Bend median home price falls for third month

Home sales are seasonal, so it’s not too surprising that Bend’s record-high June median home sales price of $449,000 dropped in September for the third straight month, to $425,000. But a Redmond appraisal firm noted that’s still $7,000 higher than the median price seen a year ago.

“Inventory is low, at just under a three-month supply,” Donnie Montagner, a residential appraiser with Beacon Appraisal Group, wrote in his monthly report, issued Monday.

There were 195 Bend-area home sales in September, a drop from 260 in August and the same figure seen in October of last year. Days on market for sold properties has climbed since June, now at 78 days, close to the year-ago figure.

The median sales price per square foot stood at $223 last month, down a bit from August but still above the year-ago figure of $214.

Montagner noted that despite the low inventory, Bend-area building permits dropped sharply in September, to 39, down from 72 in August and down nearly 50 percent from a year ago, though above the 32 permits issued in March.

Redmond area home prices continue to climb to record territory, at a median of $310,000 in September, up $3,000 from August. Sales dropped a bit, to 88, but days on market also dropped in Redmond, from 91 in August to 70 last month.

In Redmond as well, building permits dropped sharply, from 41 in August to just 17 in September, the lowest since last November.

Quarterly figures show Sisters-area median home prices dropping a bit, to $417,000 in the third quarter, still the second-highest on record. Sunriver’s median price dropped from a record $535,000 to $485 in the third quarter. But La Pine’s median price rose to $250,000 in the third quarter, up $10,000.

The Jefferson County-Crooked River Ranch median home price rose to a record $215,000 in the third quarter, with sales also setting a record, at 58. Crook County’s median home price rose a bit, to $234,000.