Ask any Bend Premier Real Estate broker about the local housing market and they will tell you that it is changing. After the initial few weeks of the Covid-19 pandemic, real estate sales across the nation accelerated beyond any seen before. Lack of inventory coupled with low interest rates led to multiple-offers, tremendous buyer demand and rising home prices; between March of 2020 and March of 2022, the average price of a Bend single family home on less than an acre increased 67%. This rate of increase was not sustainable. When
Although the 30 year interest rate has moderated a bit from its high of 7.08% hit November 10, 2022, the rapid increase in mortgage interest rates we have seen since the beginning of 2022 has greatly impacted our buyer's purchasing power. Many buyers are regretting that they didn't buy several months ago before rates rose to the levels they are now. But is it really cheaper to buy a Bend home today than it was six months ago? Let's look at the true difference between these two markets and see what the numbers actually say.
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In April, we were still living under high demand for Bend homes and a $500,000 property hitting the market would often generate
As we published last month, the Bend real estate market is in transition. The steep rise in mortgage rates and continued home price increase has impacted Bend homebuyers to the point where home sales have slowed beyond normal seasonal levels. It is as if the brakes have been hit and all onboard are bracing for an impact. What that eventual impact will be remains to be seen.
When October, 2022 sales of Bend single family homes are compared with those from October, 2021, the following changes can be noted:

Ask any real estate agent across the country about the current state of the market, they will tell you things have changed dramatically since earlier in the year. Ask a Bend Premier Real Estate Broker about the local market, they will tell you that it is as if the brakes have been hit stopping a jet plane. The fed's increase in interest rates is being done to curtail inflation. When it comes to the housing industry, this tightening is working. Bend home sales are falling, days on market are rising, yet home prices are still up. Mortgage interest rates are now approaching 7% for a 30 year fixed, a figure which hasn't been seen since 2002. Each percentage increase in interest rates reduces homebuyer's buying power by 10-12%. As the number of pending...
We have been tracking Bend single family home sales for many years, looking at the trends, how home prices rise or fall, what the changes are in price per square foot, median and average sales price, months of inventory and days on market. We have consistently compared one month to the same month the year previously in order to follow the long term changes instead of potential anomalies that can occur over a short time period. We have watched and recorded that happened to the Bend home market when the market crashed with the housing recession. And we have watched and recorded the latest changes that happened when the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent stay-at-home orders made Americans realize that home meant a whole lot more than it had in the past & lifestyle was more important than an easy commute to the office.
Sometimes, however, it is good to look at the trends over many months to get a...