Sisters, OR

Mother Nature shone bright on the annual Sisters Christmas Parade on Saturday. Under clear blue skies and relatively balmy temperatures (40-ish), the holiday-inspired procession of floats, pets, people and contraptions sauntered down Hood Avenue to the appreciative applause of a very large, very receptive crowd.

Below are some photos taken curbside.

About the Author:
Lisa Broadwater is a Central Oregon-based real estate professional who specializes in listing and selling homes, especially in Sisters, Tumalo, Redmond and Bend. If you'd like to learn more about Central Oregon, please visit www.CentralOregonHome4You.com.

It's been a particularly busy month or so for the Sisters business community. First, shortly after the closure of Wild Dusty Rose florist (located in the RE/MAX Town & Country building), Flowers by Deanna opened in its place. Next, Blue Skies Gallery opened downtown (upstairs at the Sisters Town Square on Cascade Avenue), along with the Spirit of Sisters, a consignment gallery located at the corner of Hood and Elm, owned by bead-maker Sue Purcell.

Then the Sisters Dollar Store opened in the Three Winds Shopping Center adjacent to the new Bi-Mart -- just in time for plenty of Halloween hoopla (see photo below). A joint venture between one of my RE/MAX cohorts (Cynthia Hydes) and Sisters resident Matt McCurdy (husband of another RE/MAX cohort, Marina McCurdy), the Dollar Store stocks a bit of everything, from household goods and food staples to office supplies and Christmas décor.

Meanwhile, in the blink of an eye, the Jennifer Lake Gallery had moved from one end of Cascade Avenue to the other. And, with little warning and no fanfare, the venerable Coyote Creek Café closed after several decades of business.

The topic of perhaps the most discussion, however, was the potential annexation of the 30-acre McKenzie Meadows property at the west end of town (adjacent to Sisters High School). After much heated debate (and a strong resident turnout), the Sisters City Council voted 4-1 to accept the annexation agreement with McKenzie Meadows owners Bill Willitts, Curt Kallberg and the Reed family, who hope to build "McKenzie Meadows Village," a retirement community that would ultimately include an assisted-living "lodge," public park, senior center, medical facility and single-family residences geared toward seniors.

Having cleared that hurdle, the owners must now return their attention to their other daunting challenge: finding the $4 million necessary to fund the ambitious project (so far, they've garnered a little over $1 million).

About the Author:
Lisa Broadwater is a Central Oregon-based real estate professional who specializes in listing and selling homes, especially in Sisters, Tumalo, Redmond and Bend. If you'd like to learn more about Central Oregon, please visit www.CentralOregonHome4You.com.

After two months of strong sales in the Sisters real estate market, the momentum slowed a bit in October, with 12 Pending and Closed sales, compared to 27 in September. On the plus side, the overall inventory continued to decrease (down from 217 in August to 180 in October).

Meanwhile, the median sales price for Active SFR listings dropped from $419,000 in September to $399,000, while the median sales price for homes on acreage decreased from $795,000 in September to $736,500.

Here are a few October highlights of the Sisters real estate market:

LISTING ACTIVITY
Active Residential Listings in Sisters: 180 (102 Single Family Residences; 78
Residential with Acreage)
Contingent Residential Sales in Sisters: 2 (1 SFR, 1 RW)
Pending Residential Sales in Sisters: 7 (5 SFR; 2 RW)
Residential Sales in Sisters: 12 (11 SFR; 1 RW)
Average Days on Market: 218 days for Active SFR listings
250 days for Active RW listings
261 days for the SFR listings sold in October
221 days for the RW listing sold in October

Median Sales Price: $399,000 for Active SFR listings
$736,500 for Active RW listings
$445,000 for the SFR listings sold in October
$1,075,000 for the RW listing sold in October
INVENTORY
Single Family Residence: 20-month supply (62 sales in the previous 12 months)
Residential with Acreage: 37-month supply (25 sales in the previous 12 months)

SALES PRICE:
Least-Expensive Single Family Residence Active Listing: $149,990
Least-Expensive Residential with Acreage Active Listing: $199,900
Most-Expensive Single Family Residence Active Listing: $1,325,000
Most-Expensive Residential with Acreage Active Listing: $4,900,000
Price Point with the Most Active Listings: SFR: $300,000-$349,999, (13 listings)
RW: $450,000-$499,000, $950,000-$999,999
& $1,000,000-$1,249,999 (each w/7 listings)

If you're interested in studying the market in more depth, below are a number of charts that capture various aspects of the Sisters real estate market in detail.

If you'd like to learn more about the Sisters real estate market, don't hesitate to email me at lisabroadwater@remax.net or call me toll-free at 866-963-2760.

About the Author:
Lisa Broadwater is a Central Oregon-based real estate professional who specializes in listing and selling homes, especially in Sisters, Tumalo, Redmond and Bend. If you'd like to learn more about Central Oregon, please visit www.CentralOregonHome4You.com.

As summer turned into fall, the Sisters real estate market continued to gain momentum. August's strong increase in sales carried through into September, with 27 Pending and Closed sales (up slightly from 25 in August). The difference this month was that all but one of the 14 Pending sales were Single Family Residences, with only one Residential With Acreage Pending sale).

Also noteworthy is a significant decrease in inventory (down from 217 in August to 194 in September), which is a welcome change in what was an increasing inventory throughout the year (there were 136 active Residential listings in January).

Here are a few September highlights of the Sisters real estate market:

LISTING ACTIVITY
Active Residential Listings in Sisters: 194 (111 Single Family Residences; 83 Residential with Acreage)
Contingent Residential Sales in Sisters: 1 (1 SFR, 0 RW)
Pending Residential Sales in Sisters: 15 (14 SFR; 1 RW)
Residential Sales in Sisters: 13 (7 SFR; 6 RW)
Average Days on Market: 204 days for Active SFR listings
265 days for Active RW listings
199 days for the SFR listings sold in September
171 days for the RW listings sold in September

Median Sales Price: $419,000 for Active SFR listings
$795,000 for Active RW listings
$525,000 for the SFR listings sold in September
$424,000 for the RW listings sold in September

INVENTORY
Single Family Residence: 25-month supply (53 sales in the previous 12 months)
Residential with Acreage: 37-month supply (27 sales in the previous 12 months)

SALES PRICE:
Least-Expensive Single Family Residence Active Listing: $149,990
Least-Expensive Residential with Acreage Active Listing: $199,900
Most-Expensive Single Family Residence Active Listing: $1,475,000
Most-Expensive Residential with Acreage Active Listing: $4,900,000
Price Point with the Most Active Listings: $300,000-$349,999, in SFR (13 listings)
$950,000-$999,999 in RW (8 listings)

If you're interested in studying the market in more depth, below are a number of charts that capture various aspects of the Sisters real estate market in detail.

If you'd like to learn more about the Sisters real estate market, don't hesitate to email me at lisabroadwater@remax.net or call me toll-free at 866-963-2760.

About the Author:
Lisa Broadwater is a Central Oregon-based real estate professional who specializes in listing and selling homes, especially in Sisters, Tumalo, Redmond and Bend. If you'd like to learn more about Central Oregon, please visit www.CentralOregonHome4You.com.

How fitting that just in time for my 100^th blog post, Sisters was named one of the Top 100 Adventure Towns in National Geographic Adventure magazine. The October issue provides a handy state-by-state guide of the country's "top outdoor hubs," which touts the Sisters area for its hiking, rafting, road-cycling, mountain-biking and skiing.

Receiving specific nods are the McKenzie River (for its Class III rapids), Black Butte (for its scenic hiking), Smith Rock (for its sport climbing) and Mount Bachelor (for some of the best ski runs in the West). Too bad the guide neglected to mention our much-closer (albeit less-glamorous) neighbor, Hoodoo Resort, located at the summit of Santiam Pass.

I was also bummed to see that Sisters only ranked #84 -- until I gave the intro a closer read. The list -- which also features Hood River (#33), Klamath Falls (#39) and Portland (#69) -- was organized alphabetically. In any event, it's great to see Sisters acknowledged once again.

About the Author:
Lisa Broadwater is a Central Oregon-based real estate professional who specializes in listing and selling homes, especially in Sisters, Tumalo, Redmond and Bend. If you'd like to learn more about Central Oregon, please visit www.CentralOregonHome4You.com.