Welcome to our Bend Real Estate Market Update for the Third Quarter of 2023. These statistics are for stick built homes on 1.0 acre or less in Bend zip codes 97701, 97702 and 97703 and do not include manufactured homes, condos, or townhomes. This report uses market data based on transactions that closed from January 1 through September 30, 2023. All statistics come directly from the Central Oregon MLS. The first portion of this report looks at the Bend real estate market in its entirety. Latter sections focus on more specific segments of the market.
Bend Market-wide Activity
At the end of September 2023, there were 299 single-family homes for sale, 213 pending sales, and 1,250 homes had sold through the third quarter of 2023. Inventory is down about 20% and the number of pending sales and homes sold are down 13% and 24% respectively from this time last year. As summer comes to a close, we typically see a decrease in the number of new listings but this year we are also contending with the high mortgage interest rate, currently just over 7%. While it is no longer a shock to homebuyers, it is still having an impact on the market. Homeowners are reluctant to sell and trade in their 5% (or lower) interest rate for a 7% rate, which is keeping inventory low.
The high interest rate means buyers have reduced buying power and with fewer homes to choose from, many are sitting back and waiting, which has caused days on market to go up. For those buyers that are still actively looking, they have more breathing room to make a more methodical purchase. Price adjustments are happening, home sale contingencies are back, and buyers even have the confidence to make offers lower than list price, something we haven’t seen in quite awhile. We currently have about 2 months of inventory, which is still low and leans toward a seller’s market, but it’s an improvement over the 0.5 month that we saw in December 2020.
Bend Home Values
Bend, Oregon home values are in a bit of a flux state. Compared to this time last year, the average sales price increased 1% to $887,309 and the median sales price decreased 2% to $724,117. If we look at individual months, the median home price set a new record high of $800,000 in July 2023 before dipping to $742,000 in August and climbing to $759,812 in September. The median hovered around $680,000 for the first half of 2023, which is bringing the overall YTD median down.
The table below includes the average and median sales prices for NW, SW, NE, and SE Bend. Values in NW and SW are both higher than they were at this time last year while NE and SE are lower. The median home price in NW Bend is typically around 50% higher than Bend’s overall median home price while SW Bend is roughly 15% higher. NE and SE Bend are most affordable with median home prices around 15% lower and 10% lower than the median, respectively.
New Construction
At the end of Q3 2023 there were 85 new homes for sale, making up 28% of all active listings. Of the 1,250 homes that sold through Q3, 277 were new homes, accounting for 22% of all home sales. There were 96 pending home sales in the new construction segment of the market, which is 45% of all pending sales. With low inventory in the resale market, new construction has been a bright spot for buyers. The average sales price for new construction was $913,349 and the median sales price was $740,000.
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Thanks for sharing this quarterly report. Great info!
New construction has been making a big impact in inventory from just a couple of years ago.
Even though there has been a change of pace in the market, Bend is still extremely desirable and a hot location for those in a position to buy.
Remember rates still sub 10% are historically pretty good.
Time in the market is much better than trying to time the market.
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Thanks for your thoughtful comment Ben!
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