Bend again soars to record median home sales price in November, due to a plunge in some sales

REDMOND, Ore. (KTVZ) – Bend soared to a new record median home price last month -- $683,000, which breaks the old mark, set last spring, by $31,000. But an appraiser said in his monthly report Monday that had more to do with a big drop in one segment’s sales than a surge in buyers.

Overall, the number of Bend single-family home sales last month dropped by about 6%, to 197 sales – not all that unusual, seasonally, as the weather turns colder and more people stay put.

But appraiser Donnie Montagner of Redmond-based Beacon Appraisal group said, “A significant decline is seen in the number of (Bend home) sales within the $550K-600K price range – a drop of about 43% in November. … This likely has significant impact on the median sale price increase.”

Meanwhile, it took an average 11 days to sell homes in the Bend market in November, a figure that had been in the single digits since August of last year.

Still, it remains a tight market: “Inventory levels decline in both the Bend and Redmond SFR markets to under a one-month supply,” Montagner wrote in his monthly summary.

Speaking of Redmond, its median home sales price held steady at $450,000 for the fourth straight month.

Here's the full report: