How's the housing market over here now? (Bend, Redmond: short sale, mobile home)

[Copsgirl73]

Originally Posted by oregonwoodsmoke

Back to housing: I was driving around Bend yesterday and could see lots of brand new houses under construction.

Lots if signs saying "houses starting at $200,000". The new houses all looked to be too big to be $200,000 houses, so the subdivisdion must include one 950 square ft house on the worst lot. Priced at $200,000 before you add any upgrades.

All of tract house construction appeared to be in subdivisions that were not completely built out before the crash.

There is also a bit of custom contruction of very nice houses in areas that are going to end up really expensive (like Woodriver Village), but none of those go up for sale. They appear to be all owner occupied construction.

Lots of new stuff being built. We get the daily emails with the new listings and there are a bunch every week of newly constructed homes for sale. And almost half on our entire list (of 96) have gone pending or sold since late March

[Snownut]

My goal is to quote your post one day in the future, that is where and how I'd like to live in Bend.

Originally Posted by Dry Side

I love living in Bend, but if I was stuck in a 9 - 5 type inside job it probably would be less appealing. I live right on the edge of town to the West making almost instant access to the unspoiled forest and trails. Also fortunate to be able to get away for a couple months to warmer climates in the winter each year. House is paid off and I can "work" anywhere I have an internet connection. I have lived in many other states/places and so far I like it here best for my physically active life style.

[kosmo65]

I'm baaccckk! My account went screwy on me, but I've got it sorted out now and can post again. Yay!

Thanks to everyone for the advice on what you're looking for in a house. I really did take everything to heart, but there is only so much we can do from Maryland! Interesting discussions, though!

Our house went on the MLS tonight. There are still a few things that we need to take care of (some interior paint touch-ups, professional cleaning, restain part of the fence). The cleaners come tomorrow and the painters should be inside early next week. We had the exterior repainted a week or so ago.

2979 Nw Chardonnay Ln, Bend, OR 97701 - Home For Sale and Real Estate Listing - realtor.com® is the listing - would love any feedback!

We bought it in late 2007 as mortgagers all over were failing. It had originally been listed for $529K, and had been reduced all the way to $390 by the time we decided to make an offer. We lowballed the owner at $350 and she took it. So while we did buy in 2007, it was after prices had already dropped significantly.

As I read the comps today, it looks like there are about six homes that will directly compete with ours, with one of those homes being in our neighborhood. Our neighborhood is weird - some custom built homes (our side of the street is almost all custom-built) and many Adair homes (for those who are unfamiliar, Adair doesn't have the greatest reputation, and the homes they built in our neighborhood have no ductwork and have electric wall heaters in each room, while we have gas forced air and central air in our home).

Our neighbor closed on the sale of his house yesterday. He is a realtor, and it never went on the MLS. The sale price was $320K, and it's an Adair home. He also has a horrid back yard with zero privacy. Our back yard is fairly private; while our next door neighbor's house does have windows on the second story that overlook our yard, they're actually in a two story great room, so it's not like anyone's actually able to see out of them (unless they put a ladder in the great room...)

I'll run my little Bend housing search as soon as I have an hour or so to do so!

Wish us luck in selling.

[Snownut]

wonderful and you shouldnt need luck since it seems you have priced it well.

make sure to note the south facing yard. we will not even consider buying a home in bend if the main outdoor space faces north. I be watching for the sale pending update.

Originally Posted by kosmo65

I'm baaccckk! My account went screwy on me, but I've got it sorted out now and can post again. Yay!

Thanks to everyone for the advice on what you're looking for in a house. I really did take everything to heart, but there is only so much we can do from Maryland! Interesting discussions, though!

Our house went on the MLS tonight. There are still a few things that we need to take care of (some interior paint touch-ups, professional cleaning, restain part of the fence). The cleaners come tomorrow and the painters should be inside early next week. We had the exterior repainted a week or so ago.

2979 Nw Chardonnay Ln, Bend, OR 97701 - Home For Sale and Real Estate Listing - realtor.com® is the listing - would love any feedback!

We bought it in late 2007 as mortgagers all over were failing. It had originally been listed for $529K, and had been reduced all the way to $390 by the time we decided to make an offer. We lowballed the owner at $350 and she took it. So while we did buy in 2007, it was after prices had already dropped significantly.

As I read the comps today, it looks like there are about six homes that will directly compete with ours, with one of those homes being in our neighborhood. Our neighborhood is weird - some custom built homes (our side of the street is almost all custom-built) and many Adair homes (for those who are unfamiliar, Adair doesn't have the greatest reputation, and the homes they built in our neighborhood have no ductwork and have electric wall heaters in each room, while we have gas forced air and central air in our home).

Our neighbor closed on the sale of his house yesterday. He is a realtor, and it never went on the MLS. The sale price was $320K, and it's an Adair home. He also has a horrid back yard with zero privacy. Our back yard is fairly private; while our next door neighbor's house does have windows on the second story that overlook our yard, they're actually in a two story great room, so it's not like anyone's actually able to see out of them (unless they put a ladder in the great room...)

I'll run my little Bend housing search as soon as I have an hour or so to do so!

Wish us luck in selling.

[Copsgirl73]

Originally Posted by Snownut

wonderful and you shouldnt need luck since it seems you have priced it well.

make sure to note the south facing yard. we will not even consider buying a home in bend if the main outdoor space faces north. I be watching for the sale pending update.

Why not a north facing yard?
These are those things I never remember to consider when buying a house.

[Snownut]

Originally Posted by Copsgirl73

Why not a north facing yard?
These are those things I never remember to consider when buying a house.

For me Bend has a cold/cool climate. If I am going to be sitting outside or trying to have a small garden a south oriented yard is essential.

A 65 degree day sitting in the sun can be wonderful, 65 in the shade can be too cool.

I figure Bend has long chilly springs and that should be the time I think about maximizing outdoor time.

When it is hotter in the summer I can set up an umbrella.

When I look at a property I click on street view and know right way via the compass symbol if the outdoor space would be right for me.

Anyway that is why I am looking for a southern exposure property in Bend.

[kosmo65]

Thanks! The south facing yard really is great; we spend a ton of time outside. Finding a house with an acceptable yard for us was harder than I'd anticipated it would be. We rejected a lot of houses where we really liked the house itself because the yard was a postage stamp, or mostly unusable. We had three labs and a five year old when we moved to Bend and needed a decent yard.

[kosmo65]

June Update


And another monthly update!

March 2, 2013:
676 total homes for sale in "Bend" (map shows out almost to Prineville, south past Sunriver, north to Tumalo)
> $1,000,000 - 59
$750,000 - $999,999 - 54
$500,000 - $749,000 - 114
$400,000 - $499,999 - 97
$300,000 - $399,999 - 120
$200,000 - $299,999 - 150
< $199,999 - 92

April 4:
706 total
> $1,000,000 - 65 (+6)
$750,000 - $999,999 - 52 (-2)
$500,000 - $749,000 - 143 (+29)
$400,000 - $499,999 - 89 (-8)
$300,000 - $399,999 - 131 (+11)
$200,000 - $299,999 - 145 (-5)
< $199,999 - 84 (-8)

May 2:
725 total - (+16)
> $1,000,000 - 75 (+10)
$750,000 - $999,999 - 52 (no change)
$500,000 - $749,000 - 147 (+4)
$400,000 - $499,999 - 91 (+2)
$300,000 - $399,999 - 134 (+3)
$200,000 - $299,999 - 149 (+4)
< $199,999 - 74 (-10)

June 2:
813 total (+88)
> $1,000,000 - 82 (+7)
$750,000 - $999,999 - 62 (+10)
$500,000 - $749,000 - 168 (+21)
$400,000 - $499,999 - 99 (+8)
$300,000 - $399,999 - 159 (+25)
$200,000 - $299,999 - 173 (+24)
< $199,999 - 71 (-3)
(For some reason, the numbers don't align when you add up the individual totals, but I'm too lazy to sort out why...)

Isolating the search to NW Bend (97 to the east, NW Albany to the south, Shevlin Park to the west, NW Putnam to the north):

April:
149 total*
> $1,000,000 - 18
$750,000 - $999,999 - 11
$500,000 - $749,000 - 58
$400,000 - $499,999 - 39
$300,000 - $399,999 - 20
$200,000 - $299,999 - 2
< $199,999 - 1

May:
153 total*
> $1,000,000 - 22 (+4)
$750,000 - $999,999 - 12 (+1)
$500,000 - $749,000 - 50 (-8)
$400,000 - $499,999 - 41 (+2)
$300,000 - $399,999 - 25 (+5)
$200,000 - $299,999 - 2 (no change)
< $199,999 - 1 (no change)

June:
174 total (+21)
> $1,000,000 - 25 (+3)
$750,000 - $999,999 - 14 (+2)
$500,000 - $749,000 - 67 (+17)
$400,000 - $499,999 - 33 (-8)
$300,000 - $399,999 - 30 (+5)
$200,000 - $299,999 - 3 (+1)
< $199,999 - 0 (-1)
(Again, the numbers are a little off)

Of particular interest to me is the $300,000 to $399,000 range.*

April:*
In the last area defined, of the 20 houses listed in this range, 1 is in Saddleback, and five are off Archie Briggs Road - both areas that I personally like, but that many consider off the beaten path. That brings us down to 14 options for the "typical" buyer.

May:
25 houses. Zero in Saddleback, four off Archie Briggs/OB Riley. So down to 21 for the "typical" folks.

June:
30 houses. One in Saddleback, four off Archie Briggs/OB Riley. Down to 25 for "typical" buyers.

More digging:

April:
Of the 14 remaining homes, two only have two bedrooms. Knock those off that typical list, we're down to 12 options now. Of those 12, seven have lots under 5,000 SF. I have kids and dogs and a need for at least some space between my home and the next, so those would be the ones I'd have left to look at in that price range. Want central air conditioning? Tough luck, none of them have it. (I know folks seem to think you don't need A/C in Bend, but I was REALLY glad we had it in our place.)

May:
Only 1 home with 2 BR, so down to 20. 15 have lots over 5,000 SF. *None have central A/C. 12 have a 2 car garage.

June:
3 homes with 2 BR, so down to 22. *19 have lots over 5,000 SF. 16 of those have a 2 car garage. It shows only one with central air, but there are at least two (I've just sent our realtor a message asking her to fix that!)

Note that all these stats are taken from realtor.com and I may have miscounted something...

[kosmo65]

Oddly, the copy/paste I'm doing is somehow resulting in random asterisks, my apologies!

[Copsgirl73]

Originally Posted by Snownut

For me Bend has a cold/cool climate. If I am going to be sitting outside or trying to have a small garden a south oriented yard is essential.

A 65 degree day sitting in the sun can be wonderful, 65 in the shade can be too cool.

I figure Bend has long chilly springs and that should be the time I think about maximizing outdoor time.

When it is hotter in the summer I can set up an umbrella.

When I look at a property I click on street view and know right way via the compass symbol if the outdoor space would be right for me.

Anyway that is why I am looking for a southern exposure property in Bend.

Ah ha! Gotcha!

The house we are buying faces west, back faces east