Bend’s median home sales price jumps $17K to record $547,000 in September

Records set in much of the region as days on market, inventory shrink

REDMOND, Ore. (KTVZ) – Perhaps September’s record heat had an impact, but Bend-area home sales showed no signs of cooling as fall arrived. In fact, the median sales price jumped $17,000 in a single month, to a record $547,000, as high-end homes were snapped up quickly and inventories dwindled.

Monthly and quarterly figures in Thursday's report from Redmond's Beacon Appraisal Group showed much the same picture across the High Desert -- record prices and tight inventory making for faster sales.

In a review of monthly third-quarter stats, Beacon appraiser Donnie Montagner noted a significant rise in sales of Bend-area homes valued above $700,000, starting with a 54% jump from June to July, continuing that trend in August and starting to decline in September.

At its peak, in August, there were 102 Bend-area sales of homes in the $700,000 to $1 million-plus price range, representing 34% of all sales – more than double the percentage seen last year.

The sales numbers did drop during the summer, from a record peak of 318 in July to 296 in August and 279 in September. At the same time, the average number of days on market for sold homes, as high as 115 days as the year began, dropped to just five days last month.

The upper-end sales also pushed the median sales price per square foot to a record $264 last month. Building permits peaked for the year at 73 in August, dropping to just 21 in September. And the monthly inventory, usually 2-3 months, dropped to just 0.7 of a month in August and 0.5 last month.

Redmond also hit a new record median home sales price, of $363,000 last month, with just nine days average on market for sold properties (the record was eight days, in May). The median sale price per square foot rose a bit, to $202. Building permits rose in September, to 55, but Redmond had the same 0.6 of a month inventory.

The Sisters-area median home sales price also reached a record in the third quarter, up more than $50,000 to $456,000, with a record 68 sales over the three months. Average days on market fell to just 19 days, compared to 81 days in the third quarter of last year.

While not a record, the Sunriver-area median price rose to $550,000 last quarter and there were a record 83 sales, with an average of just eight days on the market. The La Pine area saw its median home price reach a record $327,000 and a record 58 sales, nearly triple the previous quarter.

Jefferson County-Crooked River Ranch sales hit a record median price of $262,000 and a doubling of sales from the previous quarter, at 73. Crook County’s median home sales price rose to a record $307,000 and a record 114 sales, and a record-low 29 days average on market before being sold.