November was a slow month with only 69 homes selling compared to 132 home sales last November. There are still a lot of short sales and bank owned properties getting attention but they're not the only homes selling.
In the $850,000 - $899,000 range, a 3 bedroom/3.5 bath, 4006 sq. ft. home on Awbrey Butte sold for $895,000 after 99 days on the market. This breaks down to $223/sq. ft. This was a wonderful contemporary style home but it did not have Cascade views and this price wasn't a steal by any means. I think the key to this home selling was the unique factor: it was a sleek contemporary style and in addition to a 3-car attached garage it had a detached 2-car garage and was recently renovated. http://coar.rapmls.com/scripts/mgrqispi.dll?APPNAME=Centraloregon&PRGNAME=MLSLogin&ARGUMENT=%2Fed2a85PExTLX6L7HCOW1O3nJR21Eh4CxCz62DMMGuU%3D&KeyRid=1
If you would like more information on homes that sold in a particular price range, email me your questions and I can provide info similar to what I've listed above.
I recently performed a CMA for a homeowner and determined a list price in the $225,000 - $250,000 range. The homeowner was surprised the value was so low because her most recent tax statement provided a "real market value" (RMV) of $290,000. She was under the impression that the RMV that the county assigns is fairly accurate and occasionally, even low. She is certainly not the only homeowner that believes this to be true.
The RMV is determined with an appraisal of the property by the county in January of the current tax year. By the time you receive your tax statement in October property values have usually changed and in our case in Deschutes County, they've probably gone down. Furthermore, the RMV determined by the assessor usually lags behind actual sales prices. For example, in 2005 and 2006, homes were selling for about 25% more than the RMV. Now they're selling for roughly 75% of the RMV. I found it interesting that the RMV in the higher price ranges tended to be more accurate. The table below includes Bend home sales in October 2008 and compares the sales price to the RMV determined by the county. I randomly selected properties in all sections of Bend but most of the sales seemed to be in NW Bend. None of these sales were short sales or bank owned properties.
October 2008 statistics have been compiled. The first thing I noticed is the number of homes on the market is 2031, down from last month by nearly 200 and down about 430 from July 2008. Of these active listings, about 200 are short sales or bank owned properties and 41 of them are listed at $200,000 or below. In fact, I have some buyers at this price point and it's very difficult to find a home for them that's NOT a short sale or bank owned. Short sales can be great deals but purchasing a home through this process can take months and you have to purchase the property AS-IS. It's too overwhelming for these first time buyers.
Of the 66 contingent properties, 36 are short sales. In other words, these sellers have received offers but are waiting for approval from their lender. 13 of the 134 pending properties are short sales or bank owned and 15 of the 122 sales last month were short sales or bank owned.
I ran some historical numbers on the luxury home market and was surprised by the results. The market for homes over $1million seems very slow to me with only 3 sales and 2 homes pending over $1million last month. Back in October 2005, only 2 homes over $1mil sold and in October 2006 only 4. Based on those figures, the high end market is doing alright. Truthfully, with prices coming down as much as they have, many of the homes that were priced over $1million are now priced much lower so I probably should revise my definition of the luxury market to include homes priced at $700,000 and above. Including those homes, there were 9 sales last month. In October 2005 there were 12 sales over $700,000 and in October 2006 there were 9. I was surprised to discover that.
Yes I've been a total slacker when it comes to posting the real estate statistics and I apologize. Because of that you get a double whammy - August and September stats all in one post. For me, business picked up a lot in August and September so I was not surprised to see that home sales overall in Bend were up in September. In fact, home sales for September were the highest we've seen in a year. I'm proud to say that I did my part to bring those numbers up. Actually my buyers did but I was happy to assist them.
In August, pending home sales were up about 18% in the west compared to 1 year ago. A large portion of that can be attributed to the California market which saw a roughly 13% increase in sales in August compared to 1 year ago. I wasn't sure how many of those pending sales would actually close since many buyers are struggling to get approved for loans and other buyers have been adversely impacted by the Wall St crisis. Fortunately many of them did. I don't expect this trend to continue though with all of the uncertainty in the financial markets. Elections also tend to make people wary.
The Luxury Property Network is hosting its second Luxury Homes on Tour event in Bend this Saturday, 9/27/08, from 12-6pm. Seventeen properties will be available for viewing. You'll also have the opportunity to register at each house for your chance to win a Sterling Silver Swirl Pendant necklace from Saxon's Fine Jewelers or a gift certificate to the Urban Beauty Bar. Pick up your tour map at Saxon's Fine Jewelers in the Old Mill District or at Urban Beauty Bar, 930 SW Brooks St.
I will be hosting 1901 NW Rivermist Dr. during the tour. This is a one of a kind riverfront home built by Plush Homes. The home is 3101 sq. ft. with 4 bedrooms/3.5 baths, top of the line kitchen, main level master suite, river views, and conveniently located just north of downtown.
Directions to 1901 NW Rivermist Dr: From Hwy 97, take the Revere exit. Head west on NW Revere Ave, right on Harriman St., then left on Revere Ave to the end of the cul-de-sac. Access the home through the Rocky Point townhomes entrance on the left. From downtown, take Bond St. north. Continue north on Wall St., turn left at NW Revere Ave, right at Harriman, then left at Revere Ave to the end of the cul-de-sac.
As a seller, there are several different contingencies buyers might throw at you but one of the most common is an offer contingent upon the sale of their home.
If you as a seller receive a contingent offer, at the bare minimum, the buyer's house should be listed in the MLS. You should ask your agent to put together a CMA (comparative market analysis) for the potential buyer's house. Is their house priced aggressively? Are homes selling in their neighborhood? Are homes selling in their price range? Your agent should also request information about the number of showings the potential buyers have had and what kind of feedback they're getting. The last thing you want to do is accept the contingent offer if the buyer's house has no chance of selling.
If you decide to accept the contingent offer, make sure the offer gives a specific date for the sale of the buyer's home AND the closing date for the sale of your home. You might decide to give them 30 days to find a buyer, and another 30 days to close once they do. You can state that the closing of your home will occur 30 days after the close of theirs. If there hasn't been a lot of interest in your home during those first 30 days, you can give them an extension.
You'll also want to include a First Right of Refusal, or a release clause. This will allow you to continue to market your home for sale and accept another offer in a backup position. If another offer comes in, the first buyer then has 24-72 hours (depending on how you structured it) to decide whether or not to move forward with the purchase of your home. If they do not release the contingency, you can cancel the deal with them and accept the second offer. If they do release their contingency, you must move forward and sell your house to them. This is where accepting a contingent offer can make you kick yourself. Let's say the second offer is a higher price and they can close quickly. If the first buyer agrees to move forward with the purchase of your home even without having sold theirs, you must sell to that first buyer.
Make sure the buyer agrees to allow you to continue marketing your house for sale. I have heard of buyers requesting the seller withdraw the home from the MLS. This is not advisable. If the prospective buyer can't sell their house, you've essentially taken your home off the market during the contingency period and possibly missed other buyers.
It's a good idea to ask the buyer to release the other contingencies typically found in the contract (like the home inspection and loan contingencies) early on. Urge them to get the home inspection done right away and negotiate any needed repairs. There's nothing worse than waiting 3 months for the buyer's home to sell, having a home inspection done, and finding out that they buyer is not happy with the report and does not want to purchase your house after all. Get the home inspection done within the first couple of weeks so there are no surprises down the road. Even if the contingent buyer can't sell their home and purchase yours, you'll be ahead of the game with the next buyer because you'll have already completed the repairs.
One positive aspect of contingent offers is that the buyer usually writes a strong offer otherwise. They may offer more for your house than a buyer without a contingency because they know you're not going to be excited about the contingency. They will try to make it up to you by offering full price, or very close to it.
While a contingent offer is definitely not ideal, they can be structured to minimize the risks. Knowing that you can still market your home to other prospective buyers and accept offers can really motivate the buyer to get their home sold.
I visited the Newport Landing model yesterday for the second time and continue to be impressed. Newport Landing is a new modern home development near the roundabout at Newport Ave. and College Way in Bend. The homes were designed by GGL Architecture of Bend and built by Diamond Built Homes of Redmond. They currently have 4 floor plans available (and should eventually have 6) that are very open with lots of large windows throughout, decks and terrace areas, and modern design features. They offer 3 interior package options, all customizable, with natural finishes and surfaces including stone, tile, glass and wood. They put a lot of thought into the floor plans and orientation of windows and rooms. Floor plans vary from lot to lot so that even with all the huge windows, you can maintain your privacy and won't look directly into your neighbor's window.
If you love modern architecture like I do, please contact me. I'd love to help you find a modern home in Bend or a lot that would allow you to build your own custom modern residence.
I compiled the July 2008 real estate statistics and again, not much has changed. What really stands out is the fact that there were zero homes contingent, pending or sold in the $850,000 - $1,000,000 price range but 114 homes for sale. We're still seeing the most activity in the $200,000 - $250,000 range and really, even homes priced up to $400,000 are selling. Overall in the month of July, 81 contingent offers were accepted, 169 homes were pending, and 114 homes sold in Bend. Only 18 of those sales were homes priced over $500,000. There are 2460 homes for sale, most of them in the $200,000 - $400,000 price range. The median sales price for July was $297,500. This is down from the June median price of $319,000 but in June, we saw 29 homes priced over $500,000 sell compared to 18 last month. The median sales price for sales this year is currently around $308,000.
I'm impressed with the number of quality homes currently available for around $200,000. I'm not even talking about short sales or bank owned properties. There are brand new homes for sale priced from $169,900.
I survived the two consecutive weekends of the COBA Tour of Homes and am finally caught up contacting my leads. Going into the Tour, we thought we were priced well but were discouraged that we didn't sell any homes so we had a meeting and decided to reduce prices substantially. Brand new homes at Mirada now range from $169,900 - $234,900 (formerly $189,900 - $259,900). I'm amazed at the competition right now in the $200,000 - $225,000 price range. It's not good enough to be priced well. We're convinced we have to offer more for less money and we're confident that we now offer exactly that.
You can get into a 1332 sq. ft., 3 bedroom/2 bath home for $204,900. That price includes tile countertops in the kitchen and bath, hardwood floors, solid wood doors, brushed silver kitchen appliances (excluding fridge) and front landscaping with sprinkler system. You can choose any lot in Phase 1 and it takes about 90 days to build. As of now, there is no premium for the larger cul-de-sac lots. You can also choose from 3 interior finish packages and 5 exterior body/trim combinations. There are also numerous upgrade options.
Other floor plans range from an 1101 sq. ft., 2 bedroom/2 bath home ($169,900 with the same amenities listed above) to an 1827 sq. ft., 4 bedroom/2.5 bath home ($234,900).
You can scroll down and read my previous Mirada posts to view the digital renderings. I can also email the floor plans. The model will be open every Sat/Sun, usually from 12-4. Mirada is located on NE Butler Market Rd. between 27th and Eagle Rd. I hope you can stop by.
The Bend, Oregon real estate market was just featured (in a positive light) in USA Today. The article stated "it's a great time to buy a home in Bend, Oregon." I think this type of nationally published article is very important for the Bend real estate market for several reasons. Many Bend locals are unable to take advantage of this great buyers' market because so many of them have to get their homes sold first. We're stuck in a vicious circle. Many home sellers in Bend are relying on buyers from out of the area to move to Bend and purchase. Even in this slow market, plenty of people are looking for second/vacation homes and either have the cash to purchase or don't need to sell anything but might not have decided where they want to purchase. Maybe they have decided on Bend but need some reassurance that it's a good time to buy.
The $6,000,000 home featured in the article is listed by Dan and Ronda Reedy in my office, Total Property Resources. They are definitely relying on out of area high-end buyers to get a home in that price range sold and it doesn't get much better than free national advertising. The USA Today article resulted in a feature on KTVZ news as well. You can watch the video by clicking here: Pricey Bend Home Draws National Spotlight
Cheri Smith
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