What’s A Million Bucks Get you?

A million dollars will still get you a pretty nice house (and a wonderful lifestyle–just check out the above photo) in Bend Oregon . . . just check out some of these recent purchases from the last few months.

• 4/3.5, 3426 square feet on Awbrey Butte

• 5/4.5, 3768 square feet in Sunriver

• 3/3, 3273 square feet, 9 acres between Bend and Sisters

What’s It Get you Elsewhere?

I guess “elsewhere” a lot of times refers to California (or, at least the west coast). In-migration continues to drive our local market, and it’s no small  wonder that folks are flocking here (supposedly, say city planners, to the tune of 12 new arrivals per day). Just look at what they are leaving . . . here’s what that one million gets you/them in other areas.

• In Berkeley, 3/2, 1545 square feet, 3000 square foot lot, Built in 1923, $646/square foot

• In San Jose, 3/2, 1214 square feet, built in 1954, $848/square foot

• Laguna Beach, 2/1, 636 square feet, 1742 square foot lot, $1634/square foot

The Bend Market . . . November 2018

Back to reality . . . a little sad in November. We saw the purchase of just 170 homes (down 24% from October); another 153 were “pended” (down 16%). Maybe it’s the season; maybe a sign of things to come.

Inventory levels remained low . . . just 2.7 months overall; still a “Seller’s Market” (less than 6 months of inventory) across all price points. Despite a bit of gloom, homes continued to sell at 95% of original list, averaging $243 per square foot. Median price remained stable at $433,133.

Also, a little scary . . . just 50 building permits issued in November.

Somewhat Affordable Bend

The lack of affordable housing continued to be a serious problem, with no real solution in sight. The least expensive home sold in Bend (one of just 10 for less than $300,000) was a three bedroom, two bath, 1068 square foot single level on a large (.54 acre) lot.

It closed in just 26 days at a little over list price at $231,400, or $217 per square foot.

The house was conveniently located on a corner lot between busy Brosterhous Road and the train tracks.

Bend’s Median . . . $433,133

$433,133 . . . that number is looking pretty good after seeing the California homes at the top of the page. For the median price in Bend, one could maybe get something like this new construction in Mirada, way out on the east side.

The 3/2.5, 1904 square foot home featured quartz countertops and stainless appliances . . . all this on a tiny 4356 square foot lot. It sold for $226 per square foot.

The Mirada neighborhood also features a nice park and a very popular community pool.

A monthly human interest feature: comparing median prices for the two sides of town. A little shocking to note the disparity this month . . . on the east side–$380,000; on the west–$619,000.

Luxury Bend . . . $1,650,000

I can almost see myself lurking in the tub (ooh, that’s a bad vision!) of this luxury 4/3.5, 4451 square foot custom home on Awbrey Butte, taking in the near 270 degree vista from Mt. Bachelor to Smith Rock.

The home featured a flat driveway (a necessity on the Butte), as well as a main level master and den. As is now common with some of our high end Bend listings, this one went through a series of price adjustments ($2.1M to $1.9M to $1.695M) before selling at $371 per square foot.

Going Forward

What have we got to look forward to? That one is pretty easy . . .  a great ski season at Mt. Bachelor, a very Merry Christmas, and a happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year!