Pre-Sale Vs. Custom Built Homes

By Jason Boone

2014 was a good year for housing starts since more homes were built in Bend and nationwide.

Last year we saw an overall gain in housing starts of 8 percent and that’s encouraging considering the shortage in home inventory we had to deal with during 2013.

What to Expect For 2015

Although housing starts remained strong last year they did decline by close to 2 percent in the month of November.

Many economists blame the holidays and cold weather across the country for the decline in housing starts in recent months.

Moving into 2015 we’re seeing more apartments being built across the country with fewer single family home construction.

Yes it’s a good thing to have more apartments nationwide but it’s also perplexing to see fewer single family homes built since the average days-on-market for a NEW single family home in 2014 was about 3 months until it was sold.

Why Are More Builders Not Building Homes?

There are many reasons for why home builders in Central Oregon and across the United States are not building more homes and those reasons could include:

  • Increasing construction costs.
  • Lack of qualified construction workers.
  • Difficulty with obtaining loans.

With fewer homes being built right now we could see a home inventory shortage once again this spring since the amount of homes being built in Bend and nationwide isn’t enough to keep up with population growth and job creation.

An inventory shortage could also mean an increase in home prices once again and when you combine that with higher mortgage interest rates in 2015 this could keep many people from buying homes.

Now is the right time to buy or sell a home in Bend. If you’re ready to get started click here to contact me online or call me today at (541) 383-1426.