Bend Real Estate Sales Down in April

The first full month of the Covid-19 pandemic impacted Bend single family homes with sales significantly down over the same month in 2019. Some buyers lost jobs which in turn kept them from qualifying for their mortgage. In other cases, sellers took their homes off the market not feeling confident to sell during the stay at home orders. Other buyers delayed their trips to Bend and canceled appointments to view homes. While Bend home sales still are occurring, it is different than it was before Covid-19.

When April 2020 Bend single family home sales are compared with April 2019, the following differences can be noted:

• Homes available for sale down 16% from 971 to 811*
• New active listings during the month down 35% from 364 to 236
• Pending home sales down 41% from 296 to 172
• Homes closed down 6% from 2...

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Central Oregon Real Estate Sales Feeling Impact of Covid-19 Pandemic

The March 2020 real estate trends have been published and they reflect both the start of the Covid-19 pandemic and the closings from strong February home sales. Central Oregon schools shut down Friday, March 13th and stay at home became the norm the following week.  Since the start of the pandemic, home sales have dropped, new listings have slowed, and more sale fails than normal have occurred, often due to buyers losing jobs and no longer qualifying for loans.  However, Central Oregon real estate sales are still happening, although at a different rate than normal for this time of year.

Bend Home Sales Mixed

When March of 2020 is compared with March of 2019 for the sales of Bend single family homes on less than an acre, the following can be noted:

• Numb...

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Central Oregon Appraisers are Very Busy

Bend Premier Real Estate is fortunate to have Erik Chapin, one of our Premier Brokers who is also a  licensed appraiser, as an expert on the appraisal business in Central Oregon. According to Erik, Covid-19 has had a dramatic impact on appraisals locally.

Erik typically operates with a lead time of 4 weeks to complete an appraisal.  At this time in 2019, he averaged twelve appraisals a month.  Last week over a three day period, he received ten appraisals on top of fifteen he already had. He is working six to seven days a week and is having a hard time keeping up. There are a number of reasons why there is such a backlog:

Why Are Central Oregon Appraisals Backlogged?

1) Low in...

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Will Coronavirus Change the Central Oregon Real Estate Market?

With the outbreak of the coronavirus worldwide, which has sickened thousands and created panic and uncertainty in our stock market, we are left to question if the effects will extend to the US real estate market, and more specifically to our local Central Oregon real estate market.

Coronavirus Pushes Down Interest Rates

Mortgage Interest Rates have already fallen to new record lows (3.29% as of March 5^th) as investors are taking money out of the volatile stock market and putting it into safer US Treasury Bonds. Historically, when bonds are strong, mortgage rates go down.

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Lack of Inventory Impacting Bend Real Estate

A mild winter and continued high demand has led to a boom for February 2020 home sales in Bend. When the February 2020 sales of Bend single family homes on less than an acre are compared with February 2019, the following changes can be noted:

• Homes for sale down 36.7% to 252*
• Homes sold up 17.6% to 127
• Homes pended up 51% to 219
• Average price per square foot up 7.3% to $265
• Average days on market up 10.1% to 131
• Sold/Original listing price difference percentage unchanged
• Average active price up 13.2% to $771,000
• Average sold price up 11.7% to $564,000
• Months of inventory  down 46.1% to 2

Bend Home Sales Not Following Normal Trends

Winter is typically a slower time fo...

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