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:

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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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Steins Pillar Trail Little Traveled Early April 2020

We have focused most of our hikes in the Cascades during our time living in Central Oregon.  However, the Ochocos, east of Prinveille, offer wonderful, less traveled hikes with beautiful vistas and interesting geology.

We traveled an hour out of Bend to find the Steins Pillar trailhead, traveling at the end first on a gravel road for several miles and then a single lane dirt road the last two miles.  When we arrived at 10:00 am, there was no one else there and we enjoyed our two mile hike into the Steins Pillar without seeing any other people. The hike had a few icy sections and patches of snow were still evident on more shaded areas, but the end of the hike being able to see Steins Pillar was well worth it.

Steins Pillar is a 350 foot remnant of a volcano dating back 38 million years. The hike to the Pillar has rock outcroppings, views of the Ochocos, viewpoints of the Pillar when you get closer to it and wildflowers.  The four mile round trip (out and back) is considered moderate and can be accomplished in a couple of hours, depending on how long you spend admiring the pillar when you reach its base.

During our trip out, we passed 4 other parties hiking in.  There were plenty of places to step aside and keep good social distancing. And all the people we passed appeared to be enjoying, as we were, the opportunity to be out of their home.

Covid 19 Concerns Are Real

Concerns over the spread of Covid 19 have quickly changed how we conduct real estate sales in Central Oregon over the past few weeks. Shelter in place, social distancing, travel constraints, economic concerns, social changes, and just an overall fear of catching the coronavirus has really impacted human behavior. As a result, we are seeing two distinctly different groups here at Bend Premier Real Estate when it comes to real estate transactions. 

Get me out!

The first group was the first to emerge as soon as the panic set in. With predictions of massive layoffs and record unemployment, we started to hear concerns of potential job loses and uncertainty...

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Peter Skene Ogden Trail Provides Waterfalls and Privacy

Three weeks into the coronavirus pandemic in the United States and one week into the shut down of Oregon's State Parks, we have been searching for options where we can enjoy a hike with plenty of space to keep six feet away from others which is now the norm. Yesterday we traveled 23 miles south of Bend and took the road toward Paulina National Monument, turning off on the dirt road to McKay Crossing.  The campground at the crossing was closed, but the Peter Skene Ogden Trail was open and we hiked roughly 3.5 miles up the trail until snow accumulation kept us from going further.

We have hiked this trail before, going all 7 miles up to Paulina Falls at Paulina Lake in the Newberry Crater.  However, this early in the season snow is a factor.  The weather was cool - no higher than the low 40's - and it started snowing as we returned to our car. However, the chance to take a moderate hike with views of Paulina Creek and waterfalls in an early spring setting was so welcome after days of isolation at home.

During the hike we saw a total of 6 people and one dog - all during our return trip.  There were plenty of places on the trail to step aside to keep social distancing in place.