May 2021 . . . The Bend Market Rolls On!

The Market

What’s new? The Bend real estate market continued to roll in May. Looking solely at single family residential on less than an acre, we saw the purchase of 224 homes; another 168 went pending. Available inventory remained extremely tight–just .4 months overall . . . that’s about 12 days! Homes that were available went pending in an average of just four days, with multiple offers (usually over list price) seemingly the norm. Prospective buyers (and their agents) needed to be more than ready, willing and able . . . they also needed to creative and lucky.

As this pundit had predicted, median price dropped a bit; settling at $628,000 from its record high of $651,000 in April. But, don’t hold your breath . . . we’ll be back up again next month.

Bargain Bend . . . $385,000

One of only two homes to sell for less than $400,000, the loss leader for May was a one bedroom, two bath, 920 square foot “cabin in the woods.” The home, in Romaine Village on Bend’s southwest side, was listed at $325,000 but sold for $60,000 (that’s almost freakin’ 20%) more; it went pending in 5 days!

The .26 acre property certainly had the garage situation covered . . . an oversized 552 square foot attached as well as a 400 square foot detached. Not sure about the house.

Regardless, it sold at $418 per foot.

Luxury Bend . . . $3,080,000

The Bend luxury market continued to prosper with 28 homes selling for more than a million dollars. Interesting that the big winner wasn’t from Tetherow or Broken Top or Awbrey Butte. Instead, the most expensive home purchased in Bend was this riverfront masterpiece in a snowy gated section of River Rim.

The four bedroom, seven bath (whew), 8247 square foot (whew again!) home, standing sentinel over the Deschutes, offered a main level master, bonus room, and office; with three suites up.

A busy (the above photo is a bit tough on the eyes) custom gourmet kitchen with butler’s pantry, a private family room, and a grandiose great room with a floor-to-ceiling stone wall helped to complete the picture.

Surely, one of the most spectacular riverfront homes in Central Oregon, it too went pending in 4 days and sold for $373 per square foot.

Bend’s Median . . . $628,000

For May, the median priced home in Bend would look like this two bedroom, one bath, 837 square foot cottage in NorthWest Crossing on Bend’s west side. It sold at $53,000 over list price (at $750 per square foot no less!). Per the new normal, it went pending in just four days.

The home was nice (but pretty tiny) . . . wood floors, tile counter tops, a gas fireplace, a covered porch, and a very public back patio.

A primo location–close to all the action!

As usual, here’s a comparison of the median prices for the two sides of town:

East side $559,000

West side $845,000 (note–31% of homes sold for more than a million dollars)

Auspicious Sales

A couple of noteworthy sales in May:

A beautiful one-of-a-kind custom in The Rim at Tetherow; 3/4, 2677 square feet at $1,174,500 (or $439 per foot)

A very clean single level on a corner lot in The Parks; 3/2, 1846 square feet at $785,000 ($425 per foot).

Looking Ahead

No end in sight to the in-migration (Where do they come from?). Interest rates remain in the 3% range; low inventory and short marketing times continue to reveal a very strong seller’s market. The temporary drop in median price really is of little significance and certainly not indicative of a market correction.

The robust market in Bend continues to have a peripheral impact as well–Redmond’s median price topped out at a record $443,000. Likewise, Central Oregon’s rental market has been affected pretty dramatically.