January 2021 Bend Real Estate Sales Continue 2020 Trends

If we were to use one phrase to summarize January 2021's Bend single family home sales on less than an acre, it would be "more of the same." The 2020 Bend home sale trends since getting over the initial shock of the Covid-19 pandemic have been monumental and the start in 2021 appears to be continuing the movement.

When January of 2021 is compared with January 2020 for Bend single family home sales on less than an acre, the following data can be noted:

• Average sales price up 28.2% to $666,293*
• Median sales price up 31.5% to $577,500
• New listings down 12.3% to 135
• Homes for sale down 84.1% to 89
• Pending sales up 104.4% to 280
• Solds up 12.4% to 154
• Average days on market down 76.9% to 18
• Median days on market down 90.2% to 4
• Months of supply down 86.2% to 12 days
• Average price per square foot up 26.7% to $332
• Median price per square foot up 23.1% to $304
• Average percentage of list price received up 3.2% to 102.1%
• Dollar volume of solds up 44.1% to $102,609,047

Lack of Inventory and Bidding Wars Pushing Bend Home Prices Up

The average price of a Bend home is now over $660,000. Lack of inventory coupled with extreme demand has led to escalating price increases with multiple offers and bidding wars pushing the sales price upward. Many Bend homes are receiving 7-10 offers with the final price often significantly over the asking price. In these situations, cash offers are often winning out over those offers involving loans, even if the offers with loans are for more money. When there are questions on whether or not the home will appraise at the inflated figure, cash, which does not require an appraisal, is often the deciding factor that home sellers are using to choose the offer they accept. That and terms which may enable the home seller to stay in the property some time after closing to accommodate their subsequent move are being often utilized by anxious home buyers. Offering to pay the difference in cash between the appraisal and the sale price, should the property not appraise, and taking the home "as is" and not negotiating repairs are two other tools buyers are using to win the bidding wars.  We have heard of discouraged buyers offering on over twenty homes and still not "winning" the property. 

*Data from Central Oregon MLS.