Bend Oregon Housing Report January 2024

Central Oregon SFR markets ended the 2023 year with positive price trend gains overall. Inventory levels declined slightly in Bend and Redmond in December.

The Bend SFR market began 2023 with a median sale price of $685 and set a record high in July 2023 at $800k. Since July, the median sale price settled around $730k to $750k and ended in December at $725k. Inventory levels gained 1-month since early 2023 and finished at near 1.6 months (rounded to 2-months) in December. In Bend, the median sale price is up 5.8% from December 2022 ($678k). The number of sales since 12/2022 was 98, higher than last month’s 90 sales.

Bend Oregon Housing Report January 2024

The Bend Beacon Report tells us stats on homes that closed in December of 2023, and with these we can make some banner statements about 2023. Overall, it was a year of value growth for Bend, Oregon homeowners. We can see that demonstrated in the median sales price, which finished out the year at $725K, nearly 7% higher than December of 2022. We also saw average median home prices in Bend hit an all-time-high in July at $800K, and prices settled as the cooler weather moved in.

It was also a year of nail biting for those entering the market, and watching the national mortgage rates. When the rates finally came down in November more buyers were inspired, but not enough to open the floodgates. It was the holiday season, and total closings are down with inventory remaining the same. How will that play out this spring? We’ll have to wait and see how consumers react and whether the Fed has more adjustments coming down the pike.

The Bend Beacon Report tells us stats on homes that closed in December of 2023, and with these we can make some banner statements about 2023. Overall, it was a year of value growth for Bend, Oregon homeowners. We can see that demonstrated in the median sales price, which finished out the year at $725K, nearly 7% higher than December of 2022. We also saw average median home prices in Bend hit an all-time-high in July at $800K, and prices settled as the cooler weather moved in.

It was also a year of nail biting for those entering the market, and watching the national mortgage rates. When the rates finally came down in November more buyers were inspired, but not enough to open the floodgates. It was the holiday season, and total closings are down with inventory remaining the same. How will that play out this spring? We’ll have to wait and see how consumers react and whether the Fed has more adjustments coming down the pike.

Let’s see how the Beacon Report aligns with the MLS Data for Bend. Just a reminder, the MLS Data is more up-to-date than the Beacon Report, and it also represents all the properties on the market, unlike the Beacon Report, which only represents the properties that sold.

MLS Data indicates that some houses are moving and some definitely are not. Where the Beacon Report has homes closing within 29 days, MLS reports the median days on the market for all listed properties is 83 days. However, there’s a flash of hope for sellers: less listings changed prices and the amount of those changes was less in December, when compared to November.

One data point to flag for Bend is the total number of listings, month over month—December dropped by nearly 40%. Listings are down due to seasonality, and we expect inventory to climb up to the 350 homes mark by April and May, typical spring listing season. The big takeaway for home buyers is this: if you are actively looking for a home, you can get a better deal during this seasonal lull because prices tend to be lower than in the spring and summer. Last year, according to the Beacon Report, prices per square foot climbed 19% by peak season.

Redmond, Oregon Housing Report January 2024

Let’s take a look at Redmond’s Beacon Report to see how things landed in 2023. Like Bend, Redmond had a similar upward trend in median sales price, finishing out the year at $510K. However, Redmond homeowners can pat themselves on the back for earning nearly 17% more in value in their homes year over year: December of 2022 the media sales price for Redmond was $425K. Over the course of 2023 median home sales fluctuated with a peak of $520 in October. Last month in Redmond, the trend continued with median prices inching up over November.

Redmond looks similar to Bend with DOM back up, less closings and a consistent 3 months of inventory. Let’s see how that compares to the total Redmond market, with the MLS Data.

Just a reminder, the MLS Data is more up-to-date than the Beacon Report, and it also represents all the properties on the market, unlike the Beacon Report, which only represents the properties that sold.

According to the MLS Data, total listing remains the same while days on the market creeps up. Less listings changed their prices, but those that did, lowered the price slightly more than last month.