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.

Bend Real Estate Prices Jump

Home prices in Bend Oregon jumped last year.  A report released by the Federal Housing Finance Agency ranked the Bend-Redmond Metropolitan Statistical Area fourth in the nation for yearly home price increases.

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This report covers all of Deschutes County and reported the median price of homes sold increased 16.73 percent in the second quarter of the year compared with the second quarter of 2012.  The Federal Housing Finance Agency's quarterly house price index track median home price gains in each of the nearly 400 metropolitan areas in the United States.

Only three areas in the country had a higher year over year appre3ciation rate, Stockton California, Phoenix Arizona and Las Vegas Nevada.

Prices are still much lower than they were at the peak of the real estate bubble in 2006.  These reports are always in the past and don't necessarily predict the future.  I do see a bright future in the Bend real estate market but the activity from potential buyers has decrease about 25% in the last few months. 

My website averaged around 200 hits per day a couple of months ago and is now averaging around 150 hits.  That's a decrease in 25% in the interest from buyers nation wide.  Now is a good time to buy a home in Bend because our prices are still good and interest rates are near all time lows.  I look for prices to continue to increase as sales in other areas bring buyers to Central Oregon.

Housing Opportunities in Bend Oregon

The following article was recently published by the National Association of Realtors.   The recent fall in home prices in Bend has made the lower end of the market more accessible for first time home buyers and all buyers in general.  Real estate prices in Bend fell approximately 50% from the 2006 highs but have started a strong rebound.  The average price of a home in Bend rose 27% the first quarter of 2013 compared to the same time period in 2012.  BEND OREGON MLS SEARCH

Article - The shape of home ownership and housing markets has changed dramatically over time and will continue to change in the face of new housing opportunities and challenges. That’s according to panelists at the “Challenges and Opportunities in Housing and Home ownership” session today during the Realtors® 2013 Midyear Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo here.

During the session, academics from DePaul University, George Mason University, University of North Carolina and the University of Maryland presented various research and data illustrating the impact of shifting demographics, new mobility patterns and an uncertain interest rate environment on future housing prices, availability and affordability. Funding for some of the research was provided by the REALTOR University Center for Real Estate Studies.

“The residential mobility rate in the U.S. has been falling steadily since the 1990s, when it was approximately 20 percent, to its current level of 12 percent,” said National Association of Realtors Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “The decline is unwelcome news since it may imply a reduction in economic mobility. Mobility is currently being impacted by the lack of housing inventory since fewer homes are available. In the future, proposed regulations requiring larger down payments could also significantly reduce mobility since fewer homeowners may be able to afford a home.”

Lisa Sturtevant from George Mason University’s Center for Regional Analysis said recent trends in residential mobility are most likely the result of changes in the age distribution of the population. She said the two largest segments of the population – baby boomers and millennials – are delaying many major lifecycle events that have been traditional for their respective life stages, like marriage, children and retirement. That also means they are not moving as much as members of previous generations at the same life stages, which could be dragging down the overall residential mobility rate.

“Home ownership rates have declined fastest for millennials, most likely the result of fewer job opportunities and higher student debt; however, I believe they still want to become owners and will eventually make their way into the housing market,” said Sturtevant. “When they do enter the market they’ll care about different things than previous generations too; I foresee more single people buying smaller homes in urban areas.”

Yun agreed that the recent housing downturn hasn’t change younger buyers’ attitudes about homeownership, despite many of them delaying their entrance into the market. “Rather, reduced home prices and lower interest rates have provided an opportunity for younger buyers to affordably enter the housing market,” he said.

James D. Shilling from DePaul University’s Institute for Housing Studies shared his insights into recent trends in household mobility and its future impact on the single-family housing market.

“Higher home prices will unlock a large number of households with negative or low equity and incentivize them to get off the sidelines and into the housing market. However, combined with future increases in interest rates, the net effect is likely an overall reduction in residential real estate transactions and household mobility,” said Shilling.

He anticipates the Federal Reserve will keep mortgage rates low through 2013 and most likely into 2014; consequently the majority of current homeowners will have mortgages with loans rates near record lows, and when rates start to rise they will not be incentivized to give up those low-rate loans to buy a new home with a higher rate mortgage.

Lucy Gorham from the Center for Community Capital at the University of North Carolina offered her perspective into housing policy implications for homeowners, including proposed regulations requiring higher down payments from home buyers. She said while restrictive underwriting helps lower loan defaults, it disenfranchises a higher percentage of creditworthy borrowers; if 20 percent down payments were required, as many as 60 percent of current buyers could be outside of the qualified mortgage criteria and potentially face higher interest rates or fees.

“Despite the recent housing crisis, home ownership continues to help build wealth for lower to middle-income households. A safe mortgage product with good underwriting helps lower loan defaults; requiring greater down payments simply closes off access to a greater percentage of borrowers,” said Gorham.

Imposing higher down payment requirements would negatively affect low- and moderate-income households and disproportionately impact minority home buyers, she said. Gorham said minority families tend to have lower wealth and greater need for access to mainstream sustainable loan products, and that more will need to be done to meet their credit requirements since minority families are expected to be the greatest source of future housing demand.

Margaret McFarland, Colvin Institute of Real Estate Development at the University of Maryland, agreed that excessive risk reductions requiring higher down payments and credit scores exclude too many well performing loans from the market.

“Federal Housing Administration loans are an important financing option for affordable home ownership,” she said. “Veterans Affairs home loans also perform very well in relation to other mortgage products, even with a zero down payment.”

Homes and real estate prices in Bend and Central Oregon are still affordable but it looks like prices will continue to climb.  Interest rates are at an all time low so now is still a good time to buy.

Home Prices and Sales Continute to Rise in Bend

Existing-home sales nationally rose in April but remain below underlying demand because of limited inventory and tight credit, according to the National Association of Realtors.  All regions are showing strong price gains from a year ago.  BEND OREGON HOMES FOR SALE

Existing-home sales in the West increased 1.7 percent to a pace of 1.20 million in April and are 4.3 percent above a year ago.  Given limited choices and multiple bidding, the median price in the West was $263,600, up 17.5 percent from April 2012.


Total existing-home sales, which are completed transactions that include single-family homes, town homes, condominiums and co-ops, increased 0.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.97 million in April from an upwardly revised 4.94 million in March.  Resale activity is 9.7 percent above the 4.53 million-unit level in April 2012.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said the market is solidly recovering.  “The robust housing market recovery is occurring in spite of tight access to credit and limited inventory.  Without these frictions, existing-home sales easily would be well above the 5-million unit pace,” he said.  “Buyer traffic is 31 percent stronger than a year ago, but sales are running only about 10 percent higher.  It’s become quite clear that the only way to tame price growth to a manageable, healthy pace is higher levels of new home construction.”

Existing-home sales are at the highest pace since November 2009 when the market spiked to 5.44 million in response to the home buyer tax credit.  Total sales have been above year-ago levels for 22 consecutive months, while prices show 14 consecutive months of year-over-year price increases.

Total housing inventory at the end of April rose 11.9 percent, a seasonal increase to 2.16 million existing homes available for sale, which represents a 5.2-month supply at the current sales pace, compared with 4.7 months in March.  Listed inventory is 13.6 percent below a year ago, when there was a 6.6-month supply, with current availability tighter in the lower price ranges.

The national median existing-home price for all housing types was $192,800 in April, up 11.0 percent from April 2012.  The last time there were 14 consecutive months of year-over-year price increases was from April 2005 to May 2006.

Distressed homes – foreclosures and short sales – accounted for 18 percent of April sales, down from 21 percent in March and 28 percent in April 2012.  Eleven percent of April sales were foreclosures, and 7 percent were short sales.  Foreclosures sold for an average discount of 16 percent below market value in April, while short sales were discounted 14 percent.

According to Freddie Mac, the national average commitment rate for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage fell to 3.45 percent in April from 3.57 percent in March; it was 3.91 percent in April 2012.

The median time on market for all homes was 46 days in April, down sharply from 62 days in March, and is 45 percent faster than the 83 days on market in April 2012.

NAR President Gary Thomas, broker-owner of Evergreen Realty in Villa Park, Calif., said market conditions have flipped in the past year.  “With homes selling in half the time it took to sell a year ago, buyers must be both decisive and prudent,” he said.  “Advice with contract terms and negotiations is where the expertise of a Realtor shines for both buyers and sellers.”

Short sales were on the market for a median of 73 days, while foreclosures typically sold in 43 days and non-distressed homes took 44 days.  Forty-four percent of all homes sold in April were on the market for less than a month, while only 8 percent were on the market for a year or longer.

First-time buyers accounted for 29 percent of purchases in April, compared with 30 percent in March and 35 percent in April 2012.

All-cash sales were at 32 percent of transactions in April, up from 30 percent in March; they were 29 percent in April 2012.  Individual investors, who account for most cash sales, purchased 19 percent of homes in April, unchanged from March; they were 20 percent in April 2012.

Single-family home sales rose 1.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.38 million in April from 4.33 million in March, and are 9.0 percent above the 4.02 million-unit level in April 2012.  The median existing single-family home price was $193,300 in April, which is 11.0 percent above a year ago.

Existing condominium and co-op sales declined 3.3 percent to an annualized rate of 590,000 units in April from 610,000 in March, but are 15.7 percent above the 510,000-unit pace a year ago.  The median existing condo price was $189,500 in April, up 11.3 percent from April 2012.

Regionally, existing-home sales in the Northeast rose 1.6 percent to an annual rate of 640,000 in April and are 4.9 percent above April 2012.  The median price in the Northeast was $245,100, up 5.1 percent from a year ago.

Existing-home sales in the Midwest fell 3.4 percent in April to a pace of 1.12 million but are 9.8 percent above a year ago.  The median price in the Midwest was $149,300, up 6.7 percent from April 2012.

In the South, existing-home sales rose 2.0 percent to an annual level of 2.01 million in April and are 14.9 percent above April 2012.  The median price in the South was $168,700, which is 10.6 percent above a year ago.

Home prices in Bend continue to rise as inventory continues to fall. The good news for buyers is that interest rates are still at all time lows.  Now is definitely time to buy real estate in Bend Oregon. Call us today and we will help you find your new home in Bend.

The Bend Oregon Real Estate Market Is Heating Up

The Bend Oregon real estate market is heating up!  The average price of a home sold in the first quarter of 2013 was up 27% over the average price over the same period of time in 2012.  Distressed home sales are on the decrease.  As of this posting there were only 3 bank foreclosures for sale in Bend and 13 short sales.

That is one of the reasons for the increase in prices. Another reason is that upper end home sales are also picking up.  There were 55 homes sold in Bend for over $500,000 in the first quarter of 2013.  Three of those homes sold for $1,000,000 or more. 

Bend is a great place to live and buyers young and old are moving to Central Oregon for the weather and the life style.  Even thought prices are on the rise there are still some on buys on the market and interest rates are near all time lows.  Bend Oregon Real Estate Expert is a family owned company with world wide marketing and home town service.  Call us today so we can help you with your real estate transaction!

Vacation Home Sales On The Rise

Search for vacation home sales in Bend Oregon.  Vacation home sales improved in 2012, while investment purchases remained elevated for a second consecutive year, according to the National Association of Realtors.

NAR’s 2013 Investment and Vacation Home Buyers Survey, covering existing- and new-home transactions in 2012, shows vacation-home sales rose 10.1 percent to 553,000 from 502,000 in 2011.  Investment-home sales declined 2.1 percent to 1.21 million from 1.23 million in 2011, but those sales had been well under a million during the market downturn.  Owner-occupied purchases jumped 17.4 percent to 3.27 million last year from 2.79 million in 2011.

Vacation-home sales accounted for 11 percent of all transactions last year, unchanged from 2011, while the portion of investment sales was 24 percent in 2012, down from 27 percent in 2011, marking the second highest share since 2005.

NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said favorable conditions are driving second-home sales.  “We had a strong stock market recovery, which helps more people in the prime ages for buying vacation homes.  Attractively priced recreational property is also a big draw,” he said.

Yun notes an ongoing investor presence.  “Investors have been very active in the market over the past two years, attracted mostly by discounted foreclosures that could be quickly turned into profitable rentals,” he said.  “With rising prices and limited inventory, notably in the low price ranges, investors are likely to step back in coming years.”

The median investment-home price was $115,000 in 2012, up 15.0 percent from $100,000 in 2011, while the median vacation-home price was $150,000, compared with $121,300 in 2011, reflecting a greater number of more expensive recreational property sales in 2012.

All-cash purchases remain common in the investment- and vacation-home market: half of investment buyers paid cash in 2012, as did 46 percent of vacation-home buyers.  Forty-seven percent of investment homes purchased in 2012 were distressed homes, as were 35 percent of vacation homes.

Of buyers who financed their purchase with a mortgage in 2012, large down payments remain typical.  The median down payment for both investment- and vacation-home buyers was 27 percent, the same as in 2011.

Investment-home buyers in 2012 had a median age of 45, earned $85,700 and bought a home that was relatively close to their primary residence – a median distance of 21 miles, although 29 percent were more than 100 miles away.  Thirty-five percent of investment buyers purchased more than one property.

“Property flipping modestly increased in in 2012,” Yun said.  “However, this isn’t flipping in the sense of what took place during the housing boom.  Rather, investors generally are renovating and improving properties before placing them back on the market to resell at a profit.”

Six percent of homes purchased by investment buyers last year have already been resold, and another 8 percent are planned to be sold within a year.  In the 2011 study, 5 percent of investment homes were already resold, and 8 percent were planned to be sold within a year.  Overall, investment buyers plan to hold the property for a median of 8 years, up from 5 years in 2011.

Seventy-eight percent of all second-home buyers said it was a good time to buy, compared with 68 percent of primary residence buyers.  “This suggests that second-home buyers tend to be a step ahead of general buyers in sensing a market recovery,” Yun said.

The typical vacation-home buyer was 47 years old, had a median household income of $92,100 and purchased a property that was a median distance of 435 miles from their primary residence; 34 percent of vacation homes were within 100 miles and 46 percent were more than 500 miles.  Buyers plan to own their recreational property for a median of 10 years.

Lifestyle factors remain the primary motivation for vacation-home buyers, while rental income is the main factor in investment purchases.

Buyers listed many reasons buyers for purchasing a vacation home:  80 percent want to use the property for vacations or as a family retreat, 27 percent plan to use it as a primary residence in the future, 23 percent plan to rent to others and 23 percent wanted to diversify their investments or saw a good investment opportunity.

Fifty-five percent of investment buyers said they purchased for rental income, 30 percent wanted to diversify their investments or saw a good investment opportunity, and 20 percent wanted to use the home for vacations or as a family retreat.

Eleven percent of vacation buyers and 16 percent of investment buyers purchased the property for a family member, friend or relative to use, often for a son or daughter to use while attending school.

Forty-five percent of vacation homes purchased last year were in the South, 25 percent in the West, 17 percent in the Northeast and 12 percent in the Midwest.

Thirty-six percent of investment properties purchased last in the South, 28 percent in the West, 20 percent in the Northeast and 16 percent in the Midwest.

Forty-seven percent of investment buyers said they were likely to purchase another investment property within two years, as did 37 percent of vacation-home buyers.  Twenty-nine percent of vacation buyers said they were likely to purchase another vacation home within two years, as did 31 percent of investment buyers.

Approximately 42.8 million people in the U.S. are ages 50-59 – a group that dominated second-home sales in the middle part of the past decade and established records.  An additional 43.1 million people are 40-49 years old, which is the prime age for current buyers, while another 40.1 million are 30-39.

NAR’s analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data shows there are 7.9 million vacation homes and 43.7 million investment units in the U.S., compared with 75.2 million owner-occupied homes.

Vacation home sales and Bend Oregon real estate sales continue to increase.  Contact us today with any real estate questions about Central Oregon.