Bend economy...better? (real estate, apartment complexes, foreclosures)

[pw72]

I know Bend suffered a bit during the great recession. How is it recovering? How about housing prices? Both owning and renting? Most likely looking to rent an apartment at first...

[delta07]

Originally Posted by pw72

I know Bend suffered a bit during the great recession. How is it recovering? How about housing prices? Both owning and renting? Most likely looking to rent an apartment at first...

A bit? It suffered a lot! Unemployment has improved in the last year or so, but not by a whole lot. We are still below average for the country. During the height of the recession, unemployment was around 14-15%. Currently, Deschutes Co. is around 10-11%. The national average is about 7.5%.

I have noticed that housing prices are going back up. We bought our house in 2009, thought we were at the bottom, but prices continued to plummet. Our home dropped in value another $30-40K since we purchased. It's going back up though, and we are closer to $10-20K below our purchase price now.

The rental market is tight. Just take a look at few threads on here about that. I don't know about the prices, but they never really dropped, from what I heard.

[Steve Pickering]

Rental is about the same as all those foreclosures need shelter too.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

Employment is still difficult. Employment rates look better because the unemployed have given up and moved away. The majority of jobs are tourist industry related and pay minimum wage. Tourist industry seems to be doing much better, by the way.

Rents are going up, but aren't near as high as they were before the economy crashed. Rentals are getting tighter and are available for much shorter time period (renting much faster)

Real estate prices don't seem to be moving up much, but inventory is very low, time on market is very short, and nice properties are receiving multiple offers. All of which should make prices move up eventually. A few contractors are putting in new housing developments of lower priced houses. Those are going on subdivisions that were divided before the crash and have been sitting empty every since.

There are quality custom homes being built in specific desirable areas (on in-fill lots) that are being built for owner occupancy. Like in Woodriver Villiage.

The super bargain foreclosure properties are long gone. I think prices are a real bargain, but you will no longer get a house for 1/2 price.

It looks like we are going to be getting that 4 year university. So I predict more apartment complexes will be built and rents will go up substantially. But that is far in the future.

[Snownut]

Economy will likey be the biggest barrier to us moving to Bend. I intend to keep my contracting business in Va but will earn less not being hands on. Wife is RN and in hospital management position with regular headhunter offers to places we dont want to move. Her odds are better than mine?

I have never had a "real job" or even a resume so my challenge will be multi leveled. Like many we will probably buy a rental or VROB in Bend before we would move there. Anyway Bend economy continues my biggest concern so good to reading current observations on Bend region.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

Your wife can try applying to St Charles, but because Bend is a desirable place to live, it is one area where there is no shortage of nurses or medical technicians. In most towns, a qualified nurse has no propblem getting hired; but not necessarily in Bend.

Still, give it a try. All it will cost is a few hours fine tuning the resume and a postage stamp.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

Adding: besides Bend being a desirable place to live, St Charles gets tons of awards for "Best hospital" in all sorts of classifications, so the actual hospital is a desirable place to work. Lots of applicants, not a lot of job openings.

[PNW-type-gal]

As a regular visitor, it seems better - well, better than it was at it's worst. Nowhere near what I'd call "recovered." I've seen a couple formerly closed stores and restaurants start up again (usually as something else, but at least as something).

All of Oregon's resource-based counties, which certainly includes Deschutes, are in financial trouble due, in large part, to the cut back in Federal timber support dollars and lack of income-earning diversification. Fortunately for Bend, there have been other incomes sources - tourists, outdoor enthusiasts, second homes, retirees - that have helped keep things going. Those seem to have been what's brought the city back a bit rather than growth in many other areas.

Is this uptick before the double-dip and worse times are coming, have we turned a corner and things will start to get better, did we just take a breather? Can't say for sure. I do think the go-go-go, always count on two-digit increases in growth, productivity, energy supply, earnings, investment returns are mostly behind us. But then, Bend and Deschutes have seen insane, completely unsupportable population increases in the 90s and 00s. Nice if you made a buck on it at the time, but not good in the long run. As Bend's traffic shows, particularly for a city of its size. Even with the bypass, Old 97 is still bumper-to-bumper.

[Steve Pickering]

Originally Posted by oregonwoodsmoke

Adding: besides Bend being a desirable place to live, ... ...

I find that hilarious. After hundreds of trips to, and through Bend, in all seasons over fifty years, and spending a lot of time with family in Bend and Sun River, I would never call it desirable. It is desert, cold in the winter and hot in the summer, with desert scrub, and ponderosa in the foothills. Do I like it, yes, but to say it was desirable is a bit of a stretch.

[Snownut]

Originally Posted by Steve Pickering

I find that hilarious. After hundreds of trips to, and through Bend, in all seasons over fifty years, and spending a lot of time with family in Bend and Sun River, I would never call it desirable. It is desert, cold in the winter and hot in the summer, with desert scrub, and ponderosa in the foothills. Do I like it, yes, but to say it was desirable is a bit of a stretch.

There are many (myself included) who very much desire the desert climate of Bend... not sure why that is so hilarious to you? People desire different things, for me that is something to celebrate, it would be pretty crowded if we all wanted to live in the same place! keep stretching...