The Central Oregon real estate community is blessed with a fantastic monthly report from the Beacon Appraisal Group.  The Beacon Report tracks the number of sales, median sales price, average price per sq. ft., inventory level, days on the market, and a few other statistics. These figures are broken out for Bend, Redmond, Sisters, Sunriver, LaPine, Jefferson County, and Crook County.    

Here is a link to the full Beacon Report:   https://beaconappraisal.net/market-overviews/

Generally speaking, we have seen sales prices over the past couple of months to be flat or slightly declining.  Prices have settled at levels we saw 12 to 15 months ago. Sales volume typically falls during the winter, and this winter has been no exception. However, this winter’s volume is significantly less than we saw in the winters of 2021 and 2022.

It seems to this interested observer that the market is at an inflection point. Inventory levels are very low, and mortgage rates remain stubbornly high. Two big questions remain to be seen. 1) Will we see the usual influx of spring and summer buyers?  2) Will inventory levels remain low, or will resellers finally emerge?   

Predictions for Central Oregon Home Sales in 2023

I suspect we will see an influx of buyers and won’t see inventory levels increase measurably. This means we will have many buyers chasing fewer homes. This supply and demand mix will cause home prices to be bid up. I hope we don’t experience the extreme market chaos we witnessed last spring when homes were fetching 3-10 offers within 24-48 hours of coming onto the market. Time will tell.

What You Can Do if You Want to Buy or Sell a Home

If you want to buy a home in Bend or Central Oregon, there are things you can do right now to prepare. The first and most important thing for any home buyer is to get a pre-qualification letter from your mortgage broker (me!). With the fast pace of home sales in Central Oregon, time is of the essence. To make a solid offer, you must show the seller that you can afford the home and are pre-qualified with a lender (me!).  Don’t miss the opportunity to buy the home of your dreams because you were not pre-qualified. To start the pre-qualification process, head to my website by clicking here to complete an application or call me.

If you want to sell your Central Oregon home, now is the perfect time to get it ready to go on the market this spring. Talk with a realtor to determine what your home is worth. Make any recommended improvements to help it sell. If you need a recommendation of a realtor to work with, let me know. I have some wonderful people I would love to introduce to you! 

If you have any questions, please contact me via email or my cell. I am here to help you wherever you are in your journey.