As I keep reminding everyone, it is still very much a buyer’s market, and I will give a couple examples of why. First, the interest rates have come down dramatically in the past week since the feds took over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the quasi public agencies that bolster our mortgage market by buying mortgages. They were just over 6% for a 30-year fixed mortgage and now are about 5.5%.
In addition, absorption rates (the rates at which homes are purchased compared to existing inventory) in Bend for homes are as low as 9.9 months (is that low?) for homes between $300,000 and $350,000 and as high as 60 months for homes over $1,100,000. If the homes are on an acre or more, it will take as little(again, ???) as 13 months to sell on average and as long as 138 months (11.5 years!) to sell if you are priced in the $900,000 range. So do sellers welcome buyers with open arms these days? You bet!