In the past month we’ve seen the Bend real estate market heat up!  All signs are pointing to the bottom.  We’re seeing multiple offers on many properties and interest rates are slowly climbing.  Both are signs that we’re close or at the bottom of our real estate market.

Foreclosures and short sales are still the majority of our business, but normal owner occupied homes are starting to sell as well.  Earlier this week a normal listing that I showed had 2 offers on it within the first couple of days it came on the market and is now pending sale. 

Here is a quick glance at the current Bend real estate market.

1622  ACTIVE Residential Listings  (single family stick-built)
217    PENDING Residential Listings (single family stick-built)
119    SOLD Residential Listings in the past month (single family stick-built)

The median sales price in Bend is up as well.  It jumped up from $195,000 to $217,000 in May, and will probably be higher for June.

Now REALLY is the time to buy.  Take advantage of the inventory and interest rates while it lasts.  Our market is heating up with the arrival of summer.

Tags: Bend Oregon, Bend real estate, Real Estate Market // 6 Comments »

Take a look! A cozy, updated home in a central Bend location.  This is a great buy for a first-time home buyer!  The home has been updated with Hickory wood floors, stainless steel appliances, remodeled bathrooms, modern fixtures, and a newer 30 year roof.  The backyard is big and includes a deck, hot tub, dog run, and a custom rock waterfall.  This is truly a good buy!

Click photo for more photos and a virtual tour of this updated Bend home.

3 Bedrooms
1.75 Bathrooms
1219 Sq Ft
2 Car Garage
Huge Backyard w/ deck, water feature, and hot tub.
All appliances included!
$169,900

View more details on my Bend Oregon real estate site, or call me at 541-419-1448 for more information.

Tags: Bend Oregon, Bend real estate, real estate // 11 Comments »

Mt. Bachelor offers a stimulus package to skiers and snowboarders

Mt. Bachelor in the fall, take by your Bend real estate agent

If you’re planning on hitting the slopes of Mt. Bachelor soon, check out these new offers the mountain is giving guests.  The resort owned by Powder Corp. is giving all season pass holders 5 “bring a friend” tickets at a low rate of $29.  Each season pass holder can buy 5 tickets this year for $29 to give to friends or family.  This deal is good on Sun.-Fri., excluding holidays.

Another part of the stimulus package includes “hooky day” passes.  These passes are available for the public to buy for $29.  The tickets need to be purchased online over the weekend for the following Tues, Wed, or Thurs.  The website says that there are limited quantities available, and again holidays are excluded.

Check out the Mt. Bachelor website for all of the details.

A small storm is supposed to roll in tonight, and a larger storm is expected to hit late this weekend or early next week.  Pray for powder!  If you’re planning on coming to Bend to look at real estate deals, take advantage of Mt. Bachelor’s deals while you’re here.

Tags: Bend Oregon, Mt. Bachelor // 9 Comments »

Prudential Northwest Properties has expanded!  We now have an office in Sunriver.  Upon the closing of Coldwell Banker First Resort Realty, Prudential Northwest Properties acquired several new agents and a great location in Sunriver.

Prudential Northwest Properties is located in the Sunriver mall, building 9.  The office is co-located with Discover Sunriver Vacation Rentals.  About 14 agents came aboard from Coldwell Banker First Resort.  Prudential NW Properties now has offices in Bend, Redmond, Prineville, and Sunriver.

In these times of uncertainty, Prudential Northwest Properties has proved to me and the public that they are in the real estate business for the long haul, and so am I!

If you have any questions about the Sunriver real estate market, please contact me.

Tags: Real Estate Market, Sunriver Real Estate // 14 Comments »

     I just took a great new listing in NW Bend.  Its located just a few blocks from the Deschutes river and has easy access to Downtown Bend.  This home is wonderful because it has the security of a subdivision, but it backs to small acreage.  You look out the windows to trees rather than houses!  Truely a great Bend value at $234,900.

     Heres the details on this NW Bend home.

Bend Oregon home for sale

       $234,900 

• 3 Bedrooms
• 2.5 Bathrooms
• 1986 Sq Ft
• 2 Car Garage
• Landscaped w/ Sprinklers 

     The great room is spacious and includes a separate living room area.  Enjoy BBQ’s on the back deck that looks out at small acreage.  Updates include quality laminate wood flooring, tile, a gas fireplace, recessed lighting, exposed beams, and wiring for CAT-5 networking and sound. 

     If you would like additional information, please click on the photo to view the property listing.  And remember you can always search the mls on my Bend Oregon Real Estate website.

Tags: Bend Oregon, Bend real estate, Westside Bend, real estate // 10 Comments »

There are some great deals happening in Central Oregon on Bank Owned homes.  In trying to make it easier for clients to search for foreclosures, I’ve developed a Foreclosure page on my website that allows users to sign up to receive new bank owned listings as they come on the market.  Some of these bank owned properties are selling extremely fast, with multiple offers.  If you’re in the market for a “steal”, visit my Foreclosure page and sign up. 

You’ll receive only listings matching your criteria.  If you only want listings in Bend, Redmond, Sunriver, or Sisters, you’ll only get those listings, or you can choose to receive listings in all of Central Oregon.  All listings will match your needs- Price Range, Area, Bedrooms, Bathrooms, Sq Ft, etc.

If you have any questions about Foreclosures in the Bend area, please contact me. 

Start your search for Bend Foreclosures! (click link)

Tags: Bend Oregon, Bend real estate, Real Estate Market, Redmond Oregon, real estate // 10 Comments »

The Bend Oregon Real Estate Market Is Seeing Signs Of Affordability

A review of the $200,000 or less price range in Bend

As of today, there are 144 stick built, single family homes in Bend available on the Central Oregon MLS for under $200,000, (excluding townhomes, condos, and manufactured homes).  The most affordable Bend home is priced at $115,000, and there are many homes available in the $150K-$175K range.  The majority of these homes are in the 1,000 sq ft- 1,700 sq ft range, but there are also a few 2,000 sq ft + homes available. 

While the Bend Oregon real estate market is seeing an increase in foreclosures, only 12 of these properties are listed as Bank Owned homes.  These foreclosures range in size, condition, and price.  In addition, 48 of the Bend homes listed in this price range are listed as Short Sales.  A short sale is when the home owners owes more on their home than they can get from the proceeds of a sale.

Currently there are 20 homes Pending Sale for less than $200,000 and 13 homes have closed escrow in the Bend real estate market in the past month in this price range.

There is a variety of affordable Bend homes for buyers to choose from.  Homes range in size, location, and age.  There are even brand new homes available for under $200K.  With interest rates on the rise, now may be the time for you to buy a home in Bend.

If you have any questions about the Central Oregon real estate market, please contact me.  You can also search for Bend homes yourself on my website.

Tags: Bend Oregon, Bend real estate, Real Estate Market, real estate // 10 Comments »

The Central Oregon MLS just added the category Bank Owned to the MLS website.  This means that searching for foreclosures in Central Oregon cities will now be easier than ever.  While I haven’t found a website that allows clients to search for foreclosures on the COAR MLS, agents can now set up clients to receive foreclosure listings in their e-mail.  Clients will be e-mailed foreclosure listings as they come on the market or change price.

Currently there are 69 bank owned foreclosures on the MLS (residential only).  These foreclosures range from $109,900 to $735,000.  There are probably some listings that haven’t been added to the category yet, so this number will likely go up in the next week or so.

If you’d like to receive a list of all of the Bank Owned Foreclosures in Bend, Redmond, Sisters, Sunriver, Prineville, LaPine, Madras, or all of Central Oregon, please leave a comment below or contact me.

Tags: Bend real estate, Real Estate Market, Redmond Oregon, real estate // 7 Comments »

With most home buyers searching for homes online before they buy, real estate photography is now more important than ever.  We’ve all seen the listings online with dark, fuzzy photos.  Or how about the photos of just the bed or toilet!  These do nothing but hurt your chances of selling your home.

As a photographer and real estate broker, I’ve decided to make a list of photography tricks and tips for sellers and agents.

1. Think about the picture before you take it.  What are you trying to show in the photo?  Do you want to move or remove anything before you take it?
2. Turn on all of the lights.  Make sure all lights, lamps, and accent lights are on.
3. Use a tripod.  For those with unsteady hands, or in bad lighting conditions, use a tripod to steady your camera. 
4. Get a camera with a wide angle lens.  If you can afford it, a digital SLR is best.  But there are a few great point and shoot cameras with built in wide angle lenses.  Wide angle lenses let you show off a homes floor plan and more of bedrooms and bathrooms.  But be careful when taking photos with a wide angle lense.  Barrell distortion can occur.  To prevent barrell distortion while shooting real estate, make sure your camera is level and that all verticle walls are indeed verticle.
5. Lighting.  This is the tricky part.  Some interiors are not lit well and need some artificial light.  External flashes work great if you have an SLR.  If you’re using a Point and Shoot, be creative.  Play with your settings on your camera.  Open doors and windows to allow more light.
6. Exterior of the home.  The “front of the home” shot is the most important.  Buyers search online and see only 1 photo in their results, (the “front of home” shot).  Make this shot unique.  Try taking the photo from an elevated spot (from the back of a house or from the deck of a neighboring house).  Make this image crisp and high in contrast to grab the attention of buyers using your post processing software (such as adobe photoshop)
7. Take twice as many photos as you think you need.  Put them all on the computer and then pick the best images.
   

   Bend Real Estate - Photo By Dylan Darling

For more information on real estate photography, check out http://photographyforrealestate.net/.  It’s a great site with a lot of helpful information.

Tags: Bend Oregon, real estate // 17 Comments »

Bend Residential Real Estate Sales

As a Bend agent, the question I get  most is “How’s the market doing?”  Here are some current statistics on the Bend real estate market.

STICK-BUILT HOMES IN BEND
As of 9/29/08, on the Central Oregon MLS there are currently 1,968 stick-built residential properties available in the Bend area, and 169 homes are pending sale.  Over the past 12 months 1,238 homes have sold in the Bend area.  That’s an average of 103 a month.  At that pace, we have about 19 months of inventory in the Bend area.  However, this number will most likely change this fall.  Why?- I currently know many sellers that are selling multiple properties right now, but really they just need to sell 1 or 2.  Most likely many of these sellers will rent out their remaining properties and take them off the market.  Also, many properties currently listed are up for rent as well.  Most likely those properties will rent first and be taken off the market.

Here’s a graph showing the DOM, (days on market), for SOLD stick-built homes in the Bend area.

As you can see, most homes sold in the Bend real estate market were on the market for more than 120 days.  Sellers- Be patient and price your home right.  It may take some time, but with the right price and appropriate advertising your home can sell in today’s market.  107 homes have sold in Bend in the past 30 days ranging from $127,050 - $1,700,000.

A Quick Look at the Redmond Real Estate Market

Searching the same criteria as above, the Redmond real estate market shows 787 active stick-built homes on the market.  76 homes are currently pending sale in Redmond and 468 homes have sold in the past year.  In the past 30 days, 41 homes have sold in Redmond.

The Bratton report should be out in early October and I’ll give you an update on the entire Central Oregon real estate market at that time.   If you have something to contribute, or a question about the current real estate market feel free to comment below!

Tags: Bend Oregon, Real Estate Market, Redmond Oregon, real estate // 6 Comments »