When you read about the Bend housing market, you'll probably come across some information about inflation or recent decisions made by the Federal Reserve (the Fed). But how do those two things impact potential Bend homebuyers?
One of the Fed's primary goals is to lower inflation. In order to do that, they started raising the Federal Funds Rate to slow down the economy. Even though this doesn't directly dictate what happens with mortgage rates, it does have an impact.
Recently inflation has started to cool, a signal those incr...
The developer for Tetherow broke ground on the destination golf resort prior to the housing crisis of 2008. Initial lot sales were brisk, but once the great recession hit, sales dried up. The development sat with little activity until 2012 when lot sales, at a reduced price, started happening again. Over the past 11 years Tetherow has grown and become the destination resort initially envisioned with an active golf and social club, high end luxury homes and townhomes, a hotel, overnight rentals, three restaurants, and much more all adjacent to Bend's city limits on the road to Mt. Bachelor ski resort. It is truly one of Bend's success stories.
Tetherow home prices have been among Bend's highest over the past three years. The Covid pandemic led to a mass migration to Bend and many wealthy buyers purchased in Tetherow pushing home prices even higher. However, over th...
There is a seasonal slow down experienced every fall for Bend real estate sales. When school starts, many would-be Bend home buyers focus on other things. While retirees and second home buyers may be active in early to mid fall, once Thanksgiving comes, the number of Bend real estate sales drop as both buyers and sellers tend to concentrate on holiday activities with home sales secondary to celebrating the season. In 2023, however, the annual slow down for Bend home sales typically seen in November was exceptional. When November of 2023 is compared with November of 2022, Bend single family home sales on less than an acre reflect the following:
For the past five weeks, mortgage interest rates have dropped, returning to figures that haven't been seen since August. Any relief from the high rates recently experienced is welcome. With each 1% reduction in mortgage rates, it roughly reduces the monthly mortgage payment by 10%. The chart below shows how purchasing power is impacted by mortgage rates.

When potential home sellers have great mortgage interest rates, they hesitate to list, even when a different home may be a better option for them at this time in their lives. When the financed cost of a new home would make their monthly payment significantly more, the benefit of a different living arrangement is offset by the monthly cost for the...