County permit statistics track regional activity

            Tracking alongside the City of Bend home sales, Deschutes County statistics reflect the up and down cycle of the Central Oregon real estate market.

            A  report by the County Community Development Department for all Octobers extending back to 2000 shows a peak of 108 new home permits in October of 2005. That represented a jump from only 64 in the same month of 2000.

            In October of 2011 the number of permits for that month dropped to an 11-year low of only seven before bouncing back to 14 issued in October of 2012.

            The all-time monthly high point of 120 permits issued by the county came in July of 2006 before the market began to collapse.