If you’ve lived in Central Oregon for many years like our team has, you know firsthand we can quickly go from living in a Winter Wonderland to balmy, mild days in “June-uary,” an interchangeable nickname for either a warm January or a cool June. With the holiday season behind us, and the promise of a new year (and new decade!) ahead–perhaps combined with mild January weather–the number of new listings in the Bend real estate market rose dramatically last month.
There were 142 Bend homes introduced to the market in January, a big jump from December, when there were 78 new listings, but not as robust as January of 2019, when there were 174. As for January home sales, 135 Bend homes sold last month, a 34% drop from December, with 206 home sales. However, the number of pending sales was up 46% month-to-month, a substantial increase. Next month’s data should help us clarify whether this is the beginning of a trend or a surge inspired by the warmer weather in January.
- 142 new listings in January
- 135 Bend homes sold last month
- 186 pending sales on Bend homes
Meanwhile, the inventory of Bend homes for sale remains relatively low, as it is just below the average inventory for 2019, and 26% lower than January last year. Even with a more limited inventory, buyers have the opportunity to look for homes with a reduced asking price, as price reductions are up 24% from December to January. (The price on 41 properties was reduced last month, which is still much lower than January of 2019, when there were 71 price reductions.) Some sellers might be motivated to reduce their asking price because of an increase in the length of time it is taking to sell a home in Bend. The “Days on Market” metric we use to evaluate the length of time it takes to sell a home in Bend is up 33% from December to 150 days in January.
As for the median home price, it is consistent, both month-to-month and year-to-year. At $447,000, the current median home price in Bend is less than 1% higher in December when it was $439,995, and 2% higher than in January of 2019.
We enjoy crunching the most current real estate data, comparing it with our historical in-house data, and then using our collective knowledge of the Bend real estate market to give you the most accurate snapshot of current market trends to help inform your real estate decisions. Our team loves helping buyers find unique, well-valued opportunities to invest in Bend real estate, as well as providing our sellers with information that is uniquely ours to help them list their home at the right price for the market on a timeline that suits their lifestyle. Contact us for a meeting to discuss your 2020 real estate goals.
