2018 ended with December showing a 7.9 percent year-over-year increase in the median sales price of a home in Bend, Oregon. The final month of the year was also characterized by continued signs of a housing market fueled by demand from prospective home buyers.

December’s median sales price of $425,700 was 1.7 percent lower than the month prior. Over the past seven years, we’ve had four years in which the median price declined from November to December and three in which the median price rose. During that time, of course, the housing market has strongly rebounded, so it’s tough to draw any conclusions from the dip from November to December in 2018.

It is worth noting, however, that the most recent November-to-December decline, in 2016, was a 5.5 percent drop, compared with this year’s 1.7 percent decline.

The year-end median sales price for a home was $426,200, 6.8 percent more than the same figure from the year prior. This marks the seventh consecutive calendar year that the median sales price of all of the homes sold in Bend, Oregon, has risen.

The average sales price to list price in December was 98 percent – only the second month in the calendar year that figure was not 99 percent. On the other hand, the average days on the market in December was 110 days – lower than in the previous two months and the lowest December on record. These numbers would seem to indicate that competitively priced homes are moving quickly and that buyers are being prudent with their offers.

The inventory of homes – that is, the amount of time it would take to sell all of the houses currently on the market at the current pace of sales – was 3.2 months in December. That compares with 4.9 months from December 2017 and 4.7 months from November 2018. Six months is generally regarded as the dividing line between a buyer’s and a seller’s market.

Total sales in Bend last year reached 2,418 units, nearly identical to 2017’s 2,428. This nearly constant number of sales came even as a decline was projected for the nation as a whole.

In Bend, 2018 ended with a trend of slowing activity in the market. For each of the final six months of the year, active listings were fewer than in the corresponding month of the previous year. The 95 new listings in December 2018 were the fewest for that month since 2013, when there were 84.

Winter is usually a slower time of the year in the real estate market, but that presents opportunities – whether you’re in the market for a home or considering selling your current residence. My knowledge of the Bend, Oregon, market, my ethical approach to my profession and my commitment to exceeding expectations will help bring about a successful real estate transaction. Please contact me at (541) 383-1426 or visit Bend Property Search to connect with me through my website.

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