The real estate market is exactly that—a market. It is an environment with people who are looking to sell and people who are looking to purchase. This market only remains viable when these two groups can meet somewhere in the middle.
How is Central Oregon doing with this meeting of the minds? Let’s take a look at recent statistics.
| June 2014 | # Active | # New | # Pending | # Reduced | # Sold |
| $125,000 – $225,000 | 42 | 34 | 46 | 9 | 54 |
| $225,100 – $325,000 | 187 | 92 | 82 | 30 | 82 |
| $325,100 – $425,000 | 99 | 61 | 49 | 22 | 43 |
| $425,100 – $525,000 | 62 | 41 | 30 | 16 | 30 |
| $525,100 – $625,000 | 41 | 12 | 8 | 7 | 10 |
| $625,100+ | 136 | 28 | 20 | 27 | 10 |
| Totals | 567 | 268 | 235 | 111 | 229 |
| July 2014 | # Active | # New | # Pending | # Reduced | # Sold |
| $125,000 – $225,000 | 41 | 35 | 37 | 12 | 40 |
| $225,100 – $325,000 | 203 | 88 | 98 | 65 | 84 |
| $325,100 – $425,000 | 118 | 92 | 56 | 32 | 56 |
| $425,100 – $525,000 | 79 | 32 | 29 | 16 | 25 |
| $525,100 – $625,000 | 47 | 16 | 14 | 16 | 11 |
| $625,100+ | 145 | 40 | 28 | 33 | 19 |
| Totals | 633 | 303 | 262 | 174 | 235 |
| August 2014 | # Active | # New | # Pending | # Reduced | # Sold |
| $125,000 – $225,000 | 41 | 44 | 44 | 9 | 35 |
| $225,100 – $325,000 | 204 | 94 | 103 | 96 | 79 |
| $325,100 – $425,000 | 144 | 58 | 43 | 57 | 48 |
| $425,100 – $525,000 | 81 | 36 | 25 | 22 | 23 |
| $525,100 – $625,000 | 51 | 25 | 11 | 14 | 14 |
| $625,100+ | 139 | 16 | 17 | 28 | 23 |
| Totals | 660 | 273 | 243 | 226 | 222 |
These statistics are for Bend, OR residential properties on <1 acre
In June and July 2014 the number of active listings continued its upward trend, followed by the same upward trend in new listings coming on the market. Pending sales continued to increase as well as the number of sold properties during the same time period.
For August 2014 there was a change. While the number of active listings grew, the number of new listings fell. This means less new inventory was entering the marketplace.
A clue to these numbers can be found in the number of listings that had a reduction in price. There has been an upward trend in these numbers as well. What does this mean? It should be noted that it is not uncommon to see a slight slowing trend in the market around September. The back to school season tends to result in reduced activity. This historical trend, along with the statistics, point to a critical component of a dynamic and vibrant market—pricing.
Pricing is not an easy topic, especially in a market that is rebounding quickly. There often is more emotion than genuine information factoring into price. If sellers get over-zealous in pricing, the balance is thrown off between the two things that a viable market requires: people who are looking to sell and people who are looking to purchase.
The drop in the number of pending sales in August speaks to buyers not stepping forward with offers. The counter balance to this drop is adjustments in pricing resulting in a higher number of higher price reductions for active listings.
The bulk of the market (the $225,000-$325,000 range) is seeing the most price reductions. If pricing escalates too rapidly, the people who are looking to purchase wait. That seems to be what happened in August. With fewer new listings entering the inventory, pricing becomes even more critical. Listings must be priced at a number that will motivate buyers to make offers. If the offers aren’t coming in, the best option for sellers is to revisit the pricing of their listings.
It is important to remember that realistic pricing can mean the difference between a quick sale and a longer market time sale. Statistically, properties entering the market with appropriate pricing tend to sell quicker than listings priced too high with the strategy to eventually reduce the price if no offers are presented. These listings can become market weary and disappear from the line of sight of buyers.
A Realtor will research what is similar on the market, what has sold, and the performance of particular area trends to arrive at a price for a listing. All this data is required to price a listing effectively. Ensure that listings have the best shot at finding matching buyers quickly. Keep emotion in check and let the data drive pricing.
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