Sisters, OR

No, they haven't begun the reroute of Highway 20 so that it bypasses downtown Sisters, although her downtown streets are dotted with orange cones these days. In case you've recently traveled through town amid the maze, you've probably wondered what exactly is going on. Well, a couple of things: first, an ongoing sidewalk improvement project is in the works; and the confusing five-way intersection at Cascade, Cedar and Larch is being reconfigured into a simpler four-way set-up.

But the discussion about exactly how to handle the ever-increasing traffic that funnels through town on its way to other Central Oregon locales is about to heat up (again). In the next few months, the City of Sisters will attempt to finalize its Transportation System Plan (TSP), which will address that problem.

For a while now, three different potential plans for dealing with Sisters' traffic congestion have been on the table:

Option 1.: Create a Main Street/Hood Avenue couplet through town, at a cost of approximately $47 million;

Option 2.: Create an alternate route from Barclay Drive on the north end of town to Locust Street on the south side, at a cost of approximately $41 million;

Option 3: Do nothing.

The de facto plan favored so far has been Option 3, simply because nobody could agree on anything else (the main concern: Would moving the main flow of traffic away from Cascade Avenue do irrevocable damage to the many businesses there?).

Last week, when Community Development Department Director Eric Porter held his monthly meeting with local Realtors, he discussed the pros and cons of Options 1 and 2. Option 1, he said, would be problematic because it would have to be done all at once (and the Oregon Department of Transportation has no money available until 2013, he pointed out); while Option 2, which is also less expensive, could be done piecemeal.

The TSP is supposed to be completed by the end of the year. However, before it's finalized, area residents will be asked via a public forum to weigh in on their preferences (sometime in the next few weeks). One motivating factor for finalizing the plan, Porter added: Sisters will be eligible for federal grant money once the plan is in place (in fact, he said, the city missed out on $1.5 million last year because the TSP had not been adopted). Let's hope that this time, a workable plan will emerge.

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 http://www.centraloregonhome4you.com/.

Yep, it's deer season. And here in Central Oregon, that doesn't just mean that hunters are on the lookout for our dear four-legged friends. Earlier this week I almost ran into a herd in my driveway -- literally (see photo, right). We have a fairly regular gang that enjoys meandering along the nearby irrigation canal and then plucking pears from our single fruit tree in the back yard.

Yesterday, I passed a herd of at least a dozen clustered in a 10-acre field in Tumalo, munching on a neighbor's freshly cut hay; and today one leapt out in front of my car and zipped across the road as I was about to show property in a rural subdivision a few miles outside Sisters.

All of which prompted me to remind everyone in the area to please take it slow when you're driving through Central Oregon this fall (especially at night) and keep at least one eye peeled for does and their babies or bachelor bucks on the move. No telling where they'll appear (I've run across them in downtown Sisters many times). The only sure thing is that they WILL appear -- often when you least expect it.

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.

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.