Central Oregon's Median Home Prices Jump Again in September | The Source Weekly - Bend, Oregon

Central Oregon's Median Home Prices Jump Again in September

Central Oregon's Market update, and factors driving the market

One of the strangest recessions on record! That is the general consensus when people are evaluating the real estate market, knowing that the U.S. is technically in a recession. The real estate market is experiencing record-breaking numbers both locally here in Central Oregon and across the U.S. as a whole. In February, the national median home price was $270,400. Fast forward through the beginning of a global pandemic to August, when the median home price jumped $40,000 to $310,600. With the national median home prices taking a 13% leap, it should come as no surprise that the local markets in Central Oregon are following suit at breakneck speeds.

Central Oregon's Median Home Prices Jump Again in September
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Once again, Central Oregon is setting records. The median home price in Bend jumped a staggering $17,000 in September to a record median home price of $547,000, with the average days on market being a mere five days. Bend's median home price has hovered steadily in the mid $400s for the last year. Since June, Bend has seen a 15% increase in the median home sales price. Redmond, has seen a 9.1% increase since June, bringing the median home price to $363,000 in September and an average of 6 days on the market. Both cities are staying on par with the national growth in median pricing, with Redmond staying right at 13% and Bend just above at 15% since pre-pandemic February.

The Sisters market also saw a big jump last quarter, with a $50,000 increase, bringing the median home price to $456,000. The Sunriver market also experienced gains with a median price at $550,000 for Q3 of 2020. And La Pine joined in the record-breaking fun with a median home price of $327,000.

Many are asking why Bend has been experiencing such a significant rise in median pricing since June. The statistics driving the rise is the substantial growth in the $700,000-$1,000,000 market and is a key component in the increase in median pricing. That market price range makes up 34% of the total sales and that number has doubled since the summer of 2019.

Another key factor in the significant increases is the record-low mortgage interest rates. The lower the interest rate, the more buying power a buyer has. To that end the mortgage industry has been setting records at every turn during this unusual year. To put it into perspective, not only are we seeing the lowest interest rates of all time, but the 30-year fixed rates broke all-time records nine times since March. These record low rates are bringing new buyers to the market in droves, as evidenced by the nearly 25% increase in new mortgage applications over the last year.

The bottom line is that the real estate market as a whole is setting records left and right this year. Record-low inventory, record-low average days on market, record-low interest rates, record-high new buyers entering the market and record high median pricing. All of these things are certainly counter-intuitive when the word recession comes into play. With the inventory level at under a one-month supply at 0.6 months of inventory, the local market looks to remain incredibly competitive with little sign of easing.

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