Deschutes commissioners give resort a reprieve

            Although mostly forgotten along with the several proposed resorts that sputtered during the real estate downturn, the Thornburgh project in the Cline Butte area has a reprieve of sorts thanks to a vote by Deschutes County Commissioners.

            In a 2-1 vote in July  the county governing body essentially contradicted a hearing offer’s ruling in late March that the current developer had not met a county code requirement to show significant activity in building the project over a two year period.

            Hearing office Karen Green had ruled that developer Terrence Larsen would need to restart the project with a new master plan, a decision that Larsen appealed.

            Larsen, who acquired the project in bankruptcy in 2011, has argued that delays have resulted from various appeals by opponents, economic conditions and other unforseen issues. His attorneys have said nearly $7 million has been invested in the project starting prior to Larsen’s acquisition, in addition to the $2 million the Philadelphia-based investor paid for property.

            A key issue the commissioners had to address was whether a final plan submitted by Larsen that was rejected by the state’s Land Use Board of Appeals met the test of substantial action within a two-year period.

            The commission decision does not validate the final plan rejected by LUBA, but puts the process back on track without requiring Larsen to in effect go back to square one as the hearing officer ruled.

            The ambitious plan of the original developer, Kameron DeLashmutt, was for Thornburgh -- also known as The Tribute -- to offer 950 homes with 475 nightly lodging units on its approximately 1,300 acres. Among the three proposed golf courses was one to be designed by links-great Arnold Palmer, who visited the site before the real estate crash.
           Among other troubled resorts, Remington Ranch near Powell Butte in Crook County barely got off the ground with a clubhouse/marketing facility and nine-hole golf course before going into bankruptcy. In 2012 it was listed for $5 million in an auction with a Colorado company.

            Crossing Trails and Hidden Valley, another two projects proposed for Crook County, never made it beyond early stages of the permitting process.

Northwest Crossing - stable in the downturn & a leader in recovery

            It’s likely that anyone who has tracked the Bend residential real estate market will rank Northwest Crossing on the city’s west side among the most successful newer communities.

            Much like all housing in Bend, Northwest Crossing faced substantial challenges as the market began to dive in 2007, after what has generally been conceded was an unsustainable boom.

As the market continues its climb out of the recession-induced hole the community  is bustling with new construction, much of it on streets not yet completed before the downturn.

On the east side streets have been extended to connect with other west side neighborhoods. On the west side of Mt. Washington Drive, new lots are nearing shovel ready and a new city park to include a lake is under construction.

            Perhaps setting Northwest Crossing apart from more troubled projects was a master-planned vision that incorporated residential, office, retail, schools and developer control of buildable lot inventory, along with an approved “guild” of quality builders.

            And the financial stability of developer West Bend Property Company LLC, a partnership of Brooks Resources and the Tennant Family,  has resulted in the “staying power” that was lacking with some other developers.

            In its history through July of 2014 there have been 785 single family homes sold in Northwest Crossing, the first in 2002 when there were 10 sales at a median price of $289,045. 

Northwest Crossing master plan

           

            As the national economy continued to rebound after the 9-11 attacks, single family sales rose steadily to 91 in 2005, at a median of $424,377. In 2006 sales began to sag, falling to only 38 units, although momentum carried prices to $538,000 that year and to the all-time high of $575,000 in 2007 on 47 units sold.

            Then came the slide, as prices dropped 26% to $425,000 in 2008 on a meager 39 sales. Prices hit bottom at a median of $371,815 the following year, although sales increased to 53 homes. But only nine of those 2009 sales were built in 2009 or 2008, the lowest rate of new homes sold since the project’s inception in 2002.

            Northwest Crossing sales rose to 71 in 2011 while median prices remained in a narrow range of the $370,000s.

            Then 2012 marked a dramatic increase as the mix of  builders, lenders and buyers drove sales to 116 homes at a median price of $388,250--56 of those newly-built from 2011 through 2012.

Discovery Park at Northwest Crossing

            The pace continued in 2013 with 110 homes sold,.49 of those built in 2012 and 2013. But more notable in 2013, the median price rose nearly 20% to $462,500.

            At the end of July 2014 median prices had moved up to $490,000, edging closer to the $500,000s. And the rate of homes sold could be expected to top 100 for the third consecutive year, compared to the high of 91 homes sold in 2005 before the housing slump.

            Moving forward, West Bend Property is opening an additional 24 lots across Mt. Washington Drive that will be adjacent to a new 20 acre Bend city park with a 30 plus acre park with a 3-acre lake.     

Tourism growth another sign of economic recovery

            Another sign of Bend’s continued economic recovery is emerging with the rise in lodging tax receipts showing steady growth in regional tourism.

            Visit Bend reported that for the first 11 months of Fiscal 2013-14 through June lodging visits accounted for more than $4 million in room taxes, which a tourism agency official said represented a collections “milestone.”

            The results were more than 18% over the 11 month period for the previous fiscal year.

            The May collections of $423,454 were also up more than 18% over May of the previous year.

Seven Wonders of Oregon campaign

            Besides the marketing efforts of Visit Bend, the city is also a beneficiary of the Central Oregon Visitor Association’s participation in the “Seven Wonders of Oregon” television campaign.

            Prominent for the region in the television ads is Smith Rock State Park along the Crooked River north of Redmond. The dramatic rock spires of the park--legendary challenges for expert rock climbers--are also the backdrop of trailers for the screen adaptation of “Wild,” Portland resident Cheryl Strayed’s account of her Pacific Crest trail trek starring and produced by Reese Witherspoon.

            The Seven Wonders campaign, estimated at $2.3 million, included $25,000 from Deschutes County and $50,000 invested by COVA.

            Target markets for the campaign--produced by Wieden+Kennedy, the award winning agency for Nike--included Seattle, San Francisco, Boise and Vancouver, BC.

            COVA’s funding is derived in part from lodging taxes collected from stays at  hotels and resorts in the county.

Bend housing market maintaining steady pace

            Moving into the second half of 2014 the Bend real estate market is holding steady with unit sales dipping slightly from the comparable 2013 period while prices are up year-to-year.

            Statistics gleaned from the Multiple Listing Service of Central Oregon show there were 1,149 sales of single family homes in Bend through the first six months of 2014, down 64 from the same period of 2013.

            The median price of all single family home sales was $295,000 at mid-year, up from $275,000 through the first six months of 2013, or a 7.27% gain.

            Total sales volume was $405,463,176 compared with $394,933,710 in 2013, a 2.6% increase.

            A notable trend is the continued strength of the new home market, with sales of 249 homes constructed in the previous 18 month period of 2014 compared with 241 in the 18 months prior to June 30, 2013. Homes in many neighborhoods are pre-selling during construction.

            The Bend market is also shedding much of the distressed housing inventory that has plagued Central Oregon for several years.

Of the total 2,559 single family sales in 2013, only 287, or 11%,  were reported as short sales or bank owned properties. In the depths of the market collapse as many as 50% of sales were distressed properties.

In mid-July of 2014 there were 841 active single family home listings and only 25 of those designated as short sales or foreclosures.

The active inventory of 841 homes on the market represented slightly more than a 4-month supply--as calculated by averaging the previoius 12 months sales of 2,480 homes, or 206 per month.

The inventory is up from less than a 3-month supply two years ago. While still considered a “tight” sellers market--especially in the low to mid-price range below $400,000--the supply is moving up gradually.

Central Oregon again on upward swing with call centers

            Central Oregon may be the right number when it comes to call centers if the recently announced expansions of the regional industry is an indication.

            In late May, Ibex Global announced it would be adding an estimated 450 employees during the summer, which would push its total work force to about 850.

            The company, formerly known as iSky, reports it has more than 9,000 employees in 18 states. Over the years its clients have included automakers BMW and Honda, as well was American Express, and Owens Corning.

            Based in facilities above the Old Mill District off Wilson Avenue, the company initially began operations as iSky in 2000.

            Also expanding in the area is Consumer Cellular, which plans to expand its Redmond-based work force in the former T-Mobile call center to 600 with the announced addition of 200 employees.

            The hiring represents a rebound from the recession years beginning in 2008 when T-Mobile reported laid off 350 employees in 2012, more than half of the estimated 650 call center jobs lost in a four-year period that began in 2008.

            The announcement of call center expansions comes close to a report by a Facebook consultant that the social media giant accounted for nearly $575 million in contributions to the Oregon economy, including 3,600 jobs from 2009 to 2013.

            Facebook was enticed to Prineville with tax incentives and the availability of lower energy costs to operate the power-hungry data centers.

            Included in the statistics was an estimated $292 million to construct two 330,000 square foot plus Prineville data centers and another 64,000 square foot storage center to archive data for nearly 1.3 billion active users.

            The Prineville construction generated about 1,500 jobs, the report concluded, and the company’s continuing operations in 2013 added another 207 jobs that resulted in a $45 million boost to the regional economy.

            Also scheduled to come online is a Prineville data center for Apple Inc.