The spring real estate season is already upon us with lots of people wanting to buy homes earlier due to the relatively low housing inventory in many cities, including Bend. Analysis of the nationwide data gathered by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) for the first three weeks in February indicates time on the market decreased four percent over January and six percent compared to a year ago.
NAR also released a list of the 20 hottest housing markets. The rankings were based on the number of listing views by market to determine these rankings. Though Bend would not get included in such a list due to numbers, major metro areas in the west do make the list consistently, with San Francisco being on top and Portland ranked at 16, nationwide.
Whereas Bend is far and different from San Francisco and many of these larger urban markets, we can learn a lot from common issues such as housing affordability, shortage of housing inventory and investor activity. Key issues include increased activity in real estate with the stock market decline and foreign investment in U.S. real estate markets, particularly from Chinese investors. The foreign investors are mainly involved in commercial real estate and higher end housing, but that will likely slow now with Chinese government restrictions.
Domestic investors fleeing the stock market tend to gravitate toward lower priced starter homes. The downside of this is that it can contribute to the affordable housing inventory shortage. According to an article recently published in Housing Wire citing personal finance company Smart Asset, San Francisco millennials have the lowest buying power in the country with the typical millennial only able to afford 135 square feet. On a notably smaller scale, the early pre-spring demand indicates this trend may be moving to Central Oregon.
Home Price Round-up
<<LOW
3151 NE Wells Acres Rd, Bend, OR 97701
3 beds, 2 baths, 1165 square feet,
.10 acre lot | Built in 2004
$224,900
Listed by Bend Premier Real Estate
MID>>
60970 Zircon Way, Bend, OR 97702
3 beds, 2 baths, 1281 square feet,
.42 acre lot | Built in 1993
$322,000
Listed by John L Scott Bend
<<HIGH
3433 NW Bryce Canyon, Bend, OR 97703
4 beds, 3 baths, 3624 square feet,
.27 acre lot | Built in 2013
$889,000
Listed by Bend Premier Real Estate
