Sales of previously owned homes in the U.S. fell for the seventh consecutive month in September, down 8% from August.
The inventory of homes for sale nationwide rose to 10.5 months at September's sales rate. There was a 9.6 month supply at the end of August. (The number represents how many months it would take to sell all the homes currently for sale if sales activity remained constant and no more houses were listed for sale. An inventory of 5 to 6 months is usually considered a balanced market).
In the greater Bend area, there is currently a 14.5 month supply of existing homes for sale using the sales rate for September (98 previously existing homes) and the number of homes for sale today (1418). Interestingly, the inventory of homes for sale is unchanged at 14.5 months when adding new homes to the equation.
While these numbers surely don't indicate a robust housing market, they have caused the futures market to fully price in a quarter percentage point cut in the fed funds rate when the fed meets next week. This bodes well for even lower mortgage rates in the near future.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Thursday, October 4, 2007
Bend Oregon Real Estate 3rd Quarter Results
Typically Busy Summer Selling Season Never Got Off The Ground
From July 1 through the end of September, just 478 residential properties were reported sold to the MLS in the greater Bend area (Bend/Tumalo/Alfalfa). This includes houses, condos, townhouses and manufactured homes. By comparison, there were 624 reported sales during the same time period in 2006. This represents a decrease in sales activity of 23.4% from a year earlier. In the uber-market of 2005, there were a whopping 1049 units reported sold in this same three month span!
Prices Continue To Feel The Pressure
The median reported sale price for those residential properties that did sell this summer was down 8.1% from a year earlier, to $349,000.
But let's keep this in perspective: The prices reached in 2006 were record setting for Bend, Central Oregon and most U.S. housing markets. The median sale price for the 3rd quarter of 2006 in the Bend area was 31% higher than it was just a year earlier! That's just not sustainable over the long haul. And despite the recent declines in both prices and sales activity, Q3 2007's median sale price is still 21% higher than that of Q3 2005 and more than double the median price of Q3 2001 ($169,900).
From July 1 through the end of September, just 478 residential properties were reported sold to the MLS in the greater Bend area (Bend/Tumalo/Alfalfa). This includes houses, condos, townhouses and manufactured homes. By comparison, there were 624 reported sales during the same time period in 2006. This represents a decrease in sales activity of 23.4% from a year earlier. In the uber-market of 2005, there were a whopping 1049 units reported sold in this same three month span!
Prices Continue To Feel The Pressure
The median reported sale price for those residential properties that did sell this summer was down 8.1% from a year earlier, to $349,000.
But let's keep this in perspective: The prices reached in 2006 were record setting for Bend, Central Oregon and most U.S. housing markets. The median sale price for the 3rd quarter of 2006 in the Bend area was 31% higher than it was just a year earlier! That's just not sustainable over the long haul. And despite the recent declines in both prices and sales activity, Q3 2007's median sale price is still 21% higher than that of Q3 2005 and more than double the median price of Q3 2001 ($169,900).
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