Sisters, OR

In November, there were still no major changes in the Sisters real estate market -- just slow, steady progress in a few key areas. First, the number of Active listings continued to decrease (from 174 in October to 161 in November). That's also an improvement over November 2009, when there were176 Active listings.

The decrease in listings and overall stronger sales compared to 2009 meant that the inventory of Single Family Residences finally dipped below the 12-month mark -- the first time that Sisters has reached that benchmark since January 2009. (A balanced market has about a six-month inventory).

Meanwhile, Residential with Acreage had 17.4 months of inventory in November. So there's still a ways to go before that segment achieves any kind of buyer-seller balance -- but it's a drastic improvement over last year's numbers, when November held a 34-month cache of inventory.

We did see a decrease in the median price of both Active Single Family Residences and Residential with Acreage in November, although it wasn't as significant a change as I'd like to see. Since the overall market value in Sisters has declined substantially since last year, those numbers should be noticeably below 2009's. However, last November, the median list price for Active Single Family Residences was $389,000 (compared to $425,000 this November); the median list price for Residential with Acreage was $699,000 (compared to $689,000 this November).

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

LISTING ACTIVITY
Active Residential Listings in Sisters: 161 (87 Single Family Residences; 74
Residential with Acreage)
Contingent Residential Sales in Sisters: 2 (1 SFR, 1 RW)
Pending Residential Sales in Sisters: 7 (4 SFR; 3 RW)
Residential Sales in Sisters: 11 (6 SFR; 5 RW)
Average Days on Market: 268 days for Active SFR listings
264 days for Active RW listings
193 days for the SFR listings sold in November
260 days for the RW listings sold in November

Median Sales Price: $425,000 for Active SFR listings
$685,000 for Active RW listings
$427,500 for the SFR listings sold in November
$410,000 for the RW listings sold in November INVENTORY
Single Family Residence: 11.5-month supply (91 sales in the previous 12 months)
Residential with Acreage: 17.4-month supply (51 sales in the previous 12 months)

SALES PRICE:
Least-Expensive Single Family Residence Active Listing: $79,000
Least-Expensive Residential with Acreage Active Listing: $197,500
Most-Expensive Single Family Residence Active Listing: $1,395,000
Most-Expensive Residential with Acreage Active Listing: $4,500,000
Price Point with the Most Active Listings:
SFR: $200,000-$249,999, $350,000-$399,999 and
$500,000-$549,999 (each w/7 listings)
RW: $450,000-$499,999 and $500,000-$549,999 (each w/11 listings)

Here are several charts that provide a more in-depth analysis of the Sisters real estate market in November.

About the Author:
Lisa Broadwater, GRI, CDPE 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.

Original photograph of the metal horse sculpture at the Lazy Z Ranch near Sisters, Oregon, taken by Lisa Broadwater, Broker, GRI; RE/MAX Town & Country Realty, 178 S. Elm, Sisters, OR, 97759. 541-549-3333. All rights reserved and may not be reproduced or reprinted without express written permission For more images, visit www.CentralOregonHome4You.com.

Last month, the Sisters real estate market saw very little change -- from the previous month or the previous October. Which is a good thing, in many ways. Some areas of the country saw a downturn in October, but for the second month in a row, Sisters matched June's sales peak of 16 Closed sales. Like September, the number of Active listings decreased (from 192 to 174 listings). In October 2009, there were 180 Active listings.

After experiencing a seasonal increase, the median sales price of Active Single Family Residences decreased in October (from $469,500 in September to $450,000). However, like September, that number is still significantly higher than the median list price at the same time last year ($399,000) -- which is not a good sign since home values have clearly not increased since last year. Even more perplexing, the median sales price of Active Residential with Acreage listings actually increased once again (from $677,450 in September to $695,000 in October).

Last month, I encouraged sellers to make price adjustments to bring down the median price for Active listings, which I will continue to encourage. When there's such a large disparity between the median price of Active listings and the median price of sold listings (the year-to-date median price of residential listings sold in Sisters between Jan. 1 and Oct. 31, 2010 was $225,000), many sellers are simply going to watch their days on market accumulate throughout the winter.

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

LISTING ACTIVITY
Active Residential Listings in Sisters: 174 (93 Single Family Residences; 81
Residential with Acreage)
Contingent Residential Sales in Sisters: 1 (0 SFR, 1 RW)
Pending Residential Sales in Sisters: 10 (5 SFR; 5 RW)
Residential Sales in Sisters: 16 (8 SFR; 8 RW)
Average Days on Market: 237 days for Active SFR listings
258 days for Active RW listings
112 days for the SFR listings sold in October
231 days for the RW listings sold in October

Median Sales Price: $450,000 for Active SFR listings
$695,000 for Active RW listings
$310,950 for the SFR listings sold in October
$357,500 for the RW listings sold in October INVENTORY
Single Family Residence: 12.1-month supply (92 sales in the previous 12 months)
Residential with Acreage: 19.8-month supply (49 sales in the previous 12 months)

SALES PRICE:
Least-Expensive Single Family Residence Active Listing: $79,000
Least-Expensive Residential with Acreage Active Listing: $135,900
Most-Expensive Single Family Residence Active Listing: $1,495,000
Most-Expensive Residential with Acreage Active Listing: $4,500,000
Price Point with the Most Active Listings:
SFR: $450,000-$499,999, (11 listings)
RW: $450,000-$499,999 (13 listings)

Here are several charts detailing the October real estate market in Sisters, Oregon.

About the Author:
Lisa Broadwater, GRI, CDPE 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.

There wasn't a lot of change in the Sisters real estate market from March to April -- or from April '09 to April '10, for that matter -- when it comes to the number of listings. In April ‘09, there were 180 Active listings (100 Single Family Residences and 80 Residential with Acreage); in April '10, there were 188 (103 Single Family Residences and 85 Residential With Acreage.

However, sales were up dramatically from April '09 to April '10 (only two in April '09 compared to 15 in April '10). And the median sales price for Active listings has experienced some fairly dramatic shifting. In April '09, the median sales price for Active Single Family Residential listings was $425,000; in April '10, it was $469,000 -- quite a shift from the March '10 median sales price of $384,900. Meanwhile, the median sales price for Active Residential with Acreage listings has decreased from $730,000 in April '09 to $669,000 in April ‘10.

For more details, see the charts below.

About the Author:
Lisa Broadwater, GRI, CDPE 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

Looks like both buyers and sellers are gearing up for the spring selling season in Sisters. In March, the number of Active listings increased in both Single Family Residences (from 87 in February to 92 in March) and Residential With Acreage (from 70 in February to 77 in March). Meanwhile, the number of pending and closed sales also increased (in part, no doubt, as a result of the federal homebuyer tax credit): from 10 in February to 21 in March.

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

LISTING ACTIVITY
Active Residential Listings in Sisters: 169 (92 Single Family Residences; 77
Residential with Acreage)
Contingent Residential Sales in Sisters: 3 (3 SFR)
Pending Residential Sales in Sisters: 9 (7 SFR; 2 RW)
Residential Sales in Sisters: 12 (9 SFR; 3 RW)
Average Days on Market: 212 days for Active SFR listings
261 days for Active RW listings
119 days for the SFR listings sold in March
358 days for the RW listings sold in March


Median Sales Price: $384,900 for Active SFR listings
$675,000 for Active RW listings
$275,000 for the SFR listings sold in March
$185,000 for the RW listings sold in March
INVENTORY
Single Family Residence: 14-month supply (77 sales in the previous 12 months)
Residential with Acreage: 29-month supply (32 sales in the previous 12 months)

SALES PRICE:
Least-Expensive Single Family Residence Active Listing: $109,000
Least-Expensive Residential with Acreage Active Listing: $157,900
Most-Expensive Single Family Residence Active Listing: $1,495,000
Most-Expensive Residential with Acreage Active Listing: $4,900,000
Price Point with the Most Active Listings: SFR: $200,000-$249,999, (13 listings)
RW: $850,000-$899,999 (9 listings)
$350,000-$399,999 (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, GRI, CDPE 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.