December Real Estate Forecast shows a strong finish to an extremely active year in the Central Oregon Real Estate Market

2016 was a great year for real estate in Central Oregon, and December closed out the year with a strong finish. Sales were up in December, despite lots of inclement weather and snow, inventory dipped expectedly, and a consistent number of pending sales are expected to complete in 2017. Let’s take a deeper look.

Monthly Number of Sales and Price Reductions

The monthly number of sales stayed at a consistent high in the market. The number of price reductions in the month of December were fewer than the month before, as the number had nearly stabilized in November. Price reductions typically happen when properties sit on the market too long, with little to no interest, and it typically means that the property hasn’t been priced correctly. With fewer price reductions in December, we can expect to see more sales moving into early 2017.

Inventory low

Inventory has dipped to an annual low, which is to be expected in the month of December and is typical during the holiday season. The inventory seen this month was lower than the previous four months.

The real estate market becomes more of a seller’s market during the winter months, with fewer listings available.  Property owners should take advantage of this time, with little competition for potential buyers. Duke Warner has months of inventory for every price point under $525,000 in Bend being less than two months.

Consistent Pending Sales

Pending sales stayed at a high number for the month of December, which is surprising considering the winter weather December brought.

Final Analysis

All of this proves that we can expect an active beginning to 2017, that will carry on into the coming winter months.

Sales are expected to remain at slightly above average numbers. Due to the interest in the Central Oregon Real Estate Market, we can expect that fewer price reductions will take place.

The seller’s market will continue into the new year, with fewer properties listed. The time to get a property listed is now, with the expectation of significant activity and lots of serious buyers early in 2017.