Sisters, OR

Most folks who are familiar with Sisters have at least heard of, if not attended, the famous Sisters Rodeo, which takes place each summer during the second weekend of June. Well, now a new fall rodeo tradition seems to be in the works.

Hot on the heels of last weekend's venerable Pendleton Round-up in Eastern Oregon comes the new kid on the block: the Northwest Pro Rodeo Finals, which debuts its second season in Sisters this weekend (and for which my office, RE/MAX Town & Country Realty, serves as a main sponsor).

Also located at the Sisters Rodeo Grounds, the event brings together the best of the regional cowboys for Northwest Professional Rodeo Association's annual finals in six main events. (The Northwest Professional Rodeo Association is the western United States' largest regional rodeo organization; it annually sanctions more than 40 rodeos throughout Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Nevada and California.)

This rodeo is the brainchild of Outlaw Productions, which also held the inaugural Pacific Coast Series this year, 30-plus rodeos scattered throughout the region all leading up to this event. Outlaw was founded by two well-known Central Oregon cowboys: bull rider Dan Wolfe and saddle bronc rider Ryder Gauteraux, who have brought some of their rodeo friends into the fold (well-known rodeo announcer Doug Mathis, for example, signed on for the rodeo last year at the invitation of his buddy Wolfe and will return again this year, he says, because he was so impressed with the production -- and with Central Oregon).

Events include bareback riding, saddle bronc riding, bull riding, tie-down roping, team roping, steer wrestling, barrel racing, and wild-cow milking. That's right. Wild-cow milking. For the uninitiated, in wild-cow milking, a herd of cows -- plucked straight out of the pasture -- are turned out into the arena, and then a team of competitors races after them. One member must catch the cow and hang on to it while another milks it, then the team must cross the finish line with milk in a bottle.

The festivities kick off Thursday night with a pre-party at the new Three Creeks Brewing Co. in Sisters. Friday's rodeo starts at 6 p.m., and is followed by two concerts: first Anastacia with Shireen Amini, followed by Leif James. Saturday's rodeo begins at 2 p..m, and is preceded by a breakfast and NPRA meeting, and followed by a barbecue and two more concerts with Anastacia/Shireen Amini, and Leif James. A Sunday morning awards banquet for NPRA members is followed by a 4-D barrel race.

All in all, it should be a lot of fun. Hope to see you there! (For a complete schedule, check out the Rodeo's website.)

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

The August 2008 real estate statistics for Sisters, Oregon showed more of the same summer story here in Central Oregon: Buyers are in charge, with more than 230 residential listings to choose from and numerous options in just about every price point, from $200,000 to $2 million and up. However, a slight dip in the number of listings from July to August (from 243 to 232) may provide sellers a bit of a break. As we approach the winter months, that number should continue to level off.

Here's a closer look at what's happening in the Sisters real estate market:

Inventory
In August, the hefty inventory declined slightly in Sisters, primarily in Active Residential With Acreage listings: As of August 31, there were 144 Active Single Family Residence listings (down from 146 in July) and 88 Active Residential With Acreage listings (down from 97 in July). Taking into consideration the number of sales during the previous 12-month cycle (85 SFR sales and 26 RW sales), that equates to a 20-month supply of Single Family Residences (slightly higher than last month) and a 41-month supply of homes on one acre or more (slightly lower than last month). A balanced market is one that has about a six-month supply of listings.

Because of the large supply, buyers are definitely in the driver's seat. Now, more than ever, sellers must price their homes competitively to minimize the time they are on the market (with just 5 SFR sales and 4 RW sales in August), the inventory is still moving slowly).

Days on Market
August's Active SFR listings have been on the market for an average of 158 days (up slightly from July's 146), while the Active RW listings have been on the market 207 days (up noticeably from July's 177). Pending SFR listings have been on the market for an average of 221 days, with the single Pending RW listing on the market for 446 days. The five SFR listings that sold in July were on the market for an average of 253 days, while the four RW listings sold were on the market an average of 118 days.

Average Sales Amount
The Average Sales Price for Sisters Active SFR listings in August was $575,663, with the bulk of the 144 listings falling in the $200,000-$599,999 range (91 listings, or 63 percent). Within that range, the $350,000-$399,999 bracket again held the highest number (24 listings).

The Average Sales Price for Sisters Active RW listings in August was $994,126, with the listings spread across a very broad price range ($250,000-$5,999,999). Within that spectrum, the $1,000,000-$1,249,999 range held the highest number of listings (10).

Sales Activity
There were two Pending SFR Sales in Sisters in August (down from four sales in July) and were one Pending RW Sale. There were no Contingent Sales in Sisters in August.

There were five SFR Sales in Sisters in August (down from seven in June), ranging from $279,000 to $739,500, with an Average Sales Amount of $537,700. There were four RW Sales, ranging from $330,000 to $1,200,000, with an Average Sales Amount of $713,750.

If you're interested in studying the market in more depth, there are a number of charts below 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.

Last night, our RE/MAX office hosted its annual summer Mix N Mingle soiree for the Sisters Chamber of Commerce (which holds a Mix N Mingle at a local business each month). Usually, we host our party at our downtown office, but decided to show off the new Pahlisch Homes subdivision, called Saddlestone, which we're representing. It's Pahlisch's first venture in Sisters, and it's a first-rate project.

So this year, it was a REMAX/Pahlisch production. The site for the event was Saddlestone's outdoor pavilion, which also includes an expansive lawn and elaborate playground area. Along with the barbecue festivities, three of the new subdivision's homes were open for guests to visit (the model home, which has been staged beautifully, will be on the upcoming Central Oregon Association of Builders' Tour of Homes in July).

Seems like the whole town turned up! Then again, it never hurts to provide food, wine, beer, a live band, children's activities and prizes. Best of all, everyone seemed to have a great time.

Below are a few photos of the event.

RE/MAX Town & Country owner/principal broker Peter Storton manning the wine and dessert table.

Folks gathered around the Saddlestone pavilion for the festivities.

RE/MAX Town & Country broker (and burger flippper) Rob Durand, left, and local appraiser Scott Buckles.

The crowd took advantage of all the good grub.

The kids had plenty of fun all their own.

If you'd like to know about Sisters or Saddlestone, visit my website or call me toll free at (866) 963-2760.

As of Sunday (June 1^st), Central Oregon has officially entered fire season. That means that burning permits are now required on all private and state forestlands protected by the Oregon Department of Forestry within Crook, Deschutes, and Jefferson counties.

So it seems as good a time as any to remind everyone of the importance of ensuring that the property they own or are about to purchase in Central Oregon is fire-safe. Wildfire is, after all, a very real concern here in the high desert.

According to an article in the Bend Bulletin, since 2002, there have been seven fires in the Sisters Ranger District larger than 3,000 acres. The largest, 2003's B & B Fire, scorched more than 90,000 acres.

Last year, the residents of Black Butte Ranch were evacuated when the G.W. Fire came within a quarter-mile of the resort. In 2006, the Lake George Fire threatened the Sisters' communities of Crossroads and Tollgate, along with Black Butte. In 2005, The Black Crater Fire burned 9,400 acres west of Sisters and forced the evacuation of 1,500 people. (The photo of the Black Crater Fire shown above was taken in Tumalo -- almost 15 miles from the fire.

Below are a few resources for those who'd like to learn more about ensuring that their home is as safe as possible against wildfire.

** Here are some tips on keeping your home fire-safe, from Firewise.

** Here are some more tips on keeping your home fire-safe, from the Oregon State University Extension Service.

** Here's a virtual tour of a fire-safe home, also from Firewise.

** Here's a great illustration and tips on creating a defensible space around your home, from Keep Oregon Green.

** Here's a 48-page full-color publication detailing fire-resistant plants for landscaping, also from Oregon State University.

** Here are 10 Tips for reducing your risk from wildfire, from Bend-based Firefree.

** Here are some outdoor safety tips for building a campfire, from the U.S. Forest Service.

** To track the status of a wildfire, visit the Oregon Department of Forestry website or the Deschutes and Ochoco National Forests Crooked River National Grassland website.

All you visitors who've been in Central Oregon for the past seven or eight days and have seen nothing but gray clouds and rain: don't fret. This is not typical. This is, in fact, quite unusual. We really do only get 12 or so inches of rain per year. I promise.

The reason I'm bringing this up today is that I basically need reminding myself.

I'm rained out.

I moved to the east side of the Cascade Mountains because it was the dry side. So what gives? I know I should be grateful -- water is always a welcome sight in the high desert -- but I miss my mountains! They're hidden behind all that gray.

This (see photo left) is what it's supposed to look like in Central Oregon this time of year. This is why so many of us love it here.

They say we can expect rain through Sunday (sigh).

In case
that's the case, here's another image to serve as a reminder.