Localism: Deschutes County, OR

Bend Real Estate Statistics November 2008

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 21:50:27 -0600

November was a slow month with only 69 homes selling compared to 132 home sales last November. There are still a lot of short sales and bank owned properties getting attention but they're not the only homes selling.

The home that sold for $150,000 was not a short sale or banked owned property. It was a 3 bedroom/2 bath, 1108 sq. ft. home in NE Bend with a motivated seller that priced their home well and it sold in 48 days. That sales price equates to $135/sq. ft. Take a peek at the home: http://coar.rapmls.com/scripts/mgrqispi.dll?APPNAME=Centraloregon&PRGNAME=MLSLogin&ARGUMENT=%2Fed2a85PExTLX6L7HCOW1IENdwKYxTgmSou%2BmXj1Nm0%3D&KeyRid=1

The only home to sell in the $550,000 - $599,000 range was a 3 bedroom/2 bath, 2239 sq. ft. home in Sunrise Village on a 0.83 acre lot with Cascade Views. This home was only on the market 35 days and sold for $599,000 at $267/sq. ft. The average sales price per sq. ft. in Sunrise Village is $254. I believe the oversized lot and Cascade views helped this home sell. http://coar.rapmls.com/scripts/mgrqispi.dll?APPNAME=Centraloregon&PRGNAME=MLSLogin&ARGUMENT=%2Fed2a85PExTLX6L7HCOW1FKxupIstQx%2BO1ZyUT0lrco%3D&KeyRid=1

In the $850,000 - $899,000 range, a 3 bedroom/3.5 bath, 4006 sq. ft. home on Awbrey Butte sold for $895,000 after 99 days on the market. This breaks down to $223/sq. ft. This was a wonderful contemporary style home but it did not have Cascade views and this price wasn't a steal by any means. I think the key to this home selling was the unique factor: it was a sleek contemporary style and in addition to a 3-car attached garage it had a detached 2-car garage and was recently renovated. http://coar.rapmls.com/scripts/mgrqispi.dll?APPNAME=Centraloregon&PRGNAME=MLSLogin&ARGUMENT=%2Fed2a85PExTLX6L7HCOW1O3nJR21Eh4CxCz62DMMGuU%3D&KeyRid=1

Now for the million dollar babies. 2 homes sold over $1million last month. One was a 5 bedroom/4 bath, 4132 sq. ft. home recently remodeled on State St. Location, location, location. It was on the market 469 days but did sell for $1,020,000 at $246/sq. ft. http://coar.rapmls.com/scripts/mgrqispi.dll?APPNAME=Centraloregon&PRGNAME=MLSLogin&ARGUMENT=AiXq%2FPOXJDwfSclTsWLH%2BUr3T2xBuGVleUlNCW5Qno0%3D&KeyRid=1 The other is what I call the quintessential Awbrey Butte home. Northwest lodge style, Cascade views, 3 bedrooms/2.5 baths, 4180 sq. ft. sold for $1,175,000 after 155 days on the market. Price per sq. ft. was $281. http://coar.rapmls.com/scripts/mgrqispi.dll?APPNAME=Centraloregon&PRGNAME=MLSLogin&ARGUMENT=%2Fed2a85PExTLX6L7HCOW1G7c1201kI%2FwcSxTMOLQoOc%3D&KeyRid=1

If you would like more information on homes that sold in a particular price range, email me your questions and I can provide info similar to what I've listed above.

Here are the complete November 2008 Statistics: November 2008 Statistics

Bend Over?

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 13:21:26 -0600

No.... far from it.

Things are a lot slower and prices have declined as they have in many parts of our fine country and short sales are making up the bulk of closings right now but just take a look at what Bend has to offer. It is still an incredible place to live!

Here's what the national media have to say about Bend, OR:

· America's Best Outside Towns - Outside Magazine 2006

· Best Outdoor Meccas - National Geographic Adventure Magazine

· Top 10 Places to Buy a Second Home - MSN Money

· Booming Bend, 01/2007 - The Economist

· Best Places To Live, 2006 - Money Magazine

· Other Interesting Articles from C.O. Economic Development

Skiing

· MBSEF.org

· FWSA.org

· SkiBend.com

· BendBikeNSport.com

Mountain Biking

· COTAMtB.org

· CogWild.com

· BikeShops.MtBr.com

· Away.com

· BikeMecca.com

· MBrOnline.com

Golfing

· Widgi.com

· BendBulletin.com/Golf

· Oregon.com/Golf

· VisitCentralOregon.com

· ForgetAboutItGolf.com

Fishing

Hiking

· TraditionalMountaineering.org

· GORP.com

· NWSource.com

· MtnView-living.com

· LocalHikes.com

· BendParksandRec.org

Paddling

· PaddlersOfCentralOregon.org

· RiverFacts.com

· OregonKayaking.net

· GORP.com

Christmas Comes Early and Why Interest Rates will Continue to Improve

Tue, 02 Dec 2008 00:20:58 -0600

We’ll have to call it Green Tuesday from now on – or Fat Tuesday comes to November. The Tuesday before Thanksgiving was the announcement by the Federal Reserve of actions that are bringing back demand to the Mortgage-Backed Securities (MBS) Market.

30 year fixed rates for conforming loans are now in the 5.5% range or better! Also be aware that the conforming loan limit for some areas is up to $625,000!

We’ve been telling you for weeks that all of the inflation and economic news would lead to better rates than we have been seeing but an imbalance of supply (hi) and demand (lo) for MBS was artificially keeping the rates above their natural position. Well that took a significant step in the right direction Tuesday with the announcement of a $600B purchase of direct obligations and MBS from Fannie, Freddie and the FHLBs. You may see an $800B number. The additional $200B is in a vehicle called TALF and is to support auto, student, credit-card and SBA loans. These are both very liberating steps and very directly impact interest rates in residential and commercial markets.

In the MBS price chart below, remember that up and green are good. Each bar or “candle” represents one day and the higher it is, the lower the interest rate. Fat Tuesday is the tall green bar 4^th from the right. Note that the very big green bar about 15 trading days further back was Election Day. In the 6 month period showing, the only thing close to where we are now is the period following the Sept 8^th takeover of Freddie and Fannie (the white gap about midway through the chart.) In fact MBS haven’t been in this range since Feb, 2005.

This is GREAT news and there are reasons for it to stay in this exceptional range. Recessions are always paralleled with low long-term interest rates because inflation subsides in a cold economy. News this past week included the all-important PCE report on spending inflation. It showed a month over month number of 0.0% and a respectable annual number of 2.1% that we can anticipate continuing to shrink as we put together consecutive extremely low inflation numbers. That and the significant and growing unemployment numbers (now at 4M on continuing claims) are keeping interest rates low. …and going lower too. The FOMC meets again on December 16^th and the futures markets have already baked in an 80% chance the Fed Funds rate will drop by that day a half a percent to 0.50%. In fact, there is a 28% chance it will drop all the way to 0.25%. Looking out a year, the futures markets have priced in a 100% chance of no Fed funds rate hikes.

What does that mean to you, your friends and clients? Rates are now better than in years. Funds are more available and the timing is right. Signet Mortgage is ready to help you put deals together.

Holiday Starlight Parade - Downtown Redmond, Oregon (LOCALISM FEATURED)

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 14:23:21 -0600

Thanksgiving has barely passed and we just couldn't wait to usher in the Christmas Season!

What better way than Redmond's annual Holiday Starlight Parade! The parade, held in Downtown Redmond, Oregon, starts at dusk and is filled with beautifully lit entries of all shapes and sizes. Even the horses had twinkle lights! Although I've lived in Redmond for eight years, this is my first Starlight Parade and I must say it couldn't have been a better first. The weather was unseasonably warm with only a light jacket needed. And just in case you got a little chilly, many local merchants had hot chocolate ready and waiting.

The parade started with a string of classic cars decorated for the season.

American Red Cross Disaster Relief

Mark's Auto Body - Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer

A Year of Memories - Local Elementary Students

What better way to top the evening off than the annual Tree-Lighting Ceremony, complete with carolers, candlelight, and Santa! It was an evening filled with fun for all ages. Just one more reason to visit our local Central Oregon area, no matter the time of year!

Terri Visser,CRS Desert Sky Real Estate (541) 410-4978

Passing Along Some Helpful Blog Promo Tips

Sun, 30 Nov 2008 12:41:15 -0600

13 Steps to Effectively Promoting Your Blog

Great idea's here.

Via John Jones:

I noticed today and over the last week that my Active Rain posts are capping out at about 100 views before the views start to trickle in. Further, I'm ranging anywhere from 40 - 50 click through's to each post I write and roughly 4 - 5 comments on average per post.

So how does one break through the glass ceiling and succeed at getting 500 views and 100 - 200 clicks to each post? Many people will want to say, "Quality & Catchy" content but I must say that some of my posts have taken a great deal of time and in some cases creativity so I am thinking that for the most part I have covered quality and occasionally catchy.

The answer comes in many different ways and several combinations of these methods. Here are just a few ideas to jump start your views, clicks and comments. I cannot possibly cover all potential ways to promote your AR blog but I'm sure that others will be able to provide other creative ways.

Add a very visible link to your blog on your websites main navigation. Many major companies that have blogs make sure to announce the fact that they have a blog and so should we.

With every e-mail you send out, be sure to add your blog URL to the signature line. This is what you should already be doing to promote your website so why not your blog?

Take the time to submit your blogs RSS feed to feed based directories. About a week ago I wrote about 45 sites that you can submit your RSS feed tofor free. After I wrote that article and submitted some of my own RSS feeds to these directories I did see my numbers jump a little and stay fairly stable at the new range.

Promote other posts you've written within new posts. If something you wrote in the past is relevant to what you are writing about now then be sure to provide a link to it. One perfect example is the link I included in item #3 on this list and in #5 below.

Get in the habit of ending all of your posts with something like a "Previous Post: The Professionals I know"

Take the time once a week to write a post titled something like, "End of the Week Round Up" where you briefly recap on the posts you've written during the week and maybe even some other posts you've commented on.

Take #6 as the basic principle and apply it to a monthly post titled something like, "Monthly Conclusion"

Get active on Twitter or Plurk and join hundreds if not thousands of other Realtors and even locals in your area. When you write a new blog post simply announce the post if you think those following your profile would appreciate the information you have to provide.

Write posts that others might want to Reblog about. A link back to the original post is provided each time a post is reblogged which means you'll get some foot traffic that way.

Ask other AR members that subscribe to your blog to ReBlog, Tweet, Plurk or otherwise pass on the post to others if they enjoyed the article.

Building consistency in the style of your writing and with the posts you write to keep people returning to see whats new. (Contributed by Ron Moore; a Florence South Carolina Realtor)

Reciprocation and participation in others blogs via commenting directly and even referencing can build up an interest base directly to your own blog but make sure your reciprocation is genuine and your contributions helpful. (Contributed by Ron Moore; a Florence Realtor)

Promote your blog via your print media such as business cards. (Contributed by Diane Aurit; a Lake Norman Realtor)

What other ways can you think of that will help promote your posts and help you reach your next level with your AR blog? Share your strategies below with everyone so that we can each test different concepts out.

By the way, if you ReBlog I'd appreciate a Reblog of this article. If you are on Twitter I'd appreciate if you would share this with your other Realtor connections that might be on AR but don't catch this article and of course if you have any other strategy to promote blogs I'd appreciate your help in helping me get to my next level.