Rise in fall: C. Oregon home prices still surging

As summer turned to fall, Central Oregon home prices remained red-hot, with double-digit increases from a year ago in most areas, the Central Oregon Association of Realtors reported Wednesday.

The one exception: Sunriver, where the third-quarter median home price of $389,000 actually was down 2.8 percent from a year ago, according to the Realtors’ analysis of data from the Multiple Listing Service of Central Oregon.

Sisters led the way, as its median home price of $429,887 was up 18.2 percent from a year ago. Redmond wasn’t far behind, as its median home price has risen nearly 18 percent over the year, to $271,250.

Bend’s median home price rose 8.5 percent in the past 12 months and now stands at $379,000, the Realtors said. There were 877 single-family home sales in Bend over that three months, and 930 new listings.

Crook County remains a relative bargain, with a median home price of $225,000, but that is up 16 percent. Jefferson County wasn’t far behind, with a median home price up 15.7 percent in a year, to $180,450. La Pine’s median home price of $225,000 is up 6.2 percent from the third quarter of 2015.

“The number of homes for sale declined in most areas, while the total number of homes sold continued to rise, which should continue the trend” of higher home prices, the Realtors said.

“The number of new listings increased in most areas, which may provide some relief to the housing market,” the group said, though they noted that “60 percent of the new listings are above $297,000. In Bend, 40 percent of the new listings were over $430,000.”