The Bend Market Roared

March in Bend was a whirlwind . . . I can’t remember if it came in like a lamb and went out like a lion, or vice versa. Whatever the case, the Bend real estate market roared on during the month.

Though the number of purchases (single family residential on less than an acre) was down a bit at 179, that’s still a pretty reasonable early spring number. And, the high end of the market absolutely killed it . . . I’ve never ever seen numbers to rival this. Those immigrants are coming here with lots of money!

Three homes sold for more than 3 million dollars (unheard of!); two of them for $3.75 million. Fully 30 sold for more than a million dollars!

Lack of inventory continued to plague us–just .35 months (about 10 days) overall; this even caused spillover to our peripheral markets, and made for some very hefty price increases in Redmond, Sisters,  and Prineville. We saw all time highs once again with our median price at $597,500 and our median price per square foot ($300). Homes went pending in an average of just 4 days . . . Buyers needed to be quick on the draw.

Luxury Bend . . . $3,750,000

We’ve seen this one before (it was listed at an outlandish $15,000,000 in March of 2017)–welcome again to “Casa Montana.”

Quite a home . . . perhaps just a tad ostentatious . . . but, nevertheless, beautiful. Five bedrooms, six baths, and eight fireplaces! A juxtaposed mix of “stately spaciousness and cozy elegance” (certainly not my words!).

A mere 7317 square feet, with a casual courtyard and serene pool overlooking the fourth green of Broken Top’s Weiskopf/Morrish championship track. The home, with high ceilings and wonderful wood beams was offered turnkey (including furniture and artwork).

The house languished a bit (199 days) . . . certainly not unusual for a home at this price point in Bend; still, it closed for near list at $513 per foot.

Bend’s Median . . . $597,500

Another all-time high! And no sign of this “madness” ending anytime soon. A 3/3, 2220 square foot Craftsman in beautiful snowy Stonehaven on Bend’s southeast side, the home featured a vaulted entry and slate flooring. All bedrooms were up.

The house (listed at $550,000) closed in just four days at almost $50,000 over the asking price! It went for $272 per square foot.

As always, a scary look at the median prices of the two sides of town:

East side    $510,000

West side   $900,000

Bargain Bend . . . $312,000

Kind of anti-climatic after the drama and excitement of the “Casa,” nevertheless, the low-priced leader for the month was this cute cottage bungalow in Deschutes River Woods. It sold at full price, and went pending almost immediately. It was also one of only five homes to sell for less than $400,000.

The one bed, one bath, 774 square foot property also offered a small fenced backyard, a 3-sided carport, and a storage shed. All this on a .86 acre lot.

A newer roof and septic tank were installed just 11 short years ago. Quite the opportunity at $403/square foot.

Noteworthy Sales

A couple of auspicious sales in March–

A classic at Brasada Ranch . . . 3/4, 4484 square feet . . . $1,395,000

A wonderful 9.65 acre parcel in Grandridge Estates . . . $699,000

Looking Ahead

In a nutshell (click to play):