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Bend, OR Real Estate News

By Cheri Smith
(Total Property Resources)
I attended an event at the 919 Bond Building last night. Man that place is swanky. I instantly felt hipper the second I walked through the doors. The 919 Bond building located downtown was developed by Taylor Pickhardt Development LLC and features 4 modern condominiums, a street level restaurant, The Loft of Bend private wine club, full service executive office suites, and a rooftop garden. Volo restaurant on the main level is billed as an upscale yet casual restaurant serving contemporary American cuisine. We had the opportunity to sample some appetizers and I was not dissapointed. I can't remember exactly what they served but I do remember a mushroom puff that was great. There really aren't enough opportunities to eat "puffs" if you ask me. The wait staff (all impossibly beautiful) wa...
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By Cheri Smith
(Total Property Resources)
I have a confession to make. I love Modern architecture.  For some reason, modern is not very popular in Bend, Oregon. That's not to say you can't find it in Bend, but most of the modern homes in Bend are currently For Sale. They were either built as spec homes that aren't selling or were custom built for someone that is now trying to sell but can't seem to find an interested party. There are certainly people in Bend that appreciate the design but overall, Bend has not embraced modern architecture like other places such as Seattle and Southern California.                                                                                                                                                                                                                           The modern develo...
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By Jim Johnson
(Bend Oregon Real Estate Expert)
  I spent the past winter in Southern Texas in our new motor home while my partner and son Matt Johnson held down the fort during the long winter here in Bend.  The number of buyers is increasing slowly with the temperature.  I have been having several calls a week from out of town buyer's looking to buy a home in Bend.I'm closing the sale of a 3,095 square foot home on the golf course next week.  It was a newer home with triple car garage that's going for $630,000.  It's a second home for my California clients and they got a really good buy on the property.Prices are really down now and it looks like this may be the summer to buy.  The birds are singing, the sun is shinning and the weather is warming up.  The fish should start biting soon and Bend Oregon is a great place to be this tim...
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By Jim Johnson
(Bend Oregon Real Estate Expert)
Now is the time to buy homes in Bend.  Prices are low and there is a large choice for the descriminating buyer.
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By Cheri Smith
(Total Property Resources)
When I compile my real estate statistics, I include single family homes, townhomes, condos, multifamily homes, and farms. Some people only include single family homes, townhomes and condos. I prefer to look at the big picture and track all of the real estate activity. If you're interested strictly in homes, townhomes, and condos, those numbers are included at the end of this post. Sales were up a little for April, compared to March and February. Check out this incredibly technical table I created:     ActivePendingSold     April2003201102     March200919482     February186711662    More detailed statistics for April can be viewed here: April-2008 The price range seeing the most activity is still $200-$250,000. In that range, out of 195 homes for sale, 35 sold. That's roughly a 5-6 month...
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By Amy Campbell, Broker, Sunriver Real Estate
(RE/MAX Sunset Realty)
I won! I won!  Two complimentary tickets to the "preview" of IRON MAN four hours before the midnight release on May 2, 2008.  The tickets I won through my undying persistence (and silly stubbornness of hitting redial on my cell phone) paid off when I finally made it thru to someone on the other end of the line and I had WON!  My first time ever winning on the radio!  All thanks to the PEAK 104.1, in Bend, OR.  You can only imagine my excitement when I called my husband to tell him the news.  Ironically, he had been listening to the radio earlier and had heard of the "midnight opening" of IRON MAN  and wondered who in their right mind would stay up until midnight to see any movie - he is obviously not the night owl that I am!  Needless to say he was not elated with my news.  I had resear...
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By Chris Quinn, Residential Real estate Sales
(The Broker Network of Central Oregon)
This beautiful one owner home is located in the NE Bend neighborhood of Oakview. Attention to detail is an understatement when describing this home! Features include custom paint inside and out, new hardwood floors, newer carpet and tile floors, fully wrapped window and door trim, galley style kitchen with walk-in pantry, inset gas fireplace with antique mantle, oil rubbed bronze and brushed nickel hardware and light fixtures, large walk-in closet in master, media room upstairs with built in desk and Mt Bachelor and Cascade mountain views, abundant storage closets throughout home, alley access double attached garage fully finished with epoxy painted floors, RV parking and much more! This home is turn-key ready!
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By Cheri Smith
(Total Property Resources)
It obviously depends on your definition of affordable, but it is again possible to purchase a new single family home for under $200,000 in Bend. I'm not referring to short sales or foreclosures either. Several subdivisions are under way in both NE and SE Bend and the lowest priced home I've seen is in the Mirada subdivision. For $189,900 you can purchase a 1152 sq. ft. single level home with 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, hardwood floors, tile countertops, and stainless steel appliances. Other neighborhoods with similar offerings include Gleneden starting at $194,000, Crosswinds at $194,900, Pine View at $197,500, Madison at $199,947, and Parkway Village at $199,950. Contact me for more information about any of these subdivisions.
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By Dylan Darling, Bend Real Estate Broker
Downtown Bend Oregon Real Estate MarketWho wouldn't want to live near Downtown Bend?  It's beautiful!  The Deschutes river flows right through the downtown area.  There are great restaurants, shops, and parks.Bend's Westside has become very popular among home buyers in the Bend Oregon Real Estate market.  The downtown/westside real estate market offers a variety of styles homes.  There are many old homes with character throughout them.  There are new homes on older, mature lots.  And now we have townhouses right in Downtown Bend! The Westside Bend Real Estate MarketThere are currently 51 homes available on the Central Oregon MLS within 1/2 mile of the Galveston bridge at Drake Park.  The homes range from $150,000 to $4,500,000.  The more expensive homes are usually on Mirror Pond at Dra...
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By Lisa Broadwater, GRI, CDPE - Bend, Sisters, Tumalo, Redmond
(Cascade Sotheby's International Realty)
It seems hardly a month goes by that Central Oregon doesn't make it onto somebody's list of desirable places to live. This time it's Bend that's been named among Fortune Small Business magazine's Top 100 Places to Live and Launch a Business. Folks here who have become accustomed to finding the area somewhere at the top of the list might be surprised to find that Bend came in at No. 87 (just below Huntsville, Ala., and just above Brunswick, Maine). What Bend has in its favor, according to the article: It's "sunny and peaceful" with a "pro-business tax environment....The state aids startups by reducing property tax rates, worker compensation rates, income tax rates, and regulatory red tape. For green companies, there's also a business energy tax credit for 35% of eligible projects, aimed ...
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By Lisa Broadwater, GRI, CDPE - Bend, Sisters, Tumalo, Redmond
(Cascade Sotheby's International Realty)
                                                                               After more than two years' wait, Trader Joe's finally opened in Bend on Friday. Seems like half the county showed up at the store's new Cascade Village Shopping Center location, even though the weather decided not to co-operate -- Mother Nature having scheduled a spring snow to arrive just as Joe's doors were opening for the first time. Gives new meaning to the term "spring break." As it turned out, that unexpected blast of winter might have actually boosted sales. Stepping foot inside the jolly tropical themed Joe's -- with its tiki-hut décor, festive island background music and Hawaiian-shirt-clad workers -- was a welcome reprieve from the blustery, snowflake-flecked world outside that we all became so well...
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By Tarris Rogers, Bend Oregon Real Estate
(Cascade Sotheby's International Realty)
So what kind of MLS tracked home sales did February 2008 hold for Bend Oregon Real Estate?  It revealed two things.  First that those who wrote offers in January, followed through in February and closed on them.  The number of residential properties that went Pending (under contract) in January was 71.  In February, 67 of that 71 closed sale.The second thing it revealed is that the market has became more active.  In February, 111 homes received accepted offers on them and are now under contract.  It's also noteworthy that our inventory of homes currently for sale is significantly less compared to last years statistics according to Dana Bratton, Bend's leading Appraiser.  If our housing supply continues to head lower, demand will undoubtedly move the price of homes upwards.Prospective Bu...
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By Tarris Rogers, Bend Oregon Real Estate
(Cascade Sotheby's International Realty)
I must say that I LOVE Art!  I am certainly no expert but I love it nonetheless.  I remember my awe at seeing the Mona Lisa in Paris and having a hard time comprehending that the picture that I had seen in countless media from the time I was a little child, was now hung on a wall before me in all her glory.  I'm not afraid to admit that it was an emotional experience.  When it comes to the greatest piece of artwork my eyes have gazed upon, I cast my vote for Michelangelo's, "Statue of David" in Florence, Italy.  How an artist with simple tools could hew away at cold stone and create veins that seem to pulse with blood, while capturing the tension and yet sense of certain victory over Goliath in the face and body of David is utterly indescribable.  Art has a way of reflecting the soul of...
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By Tarris Rogers, Bend Oregon Real Estate
(Cascade Sotheby's International Realty)
We've finally reached the end of 2007.  This was the year that national news on Real Estate was downright depressing.  Bend, Oregon enjoyed unparalleled publicity, and home prices saw significant appreciation during the first part of this decade.  With all the gloomy real estate statistics, did the Bend market come crashing down?   Our 2007 MLS recorded home sales revealed that Bend Oregon Real Estate sales were on par with the total number of Bend homes sold in 2001.  I was a real estate agent in 2001 and we agents were not complaining about how slow the market was.  In 2001 our total number of homes sold was 1925 units.  So what was the news for 2007?  Our total was 1929.  At our peak sales record in 2005 we sold 3644 units.  That is a 48% decrease from our peak, but less than 16% for...
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By Tarris Rogers, Bend Oregon Real Estate
(Cascade Sotheby's International Realty)
One of the things I love about Central Oregon winters is that we are not socked in with snow through the entire winter.  Many people who are thinking of moving here from warmer climates often ask me how much snow we get.  Here in Bend, we typically get light dustings.  More substantial snowfalls typically happen 3 or 4 times throughout the whole of winter.  It is rare that we ever get over a foot or more of snowfall.  (Unless you are looking at Sunriver or La Pine)  Thankfully the cold is offset by days of wonderful Central Oregon sunshine that keeps things bright and cheery.  This gives us locals and visitors full advantage of the countless winter sports available. Mt. Bachelor is certainly the center of gravity when it comes to winter recreation, however we have many others who love s...
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Pronghorn Golf CourseIn a recently article in Travel Leisure Golf, Central Oregon's Pronghorn Golf Course was ranked #8 inTravel Leisure Golf's "Top 100 Golf Communities".  The article ranks golf courses based on Amenities, Real Estate, and the golf course itself.  Pronghorn was also noticed for it's beautiful views of the Cascade Mountain Range.The CoursePronhorn offers 2 golf courses, the Nicklaus and Fazio courses.  Both courses have been highly rated by players and critics.  The Tom Fazio course was ranked #4 in a recent Golf Digest article on "America's Best New Private Courses".  The Jack Nicklaus course also ranked well in another Golf Digest article.  The Nicklaus course ranked #2 for "best new private course".The Pronghorn CommunityThe Pronghorn Golf community is located just N...
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By Dylan Darling, Bend Real Estate Broker
I've compiled a small list of winterization tips for Central Oregon home owners.  I've noticed many homes lately that owners haven't yet winterized.  Check your foundation.  Cover all vents with vent covers.  You can pick these up at your local hardware store.  Vent covers keep the air beneathe your home warmer, which helps with your house temperature and keeps pipes from freezing.  In the spring you should remember to remove all vent covers.  When the Central Oregon weather warms up, you want airflow under your home to dry up any moisture leftover from winter.Clean your rain gutters out!  Snow eventually melts into your gutters.  Make sure they're clean to allow them to work like they're supposed to. Set your thermostat.  Your Bend home should be above 50 degrees at all time. Your pipe...
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"Six Retirement Hot Spots For Less", and Bend, Oregon Real Estate is #1I thought I'd share this article that was recently published on AOL by BusinessWeek.  The article talks about how shrinking home prices in desirable areas offer a great opportunitiy to retirees.  Bend tops the the nation for "smart places to retire". Read the full Bend retirement article.Why is Bend on top of the list? Why not!  Bend is surrounded by beauty, like the Cascade mountains, Deschutes River, Smith Rock State Park, and much more.  I recently put a small slide show together of Bend that you can view at Bend Oregon slide show.  Bend is also known for it's climate.  Typically we get about 300 sunny days a year.  The current Bend Real Estate market offers retirees an opportunity to purchase an affordable retire...
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What is really in a rate selection??Most people feel the lower the rate, the better deal I received! The truth is that selecting an Interest Rate should be an "Economical Decision and NOT an Emotional Decision" When determining an interest rate for your loan you should consider some compensating factors such as: How long will I keep this loan? This question alone should change your thought process about the rate selection for your loan. The truth is that the lower rate may not always be the best and most economical decision for you! For example, suppose a borrower could get a $400,000 loan at 6.50% with no origination fee or discount points. The payment would be $2528.27. Instead, however, the borrower chooses an alternative rate - 6.25% - and pays a 1% discount point for a total of $40...
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By Thesa Chambers, Principal Broker - Licensed in Oregon
(West + Main)
Tonight my husband and I spent several hours at Sportsman's Warehouse in Bend. My husband loves to go duck hunting every fall. A couple years ago I bought him a new shotgun for his birthday and last year we picked another one out and we purchased it. Over the last couple years the regulations have been changed so that when you hunt water fowl you must use steel shot instead of lead. As REALTORS® we know the danger of children and lead based paint, so imagine what it would do sitting in the river.Back to what this has to do with real estate, CUSTOMER SERVICE. We went to Sportsman's Warehouse with the intention of purchasing another shotgun. The gun my husband is using has too tight a pattern and it is ruining too much meat. I know those of you that do not enjoy hunting and are against it...
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