As the leaves continue to turn and create a smattering of fall colors across the landscape, there is plenty of chatter about changes in the real estate market. Is it cooling? Are buyers still out there—especially this time of year? Are prices coming down?
In years past, it has been very typical for the market to begin to shift and slow slightly in the fall months. School has started, people are beginning to get ready to hunker down for the winter months and the holiday season has traditionally resulted in a deceleration of the breakneck pace of Central Oregon's spring and summer markets. Over the last year and a half, the real estate market has been anything but typical, and it seems as though that will remain the case as we move through the fall months here in Central Oregon.
Bend is beginning to find some consistency with a slow uptick in increasing inventory. For the third month in a row, Bend has recorded a one-month housing inventory supply. The average days on market ticked up from an average of six days in August to seven days in September. The median home price bumped back up to $650,000 from August's $635,000. The total number of closed single-family home sales per month is still sitting well into the 200s, with 232 sales closed in Bend during the month of September. That is a slight decrease from September of 2020.
Redmond has also logged a second straight month of maintaining one month of inventory for both August and September. Consistency is key for Redmond, with the median single family home price maintaining at $450,000 for the second month in a row. The average days on market dipped slightly from the previous month to five average days, as did the total number of closed single family sales, for a total number of 88.
Sisters saw a big jump in the median single-family home price from $562,000 in August 2021 to $610,000 in September. The number of closed single-family home sales dipped to eight total sales and average days on market increased slightly from five to eight average days in September. Current inventory in Sisters is showing at about 0.5 months.
Sunriver remains a tight market with no change in inventory at just 0.5 months. The average days on market dropped from six days to four days in September. There were 21 closed single-family home sales with a median home price jumping from $775,000 in August to $858,000 in September.
La Pine has the most inventory at a full three months available. The median single-family home price increased nearly $100,000, from $343,000 in August to $440,000 in September 2021. The average days on market remains low at seven days. And La Pine saw a total of 20 closed single-family home sales in September.
Central Oregon is beginning to see increased inventory, but whether this trend holds is yet to be seen. While increasing inventory is an indicator of a healthy and stabilized market, we are a long way from a complete inventory shift. So long as inventory remains low and interest rates remain low, these two things will continue to drive a competitive market.
