Lowest median price in 4 years
Some interest rates, also at historic lows, could drive buyers back to Bend market
Published: January 08. 2009 4:00AM PST
The median sales price for a single-family home in Bend dipped in December to $226,000, the lowest it’s been in four years, according to an analysis of local real estate data released Wednesday by the Bend-based Bratton Appraisal Group.
The December median price is more than 13 percent off the November median and down nearly 33 percent from the December 2007 price of $337,000. It’s off 43 percent from the market’s peak of $396,000 in May 2007.
The median price is the price at which half of all homes sold for more and half sold for less. It is different from the mean, or average, price and is not a basis for determining a home’s value.
The Bratton Report uses data from the Central Oregon Multiple Listing Service and does not include the sale of condos, townhomes, manufactured homes or land.
The December report showed 66 single-family home sales in Bend during the month, compared with 70 in November and 75 in December 2007. The majority of the December sales — a little more than 80 percent — were for homes sold for less than $300,000. There were no homes sold for more than $600,000 in December.
“Entry-level homes are what’s selling,” said Andy Zook, a mortgage broker and co-owner of the Arbor Mortgage Group in Bend.
But Zook also pointed out that the December median sales price fell due to the lack of luxury home sales.
“The median price is a screwy number to begin with because it’s a reflection of the type of home that is selling not the value of the home,” Zook said.
The better number to measure value is the median sales price per square foot, he said. According to the report, in Bend it dropped in December to $126, down a little more than 5 percent from its November price of $133 and down more than 21 percent from its December 2007 price of $160. Zook said the median price per square foot, while the lowest it’s been in the past four years, is leveling off when compared with the $20 drop between October and November.
The median price per square foot is off nearly 39 percent from its peak price of $206 in August 2006 but only down a little more than 5 percent from the January 2005 price of $133.
Zook said interest rates on loans for less than $417,000 — so-called conforming loans per federal lending guidelines — are at historic lows and are driving more buyers into the market. Zook said interest rates for jumbo loans — or loans exceeding $417,000 — have not seen as dramatic a drop.
“Rates have fallen, which increase a buyer’s purchase power, and we’re seeing buyers come back into the market,” Zook said.
Bend’s inventory of all single-family homes in all price ranges was listed as 13 months. Generally, inventory of less than six months is considered a seller’s market and more than six months is considered a buyer’s market. For homes between $200,000 and $250,000 — the most active price range for sales during December — inventory stands at nine months, according to the report.
In Redmond, the median sales price for a single-family home in December was $190,000, which reflects a nearly 15 percent drop from the November price of $223,000 but is a more than 5 percent increase from the October price of $180,000.
For the year, the median price in Redmond is down nearly 15 percent compared with the December 2007 price of $223,000.
There were 33 single-family home sales in Redmond in December, up from 27 in November and unchanged from a year ago December. The Bratton Report put the inventory of single-family homes in Redmond at 14 months.
The median price per square foot in Redmond climbed to $103 in December, up from $93 in November but down from $123 in December 2007.
Andrew Moore can be reached at 541-617-7820 or amoore@bendbulletin.com.
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