Mortgage rates have stabilized after several weeks of steady increases. Although a recent CPI print nearly doubled expectations, another Federal Reserve increase in the overnight federal funds rate is all but guaranteed at the October 27 meeting. However, lenders have already priced future rate increases into current loan rates, and a jump in mortgage rates is not expected. While our fall weather has been warm and mild, economic uncertainty has brought housing market activity down considerably. For buyers less sensitive to borrowing costs, there are some potentially fantastic deals.
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Deschutes County inventory listed between $1 million and $1,999,999 fell by 8 this week to 323, and 198 of those listings lowered their asking price by an average of 8.21%. Considering that many of these sellers would entertain prices below their current asking price, the potential opportunity in this price tranche is obvious. Ten pending sales this week are 4 fewer than last week, with 80% of those listings reducing their asking price by an average of 8.93% before securing a contract. Ten closed transactions this week are two fewer than last week, with 40% of those listings reducing their asking price by an average of 19.27%, and a median reduction of 11.12%. The sold-to-original-list-price ratio was 88.14%.
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Supply of Deschutes County listings between $2 million and $2,999,999 increased by 1 this week to 71, with 27 of those listings reducing their asking price by an average of 9.28%. No sales were pending this week, but three transactions closed, and one sale reduced the asking price by 2.08% before securing a buyer. The sold-to-original-list-price ratio was 96.82%.
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Listings over $3 million in Deschutes County decreased by 1 to 37 this week, with 18 of those properties reducing their asking price by an average of 14.02%. One sale is pending this week (zero last week) at $4,490,000 in Broken Top after only 19 days on the market. Despite market uncertainty, buyers are still stepping up when the right property becomes available. No sales closed this week.
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Crook County listings over $1 million increased by 1 this week to 76, with 37 of those properties reducing their asking price by an average of 6.06%. No sales were pending this week, with one sale in Brasada Ranch at $1,400,000, which is 96.55% of the original asking price.
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Deschutes County farm listings over $1 million increased by one this week to 14, with half of those properties reducing their asking price by an average of 12.71%. No sales were pending this week, but a rare closed transaction occurred for $1,550,000. This property, located east of Bend, was on the market for 584 days and closed at 51.68% of the original list price.
There was no activity in the Crook County farm market over $1 million this week, and inventory is stable at 15.
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Not every buyer is interested in engaging the market today, but those who are are finding sellers willing to negotiate. Inventory levels are also holding, giving buyers more selection than typical for this time of year. With sunny, mild weather in the forecast, the opportunities to view property are unhindered, and sellers’ willingness to negotiate is unlikely to change. I don’t think anyone expected the housing market to look like it does today at this time of year. But the opportunities right now are as good as have been available in several years, especially in the $1 million to $2 million price range.
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