Bend Oregon Real Estate – Is Now A Good Time To Buy?

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After being the national darling during the boom years of real estate, Bend, Oregon has finally become a Buyers Market which is providing Buyers with some incredible deals right now. How long this trend will last is anyone's guess. Some of the questions I have received from clients are:

1.) Is Bend still a good place to buy a real estate investment in?

2.) Should I wait to buy a home?

To answer the first question, I'm reminded of why people bought homes here in the first place. Bend is a recreational paradise that has beautiful vistas everywhere you look. If you want to get away to be alone with nature … that is easily accomplished. Yet, you also have plenty in the way of Shopping, Art, Dining and Entertainment. In fact I had some clients that moved from Lake Tahoe area because they felt Bend had a broader selection of the above.

Another indicator to consider is that as you look around our town, the commercial activity has not stopped and additional well known stores such as Trader Joes, Gottschalks, Winco and a host of others are on the way.

Bend is known for its higher quality of life and entrepreneurial spirit. We currently have a job surplus that is expected to grow into the foreseeable future. These are all marks of a good place to invest.

Regarding whether one should wait to buy a home, I would say it depends on your circumstances. If you are sitting on the fence to try and time the market it would be good to remember that over the past 2 decades the home appreciation cycles have been much longer than any depreciation cycles, and the latter have been extremely short. If your purpose in buying a home is to make a 25% appreciation each year then you'd better not buy a home today. In fact you better not buy a home ever because the 'irrational exuberance' we witnessed over the past few years was something we are not likely to see again for a long while.

Traditionally real estate has been an investment in yourself and your family which provides stability, pride of ownership, a tax Shelter, long term investment, and some peace of mind. No doubt the tax changes that have allowed people to take a 250 to 500k profit with no tax consequences fueled the unbelievable home appreciation of recent years along with the investment vacuum left by the dot.com bust. Prior to that, people kept their homes longer and moved out when their personal circumstances changed, not because they could make a quick buck in two years time. Why have so many seem to have forgotten that?

So I'll ask again, is it a good time to invest in Bend Oregon Real estate or should you wait? If you are looking to buy a new home it's worth knowing that the profit margin in construction is running pretty thin for builders, and prices are not likely to adjust much more especially with new homes under the $ 300,000 price range. This is primarily due to the expensive land acquisition and development costs in Central Oregon.

When it comes to resale homes, prices still may adjust downward a bit more. However, keep in mind that if you hire a good realtor to negotiate on the home you're eying today, chances are your realtor will be able to negotiate a lower price which will act as a buffer should prices go any lower. Sellers are in a negotiating mood today but the minute they get wind of an upturn in the Bend and Central Oregon real estate market, they will resist negotiating on their price. Sooner or later the press is going to move on to fresher news which will also have an impact on improving the real estate climate. Finally it would be good to consider that we have a good measure of real estate buyers who are sitting on the fence waiting for what they perceive as the bottom of the market. When the market starts trending upward … guess what they are all going to be rushing to do? There is definitely less competition right now.

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Source by Tarris Rogers