Bend, Oregon Market Update | July 2023

Median Home Price

Despite all the talk about an economic slowdown, recession fears, inflation, and crazy high interest rates, guess what? Home prices are actually going up! In fact, the median home price shot up by 9% in June, hitting a record-breaking $785,000. But how on earth is this happening? Let's break it down for you.

With interest rates stubbornly hovering around 7%, a growing number of individuals turned to cash purchases starting in May. Traditionally, cash transactions accounted for approximately 25% of total purchases, while the remaining 75% were financed. However, over the past two months, the frequency of cash purchases has surged significantly. Interestingly, this trend has been more prominent in the upper tiers of the market.

Comparing April (before cash purchases really took off) and June, the number of homes sold above $1 million witnessed a remarkable 71% increase, with 41 homes being sold in June as opposed to 24 in April. This surge in luxury property transactions has had a profound impact on the overall median home price.

When an overwhelming amount of activity is concentrated at one end of the market, it tends to exert a substantial influence on the median home price.

Days on Market

In recent months, the Days on Market (DOM) has been holding its ground, sitting at 13 days in June. We've been keeping a close watch on the market, and it's clear that homes that are priced right, show well, and are marketed correctly tend to disappear faster than those that aren't prepared as well.

Inventory

In June, we saw a slight bump in available supply with 2 months of inventory compared to 1.7 months in May. This means buyers have more choices on their plates. We're still in a seller's market though (usually it's more balanced with 5-6 months of inventory), but things are shifting ever so slightly. At the moment, the number of new listings outpaces the number of homes going under contract.  It's not unusual for this to happen during early Summer, but we're curious to see if inventory will slow down as Summer continues and how buyer demand will ebb and flow. As we mentioned earlier, cash buyers are out and about in larger numbers than usual right now but if interest rates take a dip in the coming months, we might see financed buyers jumping back in the game and driving up that buyer demand once again.

If you have any questions about the real estate market or want to dive deeper into the numbers, just give us a ring!

541-640-0688