There's no denying the last couple of years have been tough for anyone trying to buy a Bend Home because there haven't been enough houses to go around. But things are starting to look up.
There are more homes up for grabs this year. The graph below uses the latest data from Realtor.com to show in April 2024 there were more homes for sale than there were over the last few years (2021-2023):
Probably the biggest challenge for Bend Home Sales in 2024 was mortgage interest rates. Mortgage rates started the year at 6.48% and ended the year at 6.62%. During the middle of the year, the mortgage rates rose to 7.79% which greatly limited the buying power for most Bend homebuyers who needed to finance in order to purchase. Home sales in Bend continued, but at a greatly reduced rate than experienced during Covid when mortgage rates under 4% were normal.

High mortgage rates also kept many Bend home sellers from listing. The thought for many was why sell and give up a great mortgage rate of less than 4% to exchange to one over 7% on a different home? Many Central Oregon real estate brokers discovered that many listings were limited to just those who had to sell for a job tra...
There is a seasonal slow down experienced every fall for Bend real estate sales. When school starts, many would-be Bend home buyers focus on other things. While retirees and second home buyers may be active in early to mid fall, once Thanksgiving comes, the number of Bend real estate sales drop as both buyers and sellers tend to concentrate on holiday activities with home sales secondary to celebrating the season. In 2023, however, the annual slow down for Bend home sales typically seen in November was exceptional. When November of 2023 is compared with November of 2022, Bend single family home sales on less than an acre reflect the following:
The Bend real estate market is in transition. With high mortgage interest rates impacting the buying power of potential Bend homebuyers and with sellers who may currently own a home financed under a low mortgage interest rate not listing, low inventory levels are keeping home prices up while the number of sales have dramatically dropped. We are seeing fewer new listings hitting the market, resulting in fewer pending sales and closed transactions. This is beyond the normal slow down that happens in Bend after school starts. This change is being felt nation wide and fewer home sales are happening with mortgage rates now approaching 8%.
We compare Bend Home sales year over year in order to be consistent in our data. When September 2023 sales of Bend single family homes are compared with those from September 2022, the following changes can be noted...