The median sales price in the Bend, Oregon, real estate market in July seemed to defy the law of supply and demand.

July started with 357 homes on the market. That was the most in any month since the start of July 2020.

During July, an additional 231 homes came onto the market, and 179 homes were sold (the fewest in any July since 2012).

Yet despite the bump in homes on the market and the relatively low number of sales, the median price in July jumped more than $50,000 from June to $770,500 – the second-highest on record in the Bend, Oregon, real estate market.

July’s increase in median sales price represents a 7.0 percent month-over-month increase. It also stopped a streak of four months of decreases in the median price.

July’s $770,500 median sales price was 14.2 percent more than the median in July 2021. That 14.2 percent year-over-year increase is the third-lowest year-over-year hike in the last two years. Two of the three lowest year-over-year increases since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, in fact, have come in the last two months. This might indicate that some of the pandemic-fueled movement in the market is beginning to fade.

Other data points indicate that the market is loosening – at least slightly – and not tilting as severely in favor of sellers.

July ended with 2.6 months of inventory. That’s the most inventory since May 2020 (but still far from the six months that roughly equate to a balance between buyers and sellers in a real estate market).

The average sales price to list price was 99 percent, making for two months in the last three that this figure was less than 100 percent. (For perspective, this figure was 105 percent in July 2021.)

And the total volume of price reductions among all sold homes was 6.5 percent, which is the second-largest sum of reductions in a month since the onset of the pandemic.

As might be expected in light of the median price, homes at the highest end of the price spectrum had a sizable influence on July’s statistics. Of July’s 179 sales, 57 (32 percent) were of homes priced at $925,100 or more. That’s the largest percentage for this price tier in at least a year. Moreover, sales in this price tier had a 99.9 percent average sales price to list price, the highest in July among all price groupings.

July ended with 185 pending sales – low compared with what we’ve seen during most of the pandemic. That could portend a further increase in supply as summer wears on. But as July showed, an increase in supply doesn’t necessarily mean a drop in prices.

Regardless of sales statistics, to achieve your best outcome in this real estate market, you need an experienced, knowledgeable and ethical Realtor. If you’re in the market for a home or thinking of selling, I am confident I can be of assistance. You can contact me at (541) 362-1031 or by visiting Bend Property Search to connect with me through my website.