As single family homes prices continue to recover across
Central Oregon the much smaller category of townhomes and condominiums is also
showing substantial strength.
Most of that market segment is concentrated in Bend, with
260 sales in calendar 2014, followed by Redmond, 54, Sunriver, 38, and Sisters,
24. Of the four sub-markets, Bend accounted for nearly 70% of townhome and
condo sales.
Redmond notched the largest gain in median prices of townhomes
and condos, with a 16.42% increase to $195,000, followed by Sisters, 12.41% to
$203,774; Sunriver, 10.18% to $212,088; and Bend, 9.50% to $259,250.
Given the pace of 12-month sales Bend is showing the
greatest demand with only a 4.57 months inventory while Sunriver had the
highest inventory at 12 months, Redmond, 5.76 and Sisters, 6.78.
The tighter inventory in Bend generally reflects the
city’s position as the largest sub-market in Central Oregon, as well as the
demand for housing at prices lower than the cost of single family homes. In
Bend, the price of a single family home in 2014 was $303,386.
Townhomes and condos in Bend have attracted not only
vacation home buyers at neighborhoods such as Mt. Bachelor Village and 7th
Mountain Resort (formerly Inn at the 7th Mountain) but also investors
seeking properties for the exceptionally tight rental market where vacancy
rates are reported at less than 1%.
