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Bend, OR Real Estate News

By Lisa Broadwater, GRI, CDPE - Bend, Sisters, Tumalo, Redmond
(Cascade Sotheby's International Realty)
      What a roller-coaster we've all been riding the past few days! This morning in Tumalo, I was greeted by the most incredible sunrise I've seen in a while -- it literally stopped me in my tracks. Although there's plenty to worry about (and plenty of time to do so), I decided it was my cue to stop, take a break from the financial fretting and count my blessings for a moment. I hope this photo will have a similar effect on you.
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By Dave Woodland, Your Bend, OR Friendly, Knowledgable Mortgage Professional
(Signet Mortgage)
Here is an interesting article from today’s Wall Street Journal by June Fletcher entitled “Is Now a Good Time to Buy a Home?”  Even though the author refers to the Credit Suisse analyst projections of stabilizing in approximately 18 mos (see the last 2 paragraphs), for the right person, NOW is the time to invest.  She describes a list of what-ifs that if your client can answer yes to, they are excellent candidates for taking advantage of today’s market.  If you have access to credit, have plenty of cash reserves, aren’t extended to the gills in real estate already, have secure, steady income, and are looking to hold property for at least 2 years… then NOW is the right time for you. So look at this list of IFs and see if you know anyone with these virtues.  For the first item on the list...
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By Dave Woodland, Your Bend, OR Friendly, Knowledgable Mortgage Professional
(Signet Mortgage)
The vote is in and it’s a “NO!” in the House, so there is still not a financial rescue plan.  Click here to see the Wall Street Journal article on the vote and the markets.  The Dow has now closed down 777 points at 10,365.  A bigger drop than the day after 9/11.  These are truly historic days on Wall Street.  Normally when we see funds coming out of the equity markets it will often flow into Mortgage Backed Securities (MBS) and improve rates.  But for now, MBS are not stabilized and money is choosing to go into Treasuries and by the billions.  So rates are down significantly on US T bills and only slightly on mortgages.  10-year T bill yields are less than 1.9% right now.  Now before you crumple into a ball, we are still expecting a rescue package to pass and with it bring stability to...
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By Cheri Smith
(Total Property Resources)
The Luxury Property Network is hosting its second Luxury Homes on Tour event in Bend this Saturday, 9/27/08, from 12-6pm. Seventeen properties will be available for viewing. You'll also have the opportunity to register at each house for your chance to win a Sterling Silver Swirl Pendant necklace from Saxon's Fine Jewelers or a gift certificate to the Urban Beauty Bar. Pick up your tour map at Saxon's Fine Jewelers in the Old Mill District or at Urban Beauty Bar, 930 SW Brooks St.  The tour map can also be downloaded and printed by clicking here: 9.27.08 Luxury Homes on Tour I will be hosting 1901 NW Rivermist Dr. during the tour. This is a one of a kind riverfront home built by Plush Homes. The home is 3101 sq. ft. with 4 bedrooms/3.5 baths, top of the line kitchen, main level master su...
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By Cheri Smith
(Total Property Resources)
As a seller, there are several different contingencies buyers might throw at you but one of the most common is an offer contingent upon the sale of their home. If you as a seller receive a contingent offer, at the bare minimum, the buyer's house should be listed in the MLS. You should ask your agent to put together a CMA (comparative market analysis) for the potential buyer's house. Is their house priced aggressively? Are homes selling in their neighborhood? Are homes selling in their price range? Your agent should also request information about the number of showings the potential buyers have had and what kind of feedback they're getting. The last thing you want to do is accept the contingent offer if the buyer's house has no chance of selling. If you decide to accept the contingent of...
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By Dave Woodland, Your Bend, OR Friendly, Knowledgable Mortgage Professional
(Signet Mortgage)
Wow.  There are Big Steps in the world of mortgage-backed securities to talk about today!  Yesterday’s historic move of the US Treasury stepping into Freddie and Fannie will have far reaching effects on the price of bonds. The near term effects are all positive. It’s all about risk-based supply, which in this case has been high risk and low supply of investors for Freddie and Fannie bonds.  Interest rates have been artificially inflated to attract needed investment into the mortgage giants.  And sure enough this morning, with the risk profile reversed, supply of investors has jumped up, willing to buy bonds again and interest rates are dropping.  In fact, if you look at the chart below showing trends through Friday, and superimpose today’s activity, prices are above 102.4 and into that ...
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By Cheri Smith
(Total Property Resources)
I visited the Newport Landing model yesterday for the second time and continue to be impressed. Newport Landing is a new modern home development near the roundabout at Newport Ave. and College Way in Bend. The homes were designed by GGL Architecture of Bend and built by Diamond Built Homes of Redmond. They currently have 4 floor plans available (and should eventually have 6) that are very open with lots of large windows throughout, decks and terrace areas, and modern design features.  They offer 3 interior package options, all customizable, with natural finishes and surfaces including stone, tile, glass and wood. They put a lot of thought into the floor plans and orientation of windows and rooms. Floor plans vary from lot to lot so that even with all the huge windows, you can maintain y...
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By Cheri Smith
(Total Property Resources)
I compiled the July 2008 real estate statistics and again, not much has changed. What really stands out is the fact that there were zero homes contingent, pending or sold in the $850,000 - $1,000,000 price range but 114 homes for sale. We're still seeing the most activity in the $200,000 - $250,000 range and really, even homes priced up to $400,000 are selling. Overall in the month of July, 81 contingent offers were accepted, 169 homes were pending, and 114 homes sold in Bend. Only 18 of those sales were homes priced over $500,000. There are 2460 homes for sale, most of them in the $200,000 - $400,000 price range. The median sales price for July was $297,500. This is down from the June median price of $319,000 but in June, we saw 29 homes priced over $500,000 sell compared to 18 last mo...
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By Jim Johnson
(Bend Oregon Real Estate Expert)
  I have many clients asking me if they should sell their home in Bend Oregon now in this buyer's market or wait until "the market comes back?"  There is no one answer for this question.  It depends on the circumstance of the individuals. We are advising our younger clients who want to sell their home and buy a larger more expensive home to wait and watch the market.  Prices are falling and it looks like they will continue to fall this year and maybe bottom out next spring. We are advising our clients who are looking to down size and don't want to wait 5 years to sell now.   The person down sizing will loose money if they wait for the market to bottom out and sell in the next year or two.   Assume you own a $500,000 home and want to buy a $300,000 home.  If the market goes down another ...
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By Cheri Smith
(Total Property Resources)
The Bend, Oregon real estate market was just featured (in a positive light) in USA Today. The article stated "it's a great time to buy a home in Bend, Oregon." I think this type of nationally published article is very important for the Bend real estate market for several reasons. Many Bend locals are unable to take advantage of this great buyers' market because so many of them have to get their homes sold first. We're stuck in a vicious circle. Many home sellers in Bend are relying on buyers from out of the area to move to Bend and purchase. Even in this slow market, plenty of people are looking for second/vacation homes and either have the cash to purchase or don't need to sell anything but might not have decided where they want to purchase. Maybe they have decided on Bend but need som...
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By Cheri Smith
(Total Property Resources)
The tour home at Mirada was awarded "Best Value" in its category for 2008 COBA Tour of Homes. I was one of the hosts in the model last weekend and I'm so happy about the feedback we got from attendees. It's wonderful to hear people say things like "We've been to every home in this price range on the tour and yours is by far our favorite." We had other people come through the model and then come back at the end of the day because they thought that our standard amenities were better than those in other homes they looked at. Our tour home is a 1332 sq. ft. single level floor plan with 3 bedrooms/2 bathrooms. During the tour, the price is $214,900 ($229,900 after the tour) and that includes the following standard amenities: 12X12 inch tile countertops in the kitchen and bathrooms brushed si...
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By Lisa Broadwater, GRI, CDPE - Bend, Sisters, Tumalo, Redmond
(Cascade Sotheby's International Realty)
Yesterday morning I finally checked out the new Bella Tazza, which opened in Tumalo a few weeks ago.  If I had been on top of my game, I would've been there the day it opened; landing a Bella Tazza in our neck of the woods is big news. The locally owned coffee café has been a popular downtown Bend hotspot for several years. Tumalo (located about five miles northwest of Bend), on the other hand, is a sleepy little unincorporated community of several hundred folks, most of whom live on mini-ranches or working ranches outside the blink-and-you-missed-it town center -- and some of whom have lived and ranched here for many years. In other words, Tumalonians aren't what you'd consider the typical $4 cup of coffee customers. But here it is, a handsome little café, stocked with an impressive se...
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By Jim Johnson
(Bend Oregon Real Estate Expert)
The Bend Oregon real estate market is slow but people are still moving to Bend from all over the country.  It is a great place to live and own a home.  Check out this virtual tour to see why.  http://www.distinctivehometours.com/tour.asp?tour=BendOregon Jim Johnson has lived in Bend Oregon since 1981. Call 541-389-4511 or see his web site http://www.bendoregonrealestateexpert.com .  To see more information on Bend Oregon click on the link below. http://bendoregonrealestateexpert.com/bendoregon.aspIf you would like to make a comment on this post or on the Bend Oregon real estate market click on "comments" below.
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By Jim Johnson
(Bend Oregon Real Estate Expert)
The Bend Oregon MLS is a state of the art Multiple Listing Service.   When sellers have their properties listed with a member of the MLS their property can be listed with full detail, up to 10 pictures plus virtual tours. Documents such as plat maps, seller's disclosures and any other pertinent documents can be attached to the listing for the benefit of other Realtors viewing the listing. When a seller allows a lock box to be used on their home the listing Realtor can track the showings electronically.  The person using the lock box, the time and date will show up on the listing brokers computer the next day if the broker knows how to use the system. Listing brokers can also track the number on buyer hits and agents hits that occur through the MLS web site. Buyers can search all listing...
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By Jim Johnson
(Bend Oregon Real Estate Expert)
The credit crunch continues.  It seems that now all real estate loans are credit driven.  The better your credit score the lower the interest rate the banks will give you.  If you have a lower score your interest rates are higher. The logic behind this is the "risk factor."  The lower your credit score the more likely you are to default on the loan.  So, what do they do?  They raise your interest rate and thereby increase your monthly payments and yes increase even further the likelyhood of a default.  Go figure! Many of the lending institutions and also terminiating or reducing the maximum loan amount on HELOCs (Home Equity Line of Credit).  It seems that credit scores are partialy based on the percentage of money a person has borrowed as compared to the amount of available credit. I h...
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By Jim Johnson
(Bend Oregon Real Estate Expert)
There are currently 85 homes listed for in Bend Oregon over $1,000,000.   For purposes of this post we are saying a luxury home is: 1) Over $1,000,000.  2)3,000 square feet or larger  3) Has triple car garage or larger  4)Built prior to 1990.  4)  Connected to Bend City sewer.  We didn't count residential acreage will be be a discussion in another post. The most expensive home for sale in Bend is asking $6,000,000.  It is a European Chateau in the gated community of Broken Top.  It has over 10,000 square feet, 5 bedrooms, 7 baths and a 4+ car garage.  It includes a 800 square foot wine cellar is sits on a one acre lot over looking several fairways. The second most expensive home for sale in Bend is located in the luxury golf course community of Pronghorn.  It is listed for $3,950,000.  ...
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By Cheri Smith
(Total Property Resources)
It seems that everyone is looking for a deal in the current real estate market. Often times, even a good deal is not enough, it has to be an incredible deal. As I check out new listings and price reductions in the MLS each day, I often run across properties and think to myself, "Wow, that one won't last long" and sure enough, the property quickly goes pending. I'm going to start posting these deals on my blog.  This 1741 sq. ft. 3 bedroom/2.5 bath home is located just north of downtown on Lakeside. Floor to ceiling windows in the living room allow for a wonderful river view. It has a contemporary feel. Click on the photos to enlarge them. Contact me for a tour of this home.           
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By Cheri Smith
(Total Property Resources)
Man I feel like I'm on the ball! It's July 1st and I already compiled the stats for June. I decided to take a new approach. I included a column specifically for the "Contingent" status. Normally I group these in with the active listings because so many contingent offers don't close and because we can still actively market the property and accept a non-contingent offer. Most sellers are very reluctant to accept contingent offers and to be quite honest, I don't like it when my buyers ask me to write them. I suspect that in the current market, we're going to see more and more sellers accept contingent offers, therefore, I included a separate column to track these properties. I can tell you that in June 2007, there were 1972 properties for sale and only 10 contingent offers accepted. As of ...
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By Cheri Smith
(Total Property Resources)
I have to admit I was disappointed to see that there was virtually no change in the number of home sales from April to May. And since I'm busy and not feeling very witty, I'll leave it at that.    Active Pending Sold      May 2132 193 115      April 2003 201 102      March 2009 194 82      February 1867 116 62   View the detailed statistics here: May Real Estate Sales    
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By Amy Campbell, Broker, Sunriver Real Estate
(RE/MAX Sunset Realty)
Wishing you all a fabulous Memorial Day Weekend.  The weather is expected to be cool for the upcoming weekend - upper 60's for the highs.  Check out www.ktvz.com for up to date weather information.  The High Desert Museum will have its HISTORIC SAWMILL all fired up for the Memorial Day weekend.  Take a look back at the last century of this areas timber histiory.  Visit their website at www.highdesertmuseum.com for more information and hours of operation.  The Regal Old Mill 16 Movie Theater is showing the new Indiana Jones flic -Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and the Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian.    Ironman is still showing and you can see my review of that movie at my blog http://activerain.com/blogsview/493121/I-Won-IRON-MAN  Drive Safe and Enjoy the holida...
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