Dog Days of Summer

While the “Dog Days of Summer” brought sweltering weather to Bend,

the real estate wasn’t so hot. Things stalled out a bit. And, as our fearless pundit had prophesied a month ago (” . . . we’ll be lucky to see 175 sales in July”), the market took the hint and did take a hit. We did see exactly 175 sales (single family residential on less than an acre)–the lowest July figure since 2012; and a far cry from figures over the previous three Julys . . . 246, 318, 238 respectively. Ah, we miss those days.

A few observations:

• Median price hung tough at $762,000 (up from $722,000 in June)
• Cash talked . . . a full 31% of July purchases were cash transactions
• Inventory was up slightly–2.06 months overall (6 months is considered a “balanced” market)
• High end continued to flourish with 50 homes (29%) topping $1,000,000

Check out those July temperatures (nineteen days in the nineties!)  . . .

Slumming It In Bend . . . $430,000

The low priced leader for July was this 2/1, 1004 square foot home in Nottingham Square–a nice community where the HOA maintains open areas and green spaces. It was one of 7 homes to sell for less than $500,000.

Despite the park-like (not my word choice) setting, the house was in need of new flooring, paint, and updates. The stinkin’ hot tub didn’t work either.

I guess an honest assessment, with the flaws certainly reflected by the price.

Whatever . . . the home went pending in just three days, and closed at $5000 over list (at $428 per foot).

Bend’s Median . . . $762,000

A charming single level in Mountain Pines on Bend’s southeast side. This guy went pending in two days!

The 4 bedroom, 2 bath, 1906 square foot home featured knotty pine wainscoting, wood floors, and vaulted ceilings. It was built in 2002.

The home offered a “darling” front porch and a paver patio in back; it also backed to a large HOA-maintained common area. It closed at a couple of thousand over list (at $400/sq. ft.).

A monthly feature . . . the median prices on the two sides of town:

East side     $627,000

West side    $947,450

Luxury Bend . . . $3,000,000

Boy, a similar situation to last month . . . the big winner, a contemporary by Norman Building and Design that seemingly had it all; closed for more than $500,000 over list price! Talk about heat!

The 3/4, 2905 square foot single level plan featured a wall of windows, offering abundant light as well as spectacular views from Mt. Bachelor to Mt. Hood.

In the kitchen–Thermador stove with double oven, custom hood, built-in refrigerator, walk-in pantry.

1,168 square foot bazillion car garage, 220 power for electric cars, built-in cabinets with sink, gas heater, and the third bay featured an 11 ft. overhead door . . . perfect for your expensive Winnebago Revel.

This one went pending in 5 days and closed at a gargantuan $1033 per square foot!

Looking Back . . . 5 Years Ago, 10 Years Ago

A little scary to look back to just five years ago when Bend’s median price was $412,000 and 35 homes sold for under $300,000.

Even scarier to go back 10 years when 63 homes sold for less than $200,000, and the median price topped out at $235,000. Amongst those sales were 36 “distressed properties” (14 bank-owned and 22 short sales).

Seems like another world ago!

Looking Ahead

Kinda scary to attempt to look ahead too. But, I think we can expect more of the same:

• More price reductions
• More days on the market
• Fewer sales (I don’t think we’ll see 175 in August)
• Perhaps a stabilization of pricing
• Hopefully, a slight reduction in interest rates (now back around 5%)
• Fewer multiple offers
• Important to keep an eye on what’s happening in our “feeder” markets

Enjoy what’s left of summer!