Affordable Housing an Issue with Both Aspen Colorado and Bend Oregon

The question of affordability of housing in Bend has been around for quite some time with many jokingly asking the question "is Bend becoming the next Aspen?" Now granted Bend is a much bigger city than Aspen, and the average home price in Aspen is much higher, but there are some striking similarities between the two places when you look at these four leading indicators:

•       Listing inventory is down dramatically in both locations with Aspen homes for sale ↓ 34% to 371 homes, while Bend homes for sale is ↓ 84.1% to only 89 homes.*
•       Average days on market in Aspen is actually up↑ 16% to 208 days, while in Bend we are ↓ 86.2% to historic lows of just 12 days.
•       Average sales price in Aspen is ↓ 10% to still an impressive $3,673,560, while in Bend our sales price is ↑28.2% to $666,293.
•       The number of new listings in...

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What's in the February 2021 Newsletter?

• Bend Real Estate Sales Hit Record Highs in January 2021!
• For an Easy Hike in the Desert Try Fort Rock Loop
• 3 Reasons We're Definitely Not in a Housing Bubble
• Wishing for Warm Sands, Cerveza and Tacos?

Just an Hour's Drive SE of Bend is Fort Rock State Park

It has been several years since we last visited the Fort Rock area located 67.7 miles SE of Bend in Lake County. Fort Rock itself is a volcanic tuff ring located on an ice age lake bed. The ring is about 4,460 feet in diameter and stands about 200 feet high above the surrounding area. Its name is obvious from its resemblance to the tall, straight walls of a fort.

When we arrived at the state park February 6th, we saw just a handful of people using the facility. We hiked the 1.1 miles around the interior of the crater, but then scrambled up the far side to the rim which provided for nice views of the mountains to the west. The hike itself was easy and would be very warm in the summer. We had hoped to combine this trip with another hike in the general area - Hole in the Ground - but the forest service road to this location was closed for the winter.

If you do go to Fort Rock, a stop at the Fort Rock Homestead Museum is very worthwhile for those who enjoy seeing how early settlers to this part of Oregon lived. When we were there February 6th, the museum was closed; not sure if this was due to Covid restrictions or if it was just a seasonal shut down.

January 2021 Bend Real Estate Sales Continue 2020 Trends

If we were to use one phrase to summarize January 2021's Bend single family home sales on less than an acre, it would be "more of the same." The 2020 Bend home sale trends since getting over the initial shock of the Covid-19 pandemic have been monumental and the start in 2021 appears to be continuing the movement.

However, there is one "more of the same" comment that needs to be made when looking a sales trends. According to the Beacon Appraisal Group report, both Bend and Redmond have once again set new record high sales prices. For January 2021, Bend reached a new high median sales price of $577,500 while Redmond reached a high median sales price of $377,000. For Bend, this is $20,000 over the last record set in October of 2020, with gains once again blamed on extremely tight inventory levels.

When January of 2021 is compared with January 2020 for Bend single family home...

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Lack of Inventory Impacting Bend Luxury Home Sales

2020 was a year that will be remembered in the history books. In January and February 2020, real estate sales were great across the country with low interest rates leading the way enabling buyers to afford more than they could in the past. Low inventory levels were making sellers realize that listing in the winter could be a good decision and Bend Oregon real estate sales were breaking records.  Then the Covid-19 pandemic hit and the subsequent recession and work-from-home orders made many believe Central Oregon real estate sales would drastically drop. However, after the initial shock, Bend home sales came roaring back when the pandemic made people realize that if they were to work from home, home could be where they really wanted to live as long as a good internet connection was available.  Cities like Bend became the destination of many across the country as people left high density, urban areas and moved to smaller...

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