"'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse..."
I wish all of you a Merry Christmas and a joyous holiday season, however you choose to spend these days before the start of a New Year.
The Central Oregon housing market is chugging along this season, with buyers harboring visions of sugar-plums dancing in their heads. The national average this morning for a 30-year fixed-rate conventional mortgage is down to 6.21%, six basis points lower than recent levels, and nearly 100 basis points lower than at this time last year. Inventory levels throughout the region are very slightly higher than last year at this time, and notably, our weather is exceptionally mild. All of these factors are combining to create a perfect scenario to keep real estate activity brisk.
Single-family homes listed in Deschutes County decreased by 29 to 900. For reference, the low point of 2025 occurred in early February when the inventory hit 750. Unlike the frenetic period between early 2020 and late 2022, when levels bottomed out at less than half of today's levels. Fifty-two homes are pending this week, up eleven from last week. Sixty-one transactions closed, averaging $978,110, up two from last week, with the sold-to-original-list price ratio at 92.95%.
Crook County's inventory of single-family homes decreased by 3 to 163. On Christmas Day last year, there were 155 single-family homes listed. Three pending sales are four fewer than last week, with four closed transactions averaging $525,756 and a sold-to-original-list price ratio of 92.24%.
Jefferson County's inventory rose to 127 for the third time in the past five weeks, up two from last week. On Christmas Day last year, there were 99 single-family homes listed. One pending sale occurred this week: listing for twelve days at $365,000. Six transactions closed, averaging $443,900, with the sold-to-original list price ratio at 94.47%. The pace of new listings relative to sold properties in Jefferson County is keeping the inventory remarkably stable. It isn't often that real estate achieves a truly balanced market, but Jefferson County has done just that in the last half of this year.
Starting 2026 with mortgage interest rates stable and considerably lower than in 2025 creates stability in the Central Oregon housing market not seen since 2019. The crazy amount of relocation that occurred during the pandemic years, followed by an unprecedented rise in mortgage interest rates not seen in the last decade or more, seemed to keep the housing market out of balance. Healthier levels of supply combined with stable mortgage rates have calmed the markets, which, in the long run, is good news.
I am available for anything you need over the holidays, and I am grateful to all my past, present, and future clients! I strive to provide information to help you navigate the Central Oregon housing market, wherever you are in the process, and no matter which side of a transaction you are on. Merry Christmas!
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