Sales and Pending Sales of Bend Homes Surge
We hope you are doing as well as possible right now, and that this update on the Bend real estate market is helpful to you during this chaotic time. The local real estate market in Bend has been a dynamic one due to many factors these last few months, and as a result, the inventory of homes for sale is more limited than it’s been in a long while.
Since mid-March, we’ve been analyzing weekly data in addition to the monthly research we normally use to help us understand how the pandemic is affecting the Bend real estate market. Many of our clients have noticed how quickly our new listings have been selling, and that’s only one indicator of buyer demand right now. Although the number of new listings of Bend homes held relatively steady between May and June, a surge in sales and pending sales offset the inventory, which is down 50% month-to-month. Record-low interest rates are spurring home buying activity as well, with the average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage below 3% for the first time according to a Freddie Mac survey released last Friday.
Many of our clients have noticed how quickly our new listings have been selling, and that’s only one indicator of buyer demand right now.
Additionally, both buyers and sellers are making lifestyle decisions based on their “new normal,” and as a result they’re adjusting their real estate goals accordingly. Some of our clients are downsizing, while others are upsizing to accommodate work-from-home and remote learning for their kids. Bend already had a robust remote worker population, and as you can imagine, it’s growing even more as many employers relax their work-from-home policies during the pandemic. (We recently had the opportunity to hear a presentation by a local financial expert about how COVID-19 is distorting the supply-and-demand imbalance of local real estate, and why this moment in time is different from the real estate “bubble” of 2006.)
Here are some quick data points from the newest market trends through July 19 for Bend residential real estate.
Median Home Price up to $463,000
- The median home price was up 3% from May to June.
- This is an increase of 4% year-over-year. Last June the median home price was $445,050.
New Listings
- 250 Bend homes were listed in June, down just 3% from May.
- There were 17% fewer new listings this June compared with June of 2019.
Homes Sold and Pending Sales
- Pending sales were up 20%, from 285 homes pending in May to 343 in June.
- The number of pending sales last month is the largest we’ve seen since we began tracking our data in 2007.
- Sales of Bend homes were up 55% from May to June.
- In June, 225 homes sold, compared with 145 in May.
Active Listings, Available Inventory and Days On Market
- With increased buyer activity, there were 21% fewer active listings in June than in May.
- There were 363 active listings in June, a decrease of 26% from June of 2019, when there were 491 active listings.
- Inventory has dramatically reduced, from 3.91 months of inventory in May to 1.61 months in June.
- The time it takes to sell a Bend home continues to be brisk, with an average of 52 days on the market leading to a sale.
Price Reductions
- Based on our weekly data, the number of price reductions is steady month-to-month.
- There were an average of 21 reductions on the asking prices of Bend homes in both May and June.
We’re here to help, and encourage you to reach out to us for more in-depth advice on navigating your own real estate strategies during this dynamic time.