Prices continue to chart an upward trajectory. The average sale price for a home and the average price per square foot in the Bend area YTD are over 20% above the same period a year ago. The gain in NorthWest Crossing is slightly less but still comfortably within double digits. The average price in NorthWest Crossing YTD is 49.1% above the average for the Bend area as a whole.
New construction sales have increased by nearly 90% and represent 22.4% of all home sales in the Bend area. Rising land and material costs are applying upward pressure to new home prices.
On a national level, data reveals a growth gap between new and existing homes, a byproduct of low inventory levels that are plaguing the industry from coast to coast. Single-family resales were up 9% over April 2012 while new single-family home sales charted a 29% increase. Single-family housing starts, building permits and new home sales also were up sharply over the rates recorded 12 months before.
This is all good news, but buyers may have a harder time finding completed homes with the low inventories as our builders try to keep up. Now's the time to start looking!
