Originally developed by Brooks Resources in 1984, Awbrey Butte was "finished" in 2005. Containing over 1800 acres with 782 homesites, Awbrey Butte remains one of Bend's most prestigious neighborhoods. The development focused early on large homesites providing for privacy and retained much of the natural landscape and mature trees which existed there. Many homesites were situated to provide for Cascade Mountain, city or eastern views. A large number of the homes were built at a time in which natural woods were popular and the resulting neighborhoods often contained many large, lodge-style homes. Today's home buyers usually recognize the quality of these beautiful properties and may remodel them to a more current look while retaining much of the original ambiance.
Awbrey Butte experienced the same market trends of most of Bend during the past three years. Covid c...
While it is typical in the Bend and Central Oregon real estate markets to see a slowdown in sales once we enter into late fall, the change to our market seen in August 2023 did not follow the normal trends. With the 30 year mortgage interest rate now above 7%, the purchasing power of many potential home buyers has been significantly changed. In addition, the number of sellers willing to sell a home which has a mortgage of less than 5% has curtailed new listings coming on the market. This has kept inventory low, pushed prices up and greatly impacted the number of Bend real estate sales.

When we compare August of 2023 with August of 2022, Bend single family home sales on less than an acre show the following trends:
Originally developed as the "affordable" option to most of Brooks Resources' subdivisions in Bend, NorthWest Crossing quickly became one of the the most popular neighborhoods within the city, attracting many California transplants as well as locals to the healthy lifestyle characterized by the community. The initial style of homes - mostly craftsman bungalows - has evolved over the years with later phases built in the more modern design now desired by many. However, the resale value of the original craftsman homes has increased dramatically and the appeal of the neighborhood has remained among Bend's most favored.
NorthWest Crossing experienced the same market trends most of Bend had during the past three years with Covid creating a huge spike in demand for homes, leading to multiple offers and rising prices. Although home prices have le...
We never thought this would happen, but the average Bend single family home sold for over a million dollars in July, 2023. Despite mortgage interest rates hovering around 7%, high end Bend homes are selling. When demand exceeds supply, home prices rise. When mortgage rates jumped from 3.5% to 7% in the space of a few months, there was a drop in home sales. However, it appears that home buyers have become used to higher rates, and there are still a large number of Bend home buyers who are purchasing with cash. Lack of inventory continues to be a big problem and lack of affordability for Bend first time homeowners has pushed many to alternative cities.
When figures for Bend single family home sales are compared between July 2023 and July 2022, the following changes can be noted:
It has been awhile since we last reported on Bend luxury home sales. We pulled a report showing year to date activity over the past three years. While Bend home prices in general are back to a small upward trajectory year over year, the numbers of sales are significantly down, as they are in all price points in most of the markets in Central Oregon and across the country. Higher interest rates have changed the buying power of would-be home purchasers, even in the high end, and have also kept many would-be sellers off market. Why sell when the mortgage interest rate many homeowners have is so good? A replacement home, while potentially being better for the current lifestyle of a home seller, may cost more on a monthly basis with the higher interest rate with which they may need to purchase.
When the first six months of high end Bend home sales are compared year over year between 2022 and 2023, the following change...