In November, there were still no major changes in the Sisters real estate market — just slow, steady progress in a few key areas. First, the number of Active listings continued to decrease (from 174 in October to 161 in November). That’s also an improvement over November 2009, when there were176 Active listings.

The decrease in listings and overall stronger sales compared to 2009 meant that the inventory of Single Family Residences finally dipped below the 12-month mark — the first time that Sisters has reached that benchmark since January 2009. (A balanced market has about a six-month inventory).

Meanwhile, Residential with Acreage had 17.4 months of inventory in November. So there’s still a ways to go before that segment achieves any kind of buyer-seller balance –- but it’s a drastic improvement over last year’s numbers, when November held a 34-month cache of inventory.

We did see a decrease in the median price of both Active Single Family Residences and Residential with Acreage in November, although it wasn’t as significant a change as I’d like to see. Since the overall market value in Sisters has declined substantially since last year, those numbers should be noticeably below 2009’s. However, last November, the median list price for Active Single Family Residences was $389,000 (compared to $425,000 this November); the median list price for Residential with Acreage was $699,000 (compared to $689,000 this November).

Here are a few November highlights of the Sisters real estate market:

LISTING ACTIVITY
Active Residential Listings in Sisters: 161 (87 Single Family Residences; 74             Residential with Acreage)
Contingent Residential Sales in Sisters: 2 (1 SFR, 1 RW)
Pending Residential Sales in Sisters: 7 (4 SFR; 3 RW)
Residential Sales in Sisters: 11 (6 SFR; 5 RW)
Average Days on Market: 268 days for Active SFR listings
264 days for Active RW listings
193 days for the SFR listings sold in November
260 days for the RW listings sold in November

Median Sales Price: $425,000 for Active SFR listings
$685,000 for Active RW listings
$427,500 for the SFR listings sold in November
$410,000 for the RW listings sold in November                                      

INVENTORY
Single Family Residence: 11.5-month supply (91 sales in the previous 12 months)
Residential with Acreage: 17.4-month supply (51 sales in the previous 12 months)

SALES PRICE:
Least-Expensive Single Family Residence Active Listing: $79,000
Least-Expensive Residential with Acreage Active Listing: $197,500
Most-Expensive Single Family Residence Active Listing: $1,395,000
Most-Expensive Residential with Acreage Active Listing: $4,500,000
Price Point with the Most Active Listings: SFR: $200,000-$249,999, $350,000-$399,999 and $500,000-$549,999 (each w/7 listings)
RW: $450,000-$499,999 and $500,000-$549,999  (each w/11 listings)

If you’re interested in studying the market in more depth, below are a number of charts that capture various aspects of the Sisters real estate market in detail.

About the Author:
Lisa Broadwater, GRI, CDPE s a Central Oregon-based real estate professional who specializes in listing and selling homes, especially in Sisters, Tumalo, Redmond and Bend.