What do these cities have in common with Bend: Stockton, Phoenix, Las Vegas, and Modesto? They are the five cities with the fastest appreciating home values in the nation. Bend, at number four, saw price increases of 5.25 percent this quarter; almost 3 percent above the national average.
It’s a quick reminder of the ebbs and flows that Bend has seen over the past ten years, making some home buyers skeptical about the possibility of yet another boom and bust. The good news is, while home prices continue to increase, they are still far below the prices and interest rates at the peak of the housing market.
Other good news? After months of short home inventories for buyers, the number of homes on the market is finally leveling out. Active listings are up eight percent and inventories are averaging at around six months. This is especially good news if you are looking in price ranges above $350,000, where supply levels are reaching up to 12.8 months of supply:
Inventory Supply Levels for Homes in Bend, OR
$350,000 – $399,000 – 3.5
$400,000 – $449,000 – 2.3
$450,000 – $499,000 – 3.9
$500,000 – $549,000 – 3.6
$550,000 – $599,000 – 4.2
$600,000 – $699,000 – 7.7
$700,000 – $799,000 – 6.4
$800,000 – $899,000 – 12.8
$900,000 – $999,000 – 10.0
via Realty Times
Despite rising home prices, more supply means more inventory to choose from, and more negotiating power in the marketplace. More good news for Bend, Oregon housing.
While U.S. house prices rose 2.1 percent in the second quarter of the year, the Bend-Redmond metro area (all of Deschutes County) saw a home price appreciation rate more than twice that, of 5.25 percent, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency.
But it’s the one-year increase of nearly 17 percent in home prices that puts the Bend metro area at no. 4 in the country for house price appreciation, according to the agency numbers.
However, one only has to look over one column to the right — at the five-year price change — for a quick reminder of how hard the recession hit Deschutes County real estate, which still has seen a 27.2 percent home price depreciation since the second quarter of 2008.
Bend-Redmond’s home price gain over the past year was only topped by Stockton-Lodi, Calif., Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Arizona and Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, Nevada. Modesto, Calif. Rounded out the top five.
The national figure was the eighth straight quarterly price rise in the purchase-only, seasonally adjusted index.
“The housing market experienced one of its strongest quarters since the boom in the middle of the last decade,” said FHFA Principal Economist Andrew Leventis.
The HPI is calculated using home price sales information from mortgages sold to or guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
via “Bend’s Boom back? Home Prices Rise No. 4 in the Nation“
If you are looking to build a new home in the Bend or Central Oregon area, let Greg Welch be your contractor. As a builder in Central Oregon for 15 years, he understands the intricacies of Bend’s housing market and the needs of its residents.