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Deschutes County, OR Real Estate News

By Lynnea Miller, Premier Real Estate Service in Central Oregon
(Bend Premier Real Estate)
Canyon Meadow is a Permitted Hike in the Mt Jefferson Wilderness Canyon Meadow is a relatively easy hike in Central Oregon if limited to just the meadow loop which takes trekkers through burned forest, old growth forest and the meadow back to the beginning at Jack Lake. However, many will take the one way climb past the meadow up to the base of Three Fingered Jack. This adds significant elevation gain as well as beautiful views of Three Fingered Jack, sometimes including mountain goats and technical climbers on the craggy top of the mountain. For those adventurous enough to climb the loose rock and pumice past the glacial lake onto the ridge separating Three Fingered Jack from the nearby unnamed hill, the views south toward the Three Sisters and Mt. Washington and the views north towar...
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By Lynnea Miller, Premier Real Estate Service in Central Oregon
(Bend Premier Real Estate)
What's in the September 2024 Bend Premier Real Estate Newsletter? Are Lower Mortgage Rates Spurring Bend Sales? Summertime Fruit Salad 10 Things to Do in September Take the Climbers Trail to Middle Sister Early Forecasts for the 2025 Housing Market See Bend Premier Real Estate for more great blogs.
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By Lynnea Miller, Premier Real Estate Service in Central Oregon
(Bend Premier Real Estate)
Are Lower Mortgage Interest Rates Spurring Bend Real Estate Sales? Mortgage interest rates have come down to their lowest rate in a year with the 30 year mortgage now at 6.35%. This has made a difference in both the buying and selling side of Bend home sales with buyers now being able to afford more than they could just a few months ago and sellers, who have been sitting on the fence on whether or not they wanted to give up their great mortgage rate for a new, higher one on a different home, feeling comfortable enough to at last list their home.  We are seeing more listings at lower median and average listing prices and more pending sales in August as a result. When August 2024 is compared with August 2023 for Bend single family home sales on less than an acre, the following changes ca...
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By Lynnea Miller, Premier Real Estate Service in Central Oregon
(Bend Premier Real Estate)
If you are one of the people who love to climb mountains, you are probably familiar with the climber's trail which provides the established way to summit North Sister in the Oregon Cascades. For those not that ambitious but who love a long day hike, taking the trail part way will enable hikers to have amazing Cascades views plus close up access to Hayden Glacier on Middle Sister. The route to Hayden Glacier starts at the Pole Creek Trailhead. This is the same trail that is taken to reach Camp Lake which provides for wonderful access to the north facing slopes of South Sister. The first 3.5 miles is through the burned forest of the 2012 Pole Creek fire, but after leaving burned woods, the trail enters healthy forest and the trek is shaded. Before hikers reach the North Fork of Whychus C...
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By Lynnea Miller, Premier Real Estate Service in Central Oregon
(Bend Premier Real Estate)
Golden Lake is Not an Easy HikeFor Central Oregon residents and visitors looking for a great day hike, there are a good number of options available. For many, a hike of 2 to 4 miles to an amazing destination followed by the same distance back can create a full day with time to relax and enjoy both the original destination and the time back home. However, for those wishing to see more in the Cascade forests besides what is seen in a day hike, many will backpack and spend more time enjoying the destination before venturing further or coming back. Golden Lake is one of those rarely seen destinations. It can be accessed through multiple approaches. These include the popular Green Lakes Trail in which hikers walk past the northern most Green Lake and travel above the valley to the pass betwe...
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By Lynnea Miller, Premier Real Estate Service in Central Oregon
(Bend Premier Real Estate)
Black Crater Trailhead is Located off McKenzie Hwy 242 For those wanting a relatively short hike which provides for a lot of elevation gain, Black Crater is one of the best. Located off McKenzie Hwy 242, the hike is limited to the summer season when McKenzie Hwy opens each year. Unfortunately, the 2017 Milli fire burned a lot of the forest on McKenzie Hwy, and the lower slopes of Black Crater were impacted. In the seven years since the Milli fire, manzanita, certain grasses, some wildflowers, and young trees have begun to grow in the dead landscape, but it will take decades until the cinder cone is entirely forested again. The one advantage of the burned forest is the views toward Mt. Washington are far more visible in the lower elevations than they would have been eight years ago. Rou...
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By Lynnea Miller, Premier Real Estate Service in Central Oregon
(Bend Premier Real Estate)
Camp Lake is at the Base of South Sister Although many will hike to Green Lakes and enjoy the experience of the lakes in the valley between South Sister and Broken Top, relatively few hike to Camp Lake and see South Sister so close from the north. The hike to Camp Lake (Pole Creek trailhead just outside of Sisters) takes you through several miles of burned forest before hikers enter living forest, so it can be hot and dusty in the summer. However, once hikers reach unburned trees, the hike becomes more pleasant. In recent years, the fallen trees of the burned forest have been cleared from the path, so scrambling over, under and around fallen logs was not an issue in 2024.  On August 3, 2024, the air in Central Oregon was better than it had been earlier in the week (many Oregon forest f...
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By Lynnea Miller, Premier Real Estate Service in Central Oregon
(Bend Premier Real Estate)
Bend Real Estate Sales at a CrossroadsThe data has been published and the trends we have seen for many years for Bend home sales have changed. Instead of seeing home sales prices increasing year over year, in July 2024 home sales prices decreased year over year. This change directly reflects on the increased inventory levels the town has experienced in the last few months. The Covid pandemic resulted in tremendous demand for Bend homes which drove the price up when inventory could not keep up with the number of people wanting a Bend home. Now, at a level pushing four months of supply, the Bend home market is at a transitional time with many more homes and a more limited buyer pool. High home prices and high mortgage interest rates have priced many out of the Bend market and sellers are ...
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By Lynnea Miller, Premier Real Estate Service in Central Oregon
(Bend Premier Real Estate)
Many people living or visiting in Central Oregon will take the drive outside of Sisters to Three Creek Lake to enjoy the quiet of this 28 acre shallow lake, fishing, boating, swimming or just relaxing around the shoreline. The campgrounds in this area are usually very busy during the summer and many people will come up daily to recreate in the area.Besides the lake, many will take the 5.3 mile round trip hike (permit required) above the lake to Tam McArthur Rim, gaining over 1200 feet in elevation to reach the rim. Typically the views from this spot are clear from Broken Top and the Three Sisters all the way to Mt. Hood. However, in recent years summer forest fires have added haze and smoke often obstructing the views. On July 20, 2024, the day started with a slight haze but by the end...
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By Lynnea Miller, Premier Real Estate Service in Central Oregon
(Bend Premier Real Estate)
Bend Luxury Home Buyers Have More Options The figures are out and the first six months of 2024 reflects an increase in Bend homes for sale over $1,000,000. The amount of Bend luxury home inventory is significantly up compared with 2023 and 2022 which leads to more options for the Bend home buyers who can afford a high end home. The days on market are rising and home sellers who really need to sell are recognizing that with more competition, asking price needs to reflect today's market.Bend Luxury Home Listings Are Often Experiencing Price Reductions During Covid Bend home listings were bid up with multiple offers to a point in which many homes sold over asking, even among the high end. In today's market, however, we are often seeing Bend home listings with price reductions. Sellers who...
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By Lynnea Miller, Premier Real Estate Service in Central Oregon
(Bend Premier Real Estate)
Redmond Single Family Home Sales Strong Redmond Oregon is a booming town. For those who live there, that is evident every day with new construction, new businesses, and new residents moving into this vibrant community. Over the past decade, the town's population has grown by 27% and has a large percentage of the town's residents being families with an average of 3.15 residents per home according to the city website. There is not a wide variation in home prices in Redmond with average and median sales price close over the past six months. Although home prices have risen, so have the numbers of pending and sold homes. The months of supply has grown, but Redmond remains in a seller's market, although not as extreme has was seen a year ago. When the first six months of 2024 is compared wit...
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By Lynnea Miller, Premier Real Estate Service in Central Oregon
(Bend Premier Real Estate)
Bend Home Prices Up As Are Inventory Levels Bend home prices are up year over year but so are inventory levels. The rate of the increase in Bend home prices has dropped, but we are still not experiencing overall reduced home prices. While buyers have more options, mortgage interest rates (just short of 7% as of July 3, 2024) remain high which has limited the buying power for many. July typically is the busiest month of the year for Central Oregon home sales and it remains to be seen whether the combination of high prices and high mortgage interest rates will curtail Bend real estate sales this summer.When June 2024 is compared with June 2023, the following changes for Bend single family home sales on less than an acre can be noted: Average sales price up 5.9% to $969,547* Median sales ...
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By Lynnea Miller, Premier Real Estate Service in Central Oregon
(Bend Premier Real Estate)
The Hike To Tumalo Mountain Still Has Snow 6-22-24 After a winter which had good snowfall, hiking into the high Cascades has been delayed due to the snow accumulation. However, the warm days experienced over the past week have aided snow melt.  Last Saturday, June 22, 2024, enough snow had melted on Tumalo Mountain to enable hikers to walk the 1450 feet of elevation gain in two miles from the trailhead to the top. It appeared as if half the time the trail was covered by snow, but it was fairly easy to follow the route until the last 1/2 mile; GPS helped navigate this as did microspikes over ice.The hike up Tumalo Mountain is only 2 miles, but the views from the top toward South and Middle Sister, Broken Top, and Mt Bachelor can be spectacular. For those who take the hike early in the d...
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By Lynnea Miller, Premier Real Estate Service in Central Oregon
(Bend Premier Real Estate)
Newberry Crater Is Hikeable NowWhile waiting for the snow to melt from the higher elevations of the Cascade Mountains, people looking for a Central Oregon hike with mountain views can consider Newberry Crater National Monument. Besides the well-known Paulina Falls, Obsidian Trail, the hike to Paulina Peak, and the various treks around both Paulina and East Lake, there is the relatively little known hike starting at the Cinder Hill campground at the end of the road by East Lake up to the Crater Rim and then to the Cinder Hill viewpoint. Although not the longest hike, there is close to 1000 feet elevation gain over two miles and then the relatively easy 3/4 mile hike along the Crater Rim trail to the view point. The hike from the campground to the rim is not difficult due to multiple swit...
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By Lynnea Miller, Premier Real Estate Service in Central Oregon
(Bend Premier Real Estate)
What's In The June 2024 Bend Premier Newsletter? What are the Puzzling Trends for Bend Home Sales? Raspberry and White Chocolate Muffins 10 Ways to Prepare Your Home for Summer The Road to Paulina Peak in Newberry Crater is Open for Hikers The Wealth Building Power of Home Ownership  
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By Lynnea Miller, Premier Real Estate Service in Central Oregon
(Bend Premier Real Estate)
What The Puzzling Trends For Bend Home Sales Tell Us The May 2024 data has been published and it appears that Bend home buyers have more options. Inventory levels are up, but so are prices and overall sales are down. Basic economics tells us that as supply increases, prices should decrease. But right now, the supply of Bend homes has grown along with a slight uptick in home prices with sales significantly down from the year before. Adding to the confusion are mortgage interest rates. According to Freddie Mac, mortgage interest rates were above 7% for most of the month of May which impacted the purchasing power of many potential Bend home buyers.                      What Were The Bend Real Estate Trends May 2024? When May 2024 is compared with May 2023, the following data reflects Bend...
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By Lynnea Miller, Premier Real Estate Service in Central Oregon
(Bend Premier Real Estate)
  The Paulina Peak Road Has Snow But It Is Melting Fast Reports about the trail to the top of Paulina Peak in Newberry Crater National Monument on June 1, 2024 stated that the last mile had a lot of snow. Rather than navigate through this and the abrupt steep drop off the last mile of the trail, hikers could elect to walk the road up to the peak. This road was not yet open for vehicles and had snow patches in the shady areas, but was very much passable by hikers. The last 1/2 mile to the peak on the road had three feet of compacted snow, but with the use of trekking poles, it was easily traversed. The views of the snow capped Cascades and Paulina Lake were splendid from the top as were eastern views toward Fort Rock and the Obsidian Flow. Hiking the road results in 1600 feet of elevati...
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By Lynnea Miller, Premier Real Estate Service in Central Oregon
(Bend Premier Real Estate)
Chush Falls Is Snow FreeOne of the earliest spring snow free hikes in Central Oregon's forests is the hike to Chush Falls. The trailhead is located off the road to Three Creeks Lake outside of Sisters several miles down a gravel road and then a short trek up a narrow dirt and rock road. The parking area is small so people wanting to hike the relatively short 2.2 miles to lower Chush Falls should plan on arriving early to get a parking space. The trail starts in burned forest - the result of the 2017 Milli Fire. However, unlike the experience with earlier hikes, almost all of the burned trees from this fire which have fallen across the path have been cleared which makes the trek to Lower Chush Falls fairly quick. One result of the fire are the views of North/Middle Sister and Broken Top ...
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By Lynnea Miller, Premier Real Estate Service in Central Oregon
(Bend Premier Real Estate)
Black Butte Trail Is Short But SteepThe trail to the top of Black Butte starts part way up the butte after a drive on a fairly well maintained dirt and gravel road followed by a poorly maintained dirt and rock road. Once you reach the trailhead (complete with stocked toilets), the two mile hike to the top of the butte can be accomplished fairly quickly.  Hikers gain over 1500 feet in the two miles, but the Cascade views from Broken Top to Mt Adams can be spectacular on a clear day. There is limited parking at the Black Butte Trailhead (forest pass required) so hikers are recommended to arrive early to get a spot and to avoid crowds.  The hike is very popular with visitors to Black Butte Ranch and and Camp Sherman as well as local year-round residents. Original blog can be read at Bend P...
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By Lynnea Miller, Premier Real Estate Service in Central Oregon
(Bend Premier Real Estate)
Are Bend Luxury Home Prices Stabilizing?It has been a while since we have done a careful analysis of the high end Bend home market. Overall, the Bend real estate market has seen growth in inventory levels along with high mortgage interest rates and a more normal increase in home prices. The same cannot be said for the luxury market. For Bend luxury single family homes on less than an acre, inventory levels and sales prices appear to have stabilized with only a slight increase in the number of homes priced between $1,000,000 and $1,600,000. For homes priced over $1,600,000, there has been a decrease in sales price over the past twelve months. The Number Of Bend Luxury Homes Selling Is Down Along with high mortgage interest rates comes issues with affordability. Even with the luxury home ...
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