Lately, I've been hearing rumblings from a number of folks declaring the market on the upswing in Central Oregon. And at our staff meeting this week, it certainly seemed as if there was a noticeable increase in the number of deals being negotiated.
But the tough thing about specializing in real estate in Sisters is that, although I do produce my own monthly real estate statistics for Sisters and Tumalo, they focus on small markets in which it's tough to pinpoint trends as they develop from month to month. To wit: In January 2009, Sisters had seven residential sales; February: three residential sales; March: one sale; April: one sale; May: two sales; June: seven sales; July: two sales.
Not exactly earth-shattering numbers.
So I decided to do a quick check of this year's sales activity in Bend, which is by far the largest market in Central Oregon, to get a sense of how the year is shaping up there. Because sooner or later, as Bend goes, so goes the rest of Central Oregon.
Sure enough, sales of single-family homes in Bend so far for 2009 do show a steady month-to-month increase, from a low of 68 sales in January and February to a high of 137 in June, with July close behind at 134. (To see the complete breakdown, see the chart below.)
Beyond the Entry Level Sale
And it isn't just the number of sales that have been on the rise in Bend. So have the number of sales of homes above $500,000 -- which would seem to disprove the notion that only first-time buyers are shopping in Central Oregon.
Here's the price breakdown from month to month:
January 2009: 7 sales over $500,000
February 2009: 3 sales over $500,000
March 2009: 6 sales over $500,000
April 2009: 8 sales over $500,000
May 2009: 4 sales over $500,000
June 2009: 10 sales over $500,000
July 2009: 18 sales over $500,000
And here's the overall sales breakdown from month to month:
But the more critical question to be answered about our market is "Is this merely the typical seasonal spike in sales or has Central Oregon turned the corner?" Time will tell. Stay tuned...
About the Author:
Lisa Broadwater is a Central Oregon-based real estate professional who specializes in listing and selling homes, especially in Sisters, Tumalo, Redmond and Bend. If you'd like to learn more about Central Oregon, please visit www.CentralOregonHome4You.com.
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