Central Oregon Real Estate Archives - Page 2 of 4

Don't Wait Too Long To Sell Your House

Knowing when to sell your current home and buy a better one is an inexact science at best. There are so many variables that go into a decision like this that it can seem overwhelming. Depending on when you bought your current home and how much you paid for it, now may be the right time to sell it and buy up. Here are some things to consider.

Interest rates are still low: Interest rates appear to have gone as low as they are going to go and are now starting to move up. How far up and how fast is anyone’s guess but experts are predicting that mortgage interest rates will reach 4.4% in the next twelve months. As of March 20th the 30-year mortgage interest rate was sitting at 3.78 percent. If you would like an interest rate below 4% on your next home you are likely running out of time. We have a mortgage calculator on our Search Homes for Sale page. Go there and play with the numbers. How much is the house you would like to buy? What is the mortgage payment on your current home versus the house you would like to buy? What happens if you wait a year and interest rates really do go up to 4.4 percent?

Home prices are rising: The main reason you are thinking about selling your current home to buy up is because you have equity. Especially if you bought that house in the last two or three years. The issue in this kind of real estate market is not only is the house you own rising in value but so is the one you want to buy. Are they rising in value at different rates? Maybe. Probably, but the key here is not how fast they are rising as a percent of value but how fast they are rising in dollars. A 3 percent rise in the value of your $200,000 home in NE Bend is not going to be the same as a 3 percent rise in a $400,000 Northwest Crossing home. That’s $6,000 versus $12,000. Does it make sense to wait to sell your current home so that you can maximize your equity if the house you want to buy is going to see an increase in value worth twice what your home gains?

Don’t try to time the market: Timing the market is a tricky proposition. Just ask anyone who bought a house at the peak of the market instead of selling one. Or ask a real estate investor who waited until this year to buy a house in Bend. In both cases the buyer is paying more than they would have if they had timed the market right. Even professionals are seldom able to time the market right. Look at the facts of your situation. How much equity do you have in your current home? How much cash will you need to buy the house of your dreams? Can you buy the house you want if interest rates go up?

Don’t wait for lightening to strike or all of your friends to buy a new house: Take action now to find out exactly where you stand. Find out how much your house is worth by calling a real estate agent at (541) 508-2930. Know what the balance of your mortgage is. Know what your next house looks like and how much it costs by browsing our real estate search tool. Find out how much you can borrow for your next mortgage by calling your lender. If the timing isn’t right now, what needs to change in order for you to be able to buy up?

Pronghorn Golf Club and Resort Under New Management

Search Pronghorn Homes for Sale

(PRWEB) May 22, 2012

Auberge Resorts, owners and operators of celebrated boutique luxury resorts and clubs in North America, announced today that the company has assumed management of Pronghorn Golf Club & Resort in Bend, Ore. The award-winning luxury resort and golf community joins a collection of acclaimed North American Auberge properties renowned for their spectacular settings, extraordinary restaurants and spas and highly personal service. The Auberge portfolio includes Napa Valley resorts Auberge du Soleil, Calistoga Ranch and Solage Calistoga; Esperanza, Cabo San Lucas, Mexico; The Inn at Palmetto Bluff, Bluffton, S.C.; Hotel Jerome, Aspen, Colo.; Auberge Residences at Element 52, Telluride, Colo.; and Auberge Residences at Mammoth, Mammoth Lakes, Calif.

Auberge Resorts, whose hotels and private residence clubs are annually recognized as some of the best in the world by authorities such as Condé Nast Traveler, Travel + Leisure, Andrew Harper’s Hideaway and Robb Report, plans to implement its signature service and design philosophies at Pronghorn and update the resort’s culinary and spa programs. The planned enhancements will align with Auberge’s goal of creating a completely immersive guest experience that reflects the essence of Pronghorn’s unique setting.

“We are delighted to take over the helm of this stunning golf resort and community and are honored to help create what will be the premier luxury resort in the Pacific Northwest,” said Mark Harmon, Principal and Chief Executive Officer, Auberge Resorts. “We are also pleased to expand our portfolio of private residence clubs to six and offer members additional choices for their family vacations and romantic getaways.”

Acquired by The Resort Group in February 2012, Pronghorn Golf Club & Resort is situated on 640 acres in Central Oregon and features a 48-suite luxury lodge, which opened to the public in 2010, two championship golf courses designed by Jack Nicklaus and Tom Fazio, a full-service spa, multiple fine-dining restaurants and a variety of real estate options, including custom homes, condos and home sites. Pronghorn also features a golf academy and The Trailhead, a facility for family recreation and outdoor pursuits. Guests and homeowners have unparalleled access to countless outdoor activities such as hiking, mountain biking, rafting, fly-fishing on the nearby Deschutes River and skiing at Mt. Bachelor, North America’s 5th largest ski area.

Pronghorn Golf Club & Resort will be the first Auberge Resorts-managed property in the Pacific Northwest and the sixth in its portfolio of one-of-a-kind luxury private residence clubs, with reciprocal access available to members of all six communities that span a variety of geographic locations, including South Carolina, Napa Valley, Coastal Baja and the Colorado Rockies.

About Auberge Resorts Auberge Resorts is a collection of exceptional hotels, resorts and private clubs, each with a unique personality that assures a memorable guest experience. While Auberge Resorts nurtures the individuality of each establishment, all are characterized by a set of communal elements: intimate, understated elegance; captivating locations that inspire exceptional cuisine and spa experiences; and gracious yet unobtrusive service. Among the Auberge collection of distinctive properties are: Auberge du Soleil, Calistoga Ranch and Solage Calistoga, all in Napa Valley, Calif.; Esperanza, Cabo San Lucas, Mexico; The Inn at Palmetto Bluff, Bluffton, S.C.; Hotel Jerome, Aspen Colo.; Auberge Residences at Element 52, Telluride, Colo.; the Aspen Club, Aspen, Colo.; and Auberge Residences at Mammoth, Mammoth Lakes, Calif., with several others currently in development. For more information about Auberge Resorts, please visit http://www.aubergeresorts.com. Follow Auberge Resorts on Facebook at facebook.com/AubergeResorts and on Twitter at @AubergeResorts.

See all current listings of Pronghorn Homes for Sale

Encouraging Numbers for Investors

Following up on a post last week about investors buying more homes. Freddie Mac issued a press release October 17^th that lends some numerical evidence as to why investors are buying more homes. In that release they refer to Census Bureau numbers reporting a net increase of 1.4 million households that moved into rental housing over the 12 month period ending June 2011. That is a 4 percent increase in the number of tenants. As you might imagine, many of those people are former home owners themselves who prefer to rent homes instead of apartments. That preference for homes stems from the mental hurdle that many people don’t want to or can’t make to move from a house to an apartment.

This large increase in the number of tenants is pushing vacancy rates down and rents up. I can’t give you any current numbers for vacancy rates in Central Oregon as the Central Oregon Rental Owners Association only releases numbers once a year. I can however, give you last years numbers and an example of how rental rates are increasing today. We have some clients who currently rent from a large apartment complex on the east side of Bend. They have been paying $800/month for a three bedroom apartment. A month ago the apartment manager notified them that when their lease ends their rent will be increasing to $925. That is a 12.5 percent increase. Our clients are currently waiting to hear from the bank on a short sale offer they have made. If their offer is accepted, their total monthly payment (principal, interest, taxes and insurance) will be less than $700 for a three bedroom, two bath house on almost a quarter acre lot.

Whether you are an investor or owner occupant, now is a great time for you to consider buying. For investors, there are a growing number of people who are reluctant to buy or can’t get financing so their only options are to move in with family or rent. For owner occupants, if you can get financing and aren’t planning on moving in the next three years, why not explore the possibility of paying less to own a home than you do to rent? We are uniquely qualified to help investors and owner occupants make an informed decision. Call us.

More Homes in Short Sale

A week ago I wrote about a Bank of America program designed to encourage short sales in Florida. Programs such as this signify a shift in banks’ approach to short sales and foreclosures. RealtyTrac reports that the number of short sales approved by banks rose in the second quarter of this year while the length of time it took to sell those home actually fell. Until recently banks have not been very supportive of short sales. The problem has been and still is, there are more parties involved with short sales than sales of foreclosed homes. Short sales often involve two banks (first and second mortgage), realtors, loan servicers, home owners, and mortgage insurance companies. Getting approval of an offer from all those parties can often take two months or longer.

The time line for a short sale is still quite long but banks are making efforts to streamline the process. The driving force behind this shift to sell more homes through short sales is the length of time and resulting carrying costs associated with foreclosing on homes. While a foreclosure sale can happen much more quickly than a short sale, the amount of time it takes to get a foreclosed home to market can be as long as two years. Banks don’t want to be homeowners and they definitely don’t want to own homes that aren’t producing income for two years or more. Another factor is that homes sold through short sale generally sell at a mere 20 percent discount compared to sales of homes not in financial distress while bank owned homes sell at a 40 percent price cut. On a $175,000 home that is a difference of $35,000. By selling homes in short sale banks are also able to avoid carrying costs, attorney fees and repairs necessary to get a foreclosed home to market.

It is clear why short sales should be more attractive to banks than foreclosures. What is surprising is how long it has taken banks to figure out that they can make more money or not lose as much on a short sale and then make a real effort to improve the process. Now the trick will be to make short sales more attractive to buyers. Many buyers aren’t willing or can’t afford to wait two months for a bank to respond to their offer.

There are currently 127 homes listed as short sales in Bend with prices ranging from $54,900 to $980,000. There 55 homes listed as bank owned with prices between $59,900 and $849,000. To see more Bend homes for sale search Central Oregon MLS.

Mortgage Interest Deduction On Its Way Out?

It appears that ending the mortgage interest tax deduction is being discussed in Washington as a way to reduce the budget deficit. The mortgage interest deduction allows homeowners to lower tax bills by deducting interest on home mortgages from their taxable income. Interest on up to $1 million in mortgages on first and second homes is deductible, along with interest on up to $100,000 in home equity debt. Bloomberg is reporting that the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction has discussed the deduction but has yet to make a recommendation. What this could mean for taxpayers is up for debate with the National Association of Realtors saying the deduction is necessary to boost home ownership and lower the cost of ownership. However, there is research from the London School of Economics and the Brookings Institute that suggests the mortgage interest deduction does not increase home ownership and benefits wealthy Americans the most.

A proposed alternative to itemizing mortgage interest on Schedule A of Form 1040 is a credit for 15 percent of mortgage interest paid. Tax credits are available to all taxpayers even those who don’t itemize deductions on Schedule A. About 1 in 4 Americans currently report mortgage interest deductions on their taxes. In 2009 the Congressional Budget Office estimated that gradually replacing the mortgage deduction with a 15 percent credit could increase tax receipts for the government by $388 billion over a seven year period. In December 2010 a poll by Bloomberg showed that 51 percent of respondents opposed giving up tax deductions but that sentiment seems to be shifting. A recent poll, also by Bloomberg, shows 48 percent in favor of giving up deductions including mortgage interest in return for lower tax rates across all tax brackets.

Would losing the mortgage interest deduction affect your decision to buy a home? One thing to remember is that this deduction applies only to primary residences and second homes. You would still be able to deduct mortgage interest against rent received on rental homes. Would the 15 percent credit be a reasonable alternative? The Bloomberg article implies that it would benefit lower and middle income taxpayers who own homes possibly even boosting their ownership rates by as much as 2.5 percent.

WSJ: It's Time to Buy

I found an article in the Wall Street Journal this weekend that supports what I have been saying for a few months: Now is the time to buy homes. This article supports its claims with two main points: 1.) The ratio of home prices to yearly rents has almost returned to pre-bubble levels. 2.) Homes are the most affordable they have been in decades.

The price/rents ratio is similar to the price/earnings ratio of a stock. In other words, how much do you have to pay to get $1 of income? Lower ratios are better. You can figure the price-to-rent ratio by dividing the price of a house by the amount of rent you expect to receive in a year. The national average of home prices to yearly rents is 11.3. This is down from 18.5 at the peak of the market. Hotpads currently has the average price/rent ratio for Bend at 14 (the legend is in the lower right hand corner). Generally speaking a price-to-rent ratio of less than 15 indicates that it is less expensive to own a home than to rent. One thing to keep in mind is that these ratios are based on averages and it is possible to find better or worse deals in any market. The price to rent ratio is a valuable metric whether you plan to live in the home or rent it to someone else. Here are links to two posts that I wrote this summer (June, July). They both have two examples of homes that sold for a great price and were able to retrieve a good amount of rent.

Falling prices and interest rates have made homes very affordable. Let’s use a $150,000 home as an example. Assuming a 20% down payment of $30,000 the principal and interest payment would be $588/month. That is at 4.25% interest on a 30 year fixed mortgage. The good news is, even if you don’t have 20% for a down payment that there are still loan programs available that only require 3% down payment even with less than perfect credit. Using the example above with only 3% down ($4500) and an interest rate of 4.75% (interest rates go up if you don’t have 20% down) the P&I monthly payment would be $756. I could run numbers all day and if you want to give me a call or send me an email, I will. The point I want to make is that you can get a nice house for $150,000 with a total monthly payment (principal, interest, taxes and insurance) between $838 and $1056. If you haven’t looked at homes for sale recently you might be surprised at what $150,000 will buy and how much it will rent for.

Should you buy now? If the only variables to consider are price and interest rates then the answer is yes. However, those are never the only two variables involved. How long do you plan to own the home? Is your employment situation secure? Will it be a rental or your residence? How much house do you need? On top of that I’m sure some of you don’t think you will qualify for a mortgage or there aren’t any homes that you can afford. To that I say, you won’t know unless you ask and you might be surprised at the answer. If you have been thinking about buying a home, call your lender. Let them tell you how much you qualify for then call your realtor. She would be happy to show you what homes are available in your price range.

Incentive to Sell Homes in Short Sale

Bank of America has introduced a program in Florida that offers home owners as much as $20,000 to short sale their homes. The program which was introduced last week through emails to select realtors in Florida is just a trial to gauge interest. Short sale offers on homes must be submitted by the homeowner to Bank of America before November 30 to be eligible for the program. This program is very similar to the “cash for keys” programs that many banks already offer to home owners and/or tenants of homes that have been foreclosed. The main difference is that the bank is trying to be creative and offer that money earlier in the process. If the program is successful it could be expanded to other states.

It appears that success will be measured by the ability of the program to keep homes out of the foreclosure process and of course, how much money the bank saves. In Florida the foreclosure process takes 676 days on average. With attorneys involved and the likelihood of homes being damaged or stripped of appliances and fixtures by jilted homeowners the cost to a bank to get foreclosed homes ready to sell can easily be more than $20,000. One of my favorite quotes in the original Palm Beach Post blog post comes from Guy Cecala, chief executive officer and publisher of Inside Mortgage Finance, who called the short sale payout a “bribe.” “You can call it a relocation fee, but it’s basically a bribe to make sure the borrower leaves the house in good condition and in an orderly fashion,” Cecala said. Whether it is a “bribe” or an “Incentive” this could be welcome news for people in financial trouble with their homes in Florida and hopefully many other states.

Mortgage Rates Below 4%

Bloomberg is reporting the average rate for a 30 year mortgage has dropped below 4%. That is the lowest rate ever recorded by Freddie Mac whose records date back to 1971. I can remember thinking back in the late 90’s and early 2000’s when I was a loan officer that anything below 6% was amazing. I never imagined that it would be possible to get a 30 year fixed mortgage for 4% or LESS.

This is a great time to be a first time home buyer or in the market for a second home or rental property. Home prices are low and there are some great deals to be had on bank owned homes. All those people who have lost their homes to foreclosure and now can’t get financing are living in rental homes. That added demand for rental homes is not expected to drop any time soon with an estimated 26,000 more homes in Oregon on the verge of foreclosure. Demand is so high that all of the properties we manage are currently rented and our tenants are wanting to extend their leases. If you have been toying with the idea of buying a home in Central Oregon (or anywhere for that matter) now is a good time to give it some serious thought. Give us a call and let us help you work through the numbers and sift through the inventory to determine if buying a home is the right move for you.

Search Central Oregon MLS for Bend homes for sale.

72,000 Square Foot House in Missouri

The Today Show ran a story this morning about a 72,000 square foot house being built in Missouri. They say it is being built on an isolated mountaintop. Looks like a bump in an otherwise flat landscape to me. At any rate, this home will be the fourth largest in the United States. Larger than the White House and Hearst Castle. All of the exterior walls (and some interior) are made of concrete. Insulated concrete forms (ICF) are quite energy efficient but to make sure they don’t have a monthly utility bill of thousands of dollars the owner is installing radiant heat and cooling systems powered by solar panels. Their hope is to actually not need any electricity from the power company.

The owner has not disclosed how much he expects the project to cost but we can take a guess. Most homes in Central Oregon are built for around $120/sqft. Assuming this home will have state of the art everything I think it would be conservative to say the cost per square foot will be at least $250. That pencils out to $18 million for 72,000 square feet. Of course that doesn’t even take furnishings or the cost of the land into consideration.

Out of curiosity I looked up the biggest homes for sale in Deschutes County. I found two that are right around 11,000 square feet. Prices for these homes are $3.3 million for a house on 42 acres and $5.9 million for a house on 11 acres. Needless to say, these are beautiful homes. If you would like to see a customized list of homes for sale that are larger than 5,000 square feet please give us a call. We would be happy to help with your home search in whatever way we can. You can also search Bend MLS and set the criteria for the size of the home to whatever you want.

I tried to embed the video but for some reason it isn’t working and comes up with a Jedi Kitten video. So if you would like to watch the video of this story you will have to follow this link.

River's Edge Golf Course

I didn’t play as much golf this summer as I intended to. It’s not that I didn’t have a fun summer, it’s just that my fun summer didn’t involve much golf. In what was likely my last golf outing of the year I played 9 holes at River’s Edge on Friday September 2^nd. The weather was great and despite a 12:30 tee time the course wasn’t crowded at all. We only played nine holes because that is about all the frustration I can take. River’s Edge is a public course with reasonable rates. There are also stay and play packages available through The Riverhouse Resort and Conference Center. Playing nine holes cost me $47 with a cart. If you play River’s Edge a cart is a necessity. The course is located on the NE side of Awbrey Butte so unless you are in great shape, walking those hills will have you so tired you will be wanting a nap and/or massage by the time you make the turn.

The course was in great shape for being so late in the summer. There were very few brown spots in the fairways and I thought the greens were about perfect. Not too fast and not too slow. Some of the tee boxes (white) were a little beat up as if they hadn’t moved the markers for a week or more. It has been a while since I played all 18 holes so I don’t remember much about the back nine but one thing I liked about the front nine is that most of the fairways are pretty wide. I like not having the extra pressure of worrying about hitting a house when I tee off.

Speaking of houses, there are some great homes along this course. The views are mostly eastern though you can get some views of Mount Jefferson and Black Butte. There are currently four single family homes for sale on River’s Edge Golf Course. Prices range from $265,000 for an 1847 sqft. 3 bed 2 bath home to $534,000 for a 3116 sqft, 4 bed, 2.5 bath home on .33 acre. If you would like more information about homes for sale on River’s Edge or any of the other many golf courses in Bend and Central Oregon please give us a call.