then something strange seemed to happen–the buyers suddenly came out of the woodwork. Call it pent up demand; call it whatever you want. We got busy again!

We ended with 171 homes purchased for the month (about the same as March). Pending sales were again scary, as was to be expected–just 106 for the month. That number is especially frightening when compared to April a year ago when a colossal 252 homes went into contract.

Luxury Bend . . . $2,175,000

Not Tetherow, not Broken Top or Awbrey Butte . . . instead, one of the best downtown riverfront lots in Bend; this one, complete with a grandfathered private dock.

The  three bedroom, three bath, 3663 square foot home offered a spacious open floor plan. Updated extensively in 2017, it featured new countertops, carpet, completely refinished wood floors, and new appliances.

A rare find . . . it sold at almost $600 per square foot! It was one of ten homes to sell for more than a million dollars in April.

Bend’s Median . . . $461,000

Sort of boring . . . but once again Bend’s median price hung pretty solid at $461,000.

For that price one could expect something like this new construction in Hidden Hills on Bend’s east side.

The contemporary single level abode  went 3/2, and 1679 square feet. It featured hardwood floors, solid surface counter tops, and a great location on the trail to the future Alpenglow Park. It sold at 102% of list, or $275 per square foot.

Affordable Bend

Still kind of on oxymoron . . . there would be those who say that there is no affordable housing in Bend. Nevertheless, the least expensive home sold (one of only two last month that sold for less than $300,000) in Bend in April was another tiny home in The Hiatus.

I believe they are now sold out . . . everyone of the 22 private lots in this one of a kind community have been purchased. There will be something new to write about next month!

The 2/1, 598 square foot cottage sold for $286,305 or $479 per foot.

Looking Ahead . . . “Dancing With Myself”

I mentioned last month that, despite the quarantine,  we had taken some great new listings. Three of them have since gone into contract. Moving into May and June, we see the local Bend market as being extremely busy; I alluded above to pent up demand. Combine this with an acute shortage of inventory.

I think we’ll also see an exodus of sorts from some of our more populous feeder markets (the Bay Area, Southern California, and Seattle). For these folks, Bend offers a smaller, safer, friendlier, tele-commute manageable option.

Buckle up!

Let’s finish this session with another applicable tune . . . this time a little Billy Idol.