By: Amanda Ferrari
February 2022
Just when we thought home prices couldn’t go up any more, they did. Bend’s market continues to have a shortage of inventory and this has pushed the Median home price to $683,000. This is after seeing a 29% increase in 2021.
One thing that may cool things down this year are interest rates. This week we saw mortgage rates continue to rise and are nearly a whole percentage point higher than a year ago. The fed is signaling there may be as many as four rate hikes. When the cost of borrowing goes up, it does tend to put a damper on buyers as it affects affordability. Rising rates will slow the growth of appreciation, but probably won’t eliminate it. After all, a 4 or 5 percent mortgage is still pretty low!
Bend has also recently seen an influx of people who moved here from California and Washington. There is still a significant difference between the cost of homes in many of those areas when compared with Central Oregon. This drove our prices up. The question is, will those people stay here, or will they eventually move back. Will employers want to see them in the office more frequently? If winter decides to come back, could a snowmageddon scare them away? I think that remains to be seen.
Rising interest rates could slow buyers down, and if newer residents decide to move back, we may have a more balanced level of supply and demand. So our market may cool down, but I don’t think it will be cold, just more moderate and healthy.
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