Increased activity from buyers shows in the number of days it takes before a home secures a contract, and over the previous week, the median days for pending sales was twenty-two, the lowest since October. Pending sales were fifty-one, and the median price of the pending properties was $649,999. Inventory increased by twelve to 522 as sellers are begging to re-engage the market. While multiple offers may not be typical, in many cases, numerous buyers are considering a home, and the mere presence of potentially competing offers has electrified the buying process in many situations. As a result, home inventory may begin slowly growing, but the market is still much smaller than an average year, creating more competition between buyers. However, last year's available homes for sale peaked at 972 in August. Whether we reach 2022's volume of homes for sale and when is anyone's guess, although we are starting the year with more than two-hundred additional listings comparatively.
I have mentioned many times that the Federal Reserve does not set mortgage rates, but rising rates and a volatile stock market create a volatile mortgage market. With yesterday's Consumer Price Index coming in at a hotter-than-expected 6.4%, mortgage rates continued a recent spike, with yesterday's national average for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage at 6.62%. Higher mortgage rates keep many potential sellers on the sidelines, although the sellers actively listing homes are more inclined to offer seller credits towards an interest rate buy down, accept a lower offer or both. For many buyers, finding the right home is the more difficult task. Today's market does not indicate what will happen next, and it is difficult to predict if better options will be available as the season progresses. However, when the right home comes along, taking action is a wise choice if settling down in Central Oregon is your goal.
Many of the subdivisions and neighborhoods in Central Oregon have no active listings, making the process difficult for buyers to determine pricing in a given area. Now, search results on EnjoyBendLife.com have active and sold listings for each subdivision page, providing the information you need to evaluate your options. However, low inventory is a fact of the market for the foreseeable future, and access to data is critical. Each listing has a link to view the property on a map, or you can conduct a map-based search from the advanced search tool accessed from the main menu bar in the upper right corner of every page. Remember, all the listings on my website update every fifteen minutes, so you can stay on top of the market!