Bend Home Sales Continue Strong Rebound

With more than a week remaining in the month, closed home sales in Bend already exceed year ago levels by nearly 50%!

72 homes were sold in the entire month of November 2008. So far this month, 105 sales have been reported to the MLS of Central Oregon. There were 112 sales in November 2007.

With 5 business days remaining, it's almost certain that we'll exceed the number of closed sales from 2 years ago and make a run at the 139 sold in November 2006.

I'll be sure to post the final number for the month once they're available.

Million Dollar Home Sales Up In October

11 properties in the Bend area priced at one million dollars or more closed escrow last month, a huge increase from September when just 3 such properties were reported sold. In fact, only 8 properties with prices of one million dollars or more were reported sold in the entire 3rd quarter of this year.

Another 5 properties priced at or above one million dollars have accepted purchase contracts just since October 1.

While many of these property sellers may feel like they're selling at a steep discount relative to values of a few years ago, it's a great sign for the overall market that higher end properties are starting to move again!

Congress Passes Bill Extending Homebuyer's Tax Credit

The House of Representatives passed a bill earlier today extending unemployment benefits up to an additional 20 weeks. As part of the bill, the tax credit for first time homebuyers was extended and expanded to include a $6500 credit for buyers who purchase a primary residence if they've lived in their current house for at least the last five years.

The tax credit, which was scheduled to expire on December 1, was extended to include those purchase contracts signed by April 30 and closed by June 30.

In addition, the maximum qualifying income levels were increased to $125,000 for single filers and $225,000 for joint filers.

The Senate passed the bill yesterday and President Obama is expected to sign the bill in to law tomorrow.

October Homes Sales Highest In Over Three Years

Single family home sales in Bend reached a level not seen since August 2006 last month.

There were 172 closed sales reported to the MLS of Central Oregon in October. We have to go back more than 3 years to find a month with more sales; 200 transactions closed in August 2006. The next closest monthly sales number over the last 3+ years was 159 in March 2007.

The 172 sales represents an increase of 52.2% from October 2008 and a gain of 13.2% from the 152 closed in September.

Distressed property sales continued to drive the market, with 59 bank owned and 35 "short sales" closing last month, amounting to more than half of all sales (54.7%).

The dollar per square foot price seems to have flattened out, as October's median of $113.93/sf is the 4th time in the last 5 months where $/sf has come in between $109/sf and $114/sf. (The low for the year incidentally was $105/sf in April, while the high was $125/sf in January. The average for the 1st 10 months of this year is $113.5/sf).

There are still many good buys out there and more short sales are coming together each month, so if you're in the market to buy or sell, please give me a call to discuss your situation.