Moving to Bend..buy or rent?

[oregonwoodsmoke]

Originally Posted by mrwibble

........ Look for something on 0.5 acre or more and the choice narrows.

Just sharing (I'm not a realtor). I just received a post card. A nice 1920 ft house on 1.12 acres just came on the market for $265,000. The photos look very nice. It's in Whispering Pines, but I know which house it is and it is on one of the better streets.

I haven't seen it for a couple of years, so no longer know what is around it, but it is worth a look.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

Originally Posted by Steve Pickering

........ rents in Bend will rise again. ........

One of my tenants just bought a house, so she will be moving. I'm going to up the rent by $200 a month for the next tenant. So, yes. Rents are going up. (She's been there for four years with no rent increase. Next tenant gets the big increase).

That is still lower than what I was getting for that house before the market crashed. So we are not yet up to pre-crash level, so there is more increase yet to come.

[Steve Pickering]

Originally Posted by oregonwoodsmoke

One of my tenants just bought a house, so she will be moving. I'm going to up the rent by $200 a month for the next tenant. So, yes. Rents are going up. (She's been there for four years with no rent increase. Next tenant gets the big increase).

That is still lower than what I was getting for that house before the market crashed. So we are not yet up to pre-crash level, so there is more increase yet to come.

As more people rent this will be the norm. The news last night said housing sales took a big dump recently .... Again.

[kapetrich]

Originally Posted by Steve Pickering

As more people rent this will be the norm. The news last night said housing sales took a big dump recently .... Again.

Sales ebb and flow no matter the strength or perceived strength of a market. It's totally normal. What you want to look at and identify is the trend of sales and price.

At his point I'd tell the OP to weigh out their options carefully. Personally, I believe the housing market will continue to climb fast in Bend over the next year or so. Given that opinion I'd say buy a house at 250k, but then again as others pointed out, if you don't know the area how do you know where to buy? It's also a bad idea to speculate on housing since it is not just an investment, but tied to your livelihood. Who cares if the prices go up 20% over the next year or so? When you make the choice to buy a house you want to make sure you like the area, schools, community, etc because you plan on actually living there.

Basically, you need to figure out if buying a house in Bend is purely an economic investment, a personal investment/economic investment, or just a personal investment-necessity of life. Essentially, what do you expect to get out of this property? A quick buck? A quick buck and a home? Or just a home? And make your decision based on what you want and expect.