Real Estate Broker/Owner
Melinda (Mel) Peterson
Inspired by her love for lattes and real estate, Mel writes from the heart with the goal of creating relationships of land and life, with a latte laughter =)
Cell: (541) 659-1620
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Real Estate Broker/Owner
Lynnea Miller
Bend Premier Real Estate provides premier service to our clients and all others we work with. We believe "Integrity, Experience, Results" summarize our philosophy and guides us through our business.
Cell: (541) 771-6390
Office: (541) 323-2779
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Deschutes County, OR Real Estate News

By Lynnea Miller, Premier Real Estate Service in Central Oregon
(Bend Premier Real Estate)
Bend OR Luxury Home Sales Have Spiked in 2020 When we think of luxury homes in Bend, we have a vision of a grand property with stunning mountain or river views, lots of elbow room, and fabulous amenities. Easy location to access the Bend lifestyle, which includes proximity to downtown, the mountains, the river, and the Old Mill also checks a lot of homebuyer's luxury wish lists. Having an up-to-date architectural design and interior features are also important to many who are making Bend their home. Yet with so many people moving to Bend over the past year and with inventory supply not keeping up with demand, homes that are not considered luxury have pushed the million dollar market into never before seen figures. The chart below outlines the last ten years of million dollar home sales ...
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By Lynnea Miller, Premier Real Estate Service in Central Oregon
(Bend Premier Real Estate)
Bend's Market Starting to Show Positive Moves for Homebuyers To say Bend has been in a seller’s market for some time now would be an understatement. There has been so much demand in our local market that Bend single family home prices are up roughly 40% from a year ago. Much of this is spurred by this new “Zoom” generation where, thanks to the pandemic, people are realizing they don’t have to live and work in the metro areas. Instead, they can live where they want and work from home and meet with people with teleconferencing software like Zoom. However, amidst what has seemed like an impossible situation in Bend for home buyers who have missed out writing offers on numerous homes… and still not getting any offer accepted… there are a couple signs of hope. The supply of homes in Bend is ...
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By Lynnea Miller, Premier Real Estate Service in Central Oregon
(Bend Premier Real Estate)
Our First Experience With New Hiking Permits-Green Lakes to Golden Lake The Green Lakes trail, off Century Drive in the Central Oregon Cascades, has historically been one of the most popular hikes in Oregon.  It has been used by families, trail runners, day hikers and backpackers for years as a beautiful and fairly easy hike to accomplish with the 4.5 miles and 1500 feet of gradual elevation change pretty doable for most. Over the years, we have hiked to Green Lakes many times, usually traveling on the east shore to the northern most lake, but enjoying the views and wildflowers and waterfalls of Fall Creek along the way. We have seen a huge increase of hikers traveling to Green Lakes over the years, but 2021 is the first year access to Green Lakes Trail is subject to the Central Oregon ...
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By Lynnea Miller, Premier Real Estate Service in Central Oregon
(Bend Premier Real Estate)
Bend Real Estate Prices Escalated During Covid We typically look at Bend real estate trends based on comparisons each month - seeing what the data shows the same month a year previously.  This has resulted in some startling information, especially when trends over the past year are reviewed. The Covid pandemic impacted the Bend Real Estate market in ways we never anticipated when the initial stay at home orders were given. However, to get a full idea on what has happened to Bend home prices, it is often very helpful to look at a longer timeline.  Ten years ago Bend was just starting to turn around from the Great Recession in which poor lending practices led to the mortgage melt down. Real estate brokerages' businesses consisted of working with short sales and foreclosures. It was a ver...
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By Lynnea Miller, Premier Real Estate Service in Central Oregon
(Bend Premier Real Estate)
How High Can Bend Oregon Home Prices Go?The sales figures for June, 2021 have been published and Bend home prices continue to rise as demand is still outpacing supply. However, there appears to be a slight softening of the market as we enter July with extreme heat and the normal real estate trends connected with graduation and vacations coming back as the state moves out of Covid restrictions. Whether or not these trends continue have yet to be determined.Bend OR Real Estate Costs a Lot More Than It Used ToWhen comparing June 2020 Bend single family home sales on less than an acre to June 2021, the following changes can be seen: Average sales price up 40.3% to $842,157 Median sales price up 38.5% to $640,000 New listings up 19.1% to 299 Homes for sale down 75.9% to 181 Pending sales up ...
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By Lynnea Miller, Premier Real Estate Service in Central Oregon
(Bend Premier Real Estate)
Bend Oregon Home Prices Continue to Rise The May 2021 Bend real estate single family home sales reflect a continued strong seller's market with home prices significantly up over the year before and lack of inventory impacting buyers' opportunities. Homes are often selling over asking price and bidding wars remain a challenging part of the home buying process. In some cases, buyers are losing out on multiple offers many times before finally obtaining an acceptance on an offer. However, if buyers can be flexible on location and condition, persistence is paying off for Bend home buyers. The following list reflects the changes from May 2020 to May 2021 for Bend single family home sales on less than an acre: Average sales price up 30.2% to $715,922* Median sales price up 40.5% to $628,000 A...
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By Lynnea Miller, Premier Real Estate Service in Central Oregon
(Bend Premier Real Estate)
Bend High End Home Sales on the RiseWe have reported how Bend Oregon home prices have risen over the past year, but we haven't looked exclusively at the trends for Bend Luxury homes. The demand for Bend's high end homes has escalated over the past year with the number of closed sales up over 100% in all the price categories we follow.* For homes over $2,000,000, the price per square foot is now over $600.  The months of supply for million dollar Bend homes is roughly four, a seller's market, and the median days on market is 11. Luxury homes listings are receiving their asking price on average 99.9% of the time. Multiple offers and bidding wars are normal for many Bend luxury homes when they hit the MLS hot sheet. If a million dollar Bend listing is truly a luxury home, we are seeing gre...
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By Lynnea Miller, Premier Real Estate Service in Central Oregon
(Bend Premier Real Estate)
Having lived in Central Oregon for over 35 years, climbing Paulina Peak was on our bucket list of never done hikes. Last Saturday, May 14, 2021, we checked that hike off the list. We had anticipated that Newberry Crater National Volcanic Monument would be closed still as it is every winter, but were pleased to find that the unmanned gate to the monument was open and boaters were already enjoying outings on Paulina Lake and East Lake.  We had planned on a 14 mile hike from the gate, but instead were able to drive to Paulina Lake Campground and park there before crossing the street to the gated road to Paulina Peak. This gravel road is normally open for cars to drive to the peak in the summer, but instead we hiked it to the top, avoiding the actual trail since we believed there would be a...
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By Lynnea Miller, Premier Real Estate Service in Central Oregon
(Bend Premier Real Estate)
Great Workout and Great Views Black Butte is an iconic landmark just outside Sisters Oregon and over the years has also been a fire lookout. Today it is a terrific hike climbing 1600 feet in just under 2 miles. When hiked Black Butte on May 8, 2021, the weather was cloudy and cool, but the trail was free from snow until just before the top of the butte. To access the trail head, travel west on Highway 22 five miles past Sisters until you reach the Indian Ford Campground exit (milepost 95). Travel on paved Forest Road 11 until you reach unpaved Forest Road 1110. Travel on 1110 just under six miles to the trailhead (the last mile is quite narrow and rough).  The trail head requires a forest pass and the parking area can fill up early.  The path to the top of the Butte is well maintained a...
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By Lynnea Miller, Premier Real Estate Service in Central Oregon
(Bend Premier Real Estate)
Bend Or Home Prices Historically HighIn some way, it feels like we are like a broken record that keeps repeating the same line. Bend home prices are way up and inventory levels are way down. Each month we wonder if we have reached the top (or bottom), but each month we are setting another record - and we don't see the trends changing anytime soon. This is by far the strongest seller's market we have ever seen in Bend with desperate buyers bidding home prices up to levels we have never seen.When April 2021 is compared with April 2020, Bend single family home sales on less than an acre reflect the following: Average sales price up 32.2% to $769,314* Median sales price up 41.2% to $651,000 New listings up 32.6% to 256 Homes for sale down 81.99% to 119 Pending sales up 149.7% to 427 Sold ho...
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By Lynnea Miller, Premier Real Estate Service in Central Oregon
(Bend Premier Real Estate)
Multiple Offers the Norm for Bend  Real Estate Sales If your offer to purchase a home in this highly competitive real estate market was rejected, it often is because a cash offer was accepted over one with a loan contingency attached. According to a recent NAR survey of Realtors®, the presence of a competing all cash offer was the second largest reason for an offer not being accepted, accounting for more than 25% of all real estate transactions. Other buyers making a higher offer is still the major cause of rejection. Here in Bend, we are seeing similar trends with multiple offers and bidding wars the norm rather than the exception for most Bend single family home sales. These bidding wars continue to push Bend home prices upward with early figures for April 2021 single family home sale...
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By Lynnea Miller, Premier Real Estate Service in Central Oregon
(Bend Premier Real Estate)
The "Unofficial" Hiking Route on Lower Whychus CreekWe hiked to Alder Springs last year for the first time. This lovely canyon oasis, located on Whychus Creek near the confluence of the Deschutes River, has beautiful geological formations and stunning sights at every turn. The "official" and "unofficial" trails are closed December 1 through March 31, but during our recent hike April 24th, 2021, we saw fewer than 20 people the entire time and no one at all on our "unofficial" trail.  The unofficial trail starts at Whychus Creek Crossing, located inside the Crooked River National Grassland. The road to the crossing is rough, passable by standard car, but we would recommend a 4 wheel vehicle. There are several picnic tables at the crossing and no trailhead. But if you walk past the last pi...
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By Lynnea Miller, Premier Real Estate Service in Central Oregon
(Bend Premier Real Estate)
Peter Skene Ogden Trail is Ready Now!It has been just over a year since we last hiked Peter Skene Ogden Trail, located just outside Newberry National Volcanic Monument off the road to the park entrance. Last Saturday, April 10th 2021, the weather was predicted to be cool and windy and this hike, mostly sheltered from the wind in the canyon where Paulina Creek flows, seemed a good choice. When we parked our car by the trailhead at the closed McKay Crossing Campground, there was only one other car and the temperature was under 40 degrees. We thought we would hike the 3.5 miles to our favorite waterfalls along the hike - the place we call "Twin Falls." We dressed warm and quickly covered the distance to the falls. After a short stop with photos of the falls, we decided to see how much furt...
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By Lynnea Miller, Premier Real Estate Service in Central Oregon
(Bend Premier Real Estate)
Lack of Inventory Triggering Escalating Sales Prices for Bend Oregon HomesThe figures are in for Bend single family home sales in March 2021. It has been a full year since Covid-19's impact on Bend home sales initially was felt and the resulting demand for Central Oregon homes began impacting our local housing market. We have had a year of tremendous buyer demand and Bend real estate sales which have broken records. Multiple offers and bidding wars have pushed Bend home prices to never before seen levels with cash offers typically beating out any offer involving financing. Entry level buyers have found Bend unaffordable and have determined Redmond, Prineville, LaPine and Madras may work better for their finances. The housing boom in Central Oregon is very real and it remains to be seen ...
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By Lynnea Miller, Premier Real Estate Service in Central Oregon
(Bend Premier Real Estate)
Redmond  Home Sales Reflect Great Buyer DemandRedmond Oregon home sales have been in high demand over the past year.  Although not involving the high end homes that are now such a component of Bend real estate sales, Redmond real estate sales have been tremendously strong since the Covid-19 pandemic hit with home prices and inventory levels reflecting an extremely strong sellers' market.We made a comparison of 1st quarter 2020 with 1st quarter 2021 single family home sales in Redmond on less than an acre. The following trends can easily be seen: Average sales price is up 28% to $450,328* Median sales price is up 22.6% to $400,000 New listings are down 9.1% to 291 Homes for sale are down 64.1% to 118 Pending sales are up 87.7% to 413 Sold homes are up 12.3% to 247 Median days on market a...
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By Lynnea Miller, Premier Real Estate Service in Central Oregon
(Bend Premier Real Estate)
According to the National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB) annual Priced-Out Estimates released earlier this month, 71.5% of Bend residents have been priced out of the Bend real estate market based on a median priced home of $409,281. The household income needed to qualify would be $102,710.  Although the NAHB figures are fairly recent, this number is roughly 73% since the median price of a home in Bend today is closer to $520,000. And for every $5000 increase in the median price for a Bend home, another 700 local residents will be priced out of this market.These Bend numbers are higher than the national median home price of $346,757, resulting in about 75 million households, or roughly 60% of all U.S. residents, being priced out of the U.S. market. Just an additional $1000 increase i...
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By Lynnea Miller, Premier Real Estate Service in Central Oregon
(Bend Premier Real Estate)
Amazing Bend Home Sales in February 2021It has been a full year since the Covid-19 pandemic hit America and the resulting Stay at Home orders were implemented in most states. When the pandemic first came to the Bend real estate market, we thought that sales would be impacted negatively - and this was the case initially. When businesses shut their doors and laid off employees, brokerages followed suit and turned to the internet and virtual connections with clients.  Within Bend Premier Real Estate, the use of our Matterport 3D tours became a major tool to enable buyers to "see" homes without actually entering the property. Bend Premier brokers looked to utilize virtual tools as much as possible to keep business going.However, unexpectedly Bend real estate sales started to soar with lack ...
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By Lynnea Miller, Premier Real Estate Service in Central Oregon
(Bend Premier Real Estate)
Strong Home Sales in Bend Continued in January 2021If we were to use one phrase to summarize January 2021's Bend single family home sales on less than an acre, it would be "more of the same." The 2020 Bend home sale trends since getting over the initial shock of the Covid-19 pandemic have been monumental and the start in 2021 appears to be continuing the movement.When January of 2021 is compared with January 2020 for Bend single family home sales on less than an acre, the following data can be noted: Average sales price up 28.2% to $666,293* Median sales price up 31.5% to $577,500 New listings down 12.3% to 135 Homes for sale down 84.1% to 89 Pending sales up 104.4% to 280 Solds up 12.4% to 154 Average days on market down 76.9% to 18 Median days on market down 90.2% to 4 Months of suppl...
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By Lynnea Miller, Premier Real Estate Service in Central Oregon
(Bend Premier Real Estate)
Lack of Inventory a Major Issue for High End Sales2020 was a year that will be remembered in the history books. In January and February 2020, real estate sales were great across the country with low interest rates leading the way enabling buyers to afford more than they could in the past. Low inventory levels were making sellers realize that listing in the winter could be a good decision and Bend Oregon real estate sales were breaking records.  Then the Covid-19 pandemic hit and the subsequent recession and work-from-home orders made many believe Central Oregon real estate sales would drastically drop. However, after the initial shock, Bend home sales came roaring back when the pandemic made people realize that if they were to work from home, home could be where they really wanted to li...
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By Lynnea Miller, Premier Real Estate Service in Central Oregon
(Bend Premier Real Estate)
Strong Real Estate Sales Were the Norm for Redmond Oregon in 2020Redmond, Oregon has often been thought as a more affordable option to Bend. And when we represent buyers looking to settle in Central Oregon, Redmond often becomes their choice when they discover what they can afford to purchase there versus what they can afford in Bend. And Redmond is growing with over 500 new construction homes either sold, pending or active in MLS over the past 12 months.* When Redmond single family home sales on less than an acre from 2020 are compared with those from 2019, the following can be noted: Average sales price up 11.99% to $390,355 Median sales price up 12.1% to $359,900 New listings up 10.7% to 1266 Homes for sale down 13% to 309 Pending sales up 35.1% to 1348 Sold homes up 18.9% to 1185 Me...
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By Lynnea Miller, Premier Real Estate Service in Central Oregon
(Bend Premier Real Estate)
2020 Had Unexpected Results for Bend Single Family Home Sales Who would have thought when 2020 began that we would be hit with a world wide pandemic, recession, work from home orders, and a Bend real estate market that was unprecedented in its volume of sales, increase in home prices and lack of inventory. When 2020 is compared with 2019, the following reflects the sales of Bend Oregon single family homes on less than an acre: Average home price up 15% to $611,764* Median home price up 11.6% to $502,000 New listings down 3% to 2623 Number of homes for sale down 32% to 552 Pending sales up 21.2% to 2838 Sold homes up 10.9% to 2596 Median days on market down 52.2% to 11 Months of supply down 35.7% to 2.7  Average price per square foot up 10.2% to $291 Median price per square foot up 10.3...
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