Northwest Crossing Is Booming

Northwest Crossing in Bend Oregon is a booming neighborhood.  A lottery for the NorthWest Crossing Phases 20 – 22 was in September with 42 of 52 lots available selected by 19 NWX Guild Builders that participated in the lottery. These are the last residential lots on the east side of Mt. Washington Drive. As a result, West Bend Property is currently seeking land use approval for a 175 lot tentative plan west of Mt. Washington Drive referred to as the Discovery Park area. Prior to any subdivision construction, major grading and compaction earthwork will be taking place.

Part of the new development is a 32 acre park which includes a 12 acre parcel that will be developed and will include a 3 acre pond.  The city of Bend Park and Recreation will eventually take over the park once it is developed.  This new neighborhood  will surely prove to be as attractive to buyers as the rest of Northwest Crossing has been.

West Bend Property LLC anticipates completing the earthwork and the first phase of residential lots (Phase 24) in spring/summer 2014. Phase 24 will include 53 lots varying in size from 4,500 square feet to over 9,000 square feet.

Stay tuned for more progress report for Northwest Crossing.

Bend Oregon Property Taxes Rise

Since the end of the great recession real estate taxes in Bend have started going back up.  Most people saw a drop in their property taxes along with the drop in value of their homes and other real estate.  Now that property values are going up so is the assessed value with the Deschutes county tax assessor.

It looks like property taxes on all real estate will be going up 3-5% this year.  Even though Oregon has an income tax and average property taxes as compared to the rest of the country, it does not have a sales tax.  When we take our winter vacation and go to Arizona in the winter we end up paying 7-10 percent sales tax on most everything we buy.

So paying a little more property tax each year is no big strain.  It just means the value of our homes is going up.  To learn more about the real estate market in Bend go to:  Bend Oregon Real Estate Expert

Bend Real Estate Market Leveling Off

The  real estate market in Bend Oregon is leveling off after an impressive come back from the great recession.  Price increases have finally started to slow down as well as multiple offers which were common last year and early in 2013.

I partly judge our market by the amount of activity I have on my web site.  By using Google Analytics I can see the number of "hits" I get on my real estate web site.  Earlier this summer I was getting over 200 hits a day.  40% of those hits were first time buyers.  Now I'm averaging around 100 hits a day and 36% are first time buyers.

Select neighborhoods like: Awbrey Butte, Awbrey Glen, Broken Top,  and Northwest Crossing continue to show strong buyer interest.  Granted our marketing efforts are higher in these neighborhoods than some others.  One of the areas that's starting to show increased sales and buyer interest is Tetherow.

Tetherow is an exclusive neighborhood on Century Drive on the way to Mount Bachelor and the high lakes of the Cascade mountains.  It features a gated quality golf course community, club house, restaurant and the owners have plans for a hotel and town homes.

Even though the market is leveling off there are plenty of opportunities for buyers to find the home of their dreams.  Interest rates are at very attractive levels which may not be seen for a long time coming.  Bend is highly desired place to live and will only continue to grow.

If you are looking for an experienced broker to help you find a home in Bend feel free to contact me.  I have raised my family here and have been selling quality homes since 1981.