Bend-Central Oregon is experiencing more sales in the
higher end housing market of $1,000,000 or more across the region. But the area
is not even close to other locales with similarly strong appeal for buyers in
the recreation and retirement segment.
The comparison often arises to such enclaves as Jackson
Hole and Sun Valley, and even Aspen, where in the latter case condominiums have
sold for an average of nearly $1,200 a square foot, according to recent reports. The
simple math--$1.2 million for a 1,000 square foot condo.
In 2014 there were 54 sales at prices above $1,000,000 of single family homes on all
lot and land sizes recorded with the MLS of Central Oregon, and a single townhome on the Deschutes River near the Old Mill District.
The sales were a minuscule 1.20% of the total 4,507 sales in all seven Central Oregon sub-markets
and 1.75% of the 2,511 sales in Bend and nearby outlying areas. However, the $1
million and above sales represented an increase of approximately 29% in all
areas and a nearly identical jump in Bend itself over 2013.
A look at the Aspen market provides a quick study of just
how distant the Bend-Central Oregon market is from much tonier areas of the
country.
A late December report in the Aspen Business Journal
noted that 2014 prices had risen in all
price categories, “with a major spike in activity in Aspen home sales above
$7.5M.”
But the $1 million to $2 million category fell 42%,
“because so little home inventory is for sale at this price point,” the
business journal reported.
Although there were only 453 total sales at all prices in Aspen and
Snowmass Village in 2014, just 10% of Bend-Central Oregon sales, the Aspen
volume of $1.282 billion was only slightly less than the $1.418 billion logged
on the MLSCO database.
A report from Jackson Hole through the third quarter of
2014 shows there were 73 sales of more than $2 million, 11 of those at $5 million and 5 at more than $10 million.
The report by brokers at Re/Max Obsidian said the $2
million plus unit sales were only 14% of the market but the dollar volume was
52% of all sales.
To put the high-end market in perspective with Bend-Central
Oregon, the Jackson Hole Luxury Report
by broker David Viehman defines the luxury category as $3 million or
greater. By contrast, Bend-Central Oregon had only a single non-farm/ranch sale
of more than $2 million in 2014 and 2 in
2013.
Breaking down the Bend-Central Oregon sales by area, 44
were in the Bend-Tumalo-Alfalfa sub-market and another 10 spread across the
other 6 sub-markets tracked in the MLS.
Of the 54 total, 10 were in Bend’s Broken Top golf
community, 6 in Awbrey Butte and North Rim on Awbrey Butte, and 2 each in
Deschutes River Ranch, Pronghorn, River Glen,
Pinelyn Park, Tetherow, Shevlin Commons and Vandevert Ranch. (link below to overall market report)
