Median sales chart

By Jason Boone

The numbers of homes sold in Bend, Oregon, in January dropped compared with previous months — which probably shouldn’t be a surprise given our weather — but the median price of those homes that were bought was on the rise.

The median sales price in January 2017 was $370,813 — 4.6 percent higher than in December 2016 and 16.8 percent higher year-over-year.

If data from past years hold true this year, the January median sales price can be viewed as a floor of price support for the rest of the year. In four of the previous five years, the median sales price in January wound up no lower than the second-lowest median sales price for the entire calendar year.

In 2015, though, the year that was the exception, the end-of-year median sales price of $327,500 was lower than January’s median sales price of $329,700.

A total of 130 homes were sold in January 2017. That’s the fewest since 125 homes changed hands in February 2016. (On a per-day basis, though, the rate of sales last month was in fact quicker than in February 2016.) You’d have to go back another year, to January 2015 (when 120 homes were sold), to find a January with so few homes sold.

A drop in activity was also seen in the number of homes coming to market in January: 127, which is the fewest in any month in more than two years and the fewest in any January since 2012. Of course, Bend’s record-breaking snowfall could very well be responsible for at least some of the slowdown in real estate activity.

Other observations about January’s sales data:

  • The inventory of houses — the amount of time it would take for all homes on the market to sell, given the current pace of sales — was 3.1 months in January. That’s the lowest inventory for a January in the 10 years for which the Skjersaa Group has sales data and about 10 percent lower than the 3.4-month inventory of January 2016.
  • Sellers are pricing their homes appropriately. The average sales price to list price was back up to 99 percent from 98 percent in December 2016.
  • The percentage of active listings priced at $625,100 or more was 36 percent in January 2017. That’s the highest percentage of homes on the market in that price range since August 2016 (39 percent). There was 9.1 months of inventory of homes in that price range last month, the highest since February 2016.
  • Average days on the market rose from 121 days in December 141 in January. That is comparable to the previous January (138 days in January 2016). In the last five years, January’s average days on the market turned out to be the highest or second-highest figure for that calendar year.

After the snow clears, the pace of real estate activity in Bend is likely to pick up steam again. If you’re thinking about buying a home or considering selling, my knowledge of the market can be a considerable asset working in your favor. To learn more about how I can assist you in your real estate transaction, contact me at (541) 383-1426, or visit Bend Property Search to connect with me through my website.