Data from the first full calendar month since Oregon was placed under a stay-at-home order shows fewer homes sold in the Bend, Oregon, real estate market for a normal April – probably not a surprise – but a median sales price that is virtually unchanged from that of the previous April – which probably is a surprise.

The median sales price in April 2020 was $461,000. That figure is the highest for any month of 2020 and 1.1 percent more than in the month before.

Compared with the previous April ($462,900), last month’s median sales price was down 0.4 percent. Another way to put April 2020’s median sales price in context? It’s the sixth-highest for any calendar month for which we have data (back to the start of 2007).

The volume of sales in April 2020 – 171 homes – was uncharacteristically low for an April in the Bend, Oregon, real estate market. That’s the fewest sales for any April since 2012, when 149 homes sold – and when the region was still climbing out of the recession. But 171 homes is also only six fewer than were sold in April 2019.

Also of note was that in April 2020, the average ratio of the sales price to list price was 100 percent. April 2020 is the only April on record with that robust of a sales price-to-list price ratio. This would seem to indicate that sellers are in a position of strength rather than a position of desperation or urgency.

The inventory of homes for sale supports that theory. April 2020 ended with 2.6 months of inventory, which means that given the pace of sales, it would take 2.6 months for all houses on the market to sell. That’s less than half of the six-month figure that’s a generally accepted boundary between a buyer’s and a seller’s market. And remember – April was a relatively slow month for Bend.

The average days on the market for a home sold in April 2020 was 44 days. (The calculation of this data point has been adjusted to no longer include the period of time a property is in escrow. The values have decreased considerably from the former means of calculation.) That is the fewest days this calendar year, 21 days fewer than March’s figure (updated to reflect the new calculations). Forty-four days is also the fewest DOM since last June.

As Oregon gradually “reopens,” the Bend, Oregon, real estate market is likely to become busier. April had 446 active listings, which is the most for any April since there were 555 in April 2014. With interest rates generally lower than when the pandemic struck the United States, buyers’ purchasing power could be greater than it was two months ago. There are many factors weighing in favor of being part of the Bend market, both to a seller and a buyer. If you’re in the market to buy or considering selling, I encourage you to contact me at (541) 362-1031 or to visit Bend Property Search to connect with me through my website.