One of the great things about Central Oregon is the sunshine, which makes for perfect golfing for many months of the year.  Most of the communities in Central Oregon feature at least one golf course and many have multiple golf courses.  Bend, Prineville, Sunriver and even La Pine has golf courses.  Many of the golf courses are well known from some of the events held in Central Oregon. The LPGA and Jel-Wen Traditions have both contributed to Central Oregon Golf Courses being brought to the worlds spotlight.

Central Oregon Golf Course Home List

Golf Course homes come in all shapes and sizes.  Most will have lots of natural light, because they tend to have big expansive windows overlooking the golf course.  Many of the golf course homes in Central Oregon have great outdoor living spaces.  Decks overlooking the golf course are very popular in the Central Oregon Real Estate market, and what a better way to spend an evening that just sitting and enjoying the beauty of the views.

I am surprised more often than not at the lack of marketing done by agents on homes that failed to sell in the Bend market. I grew up in South County (Proud to say La Pine) and for years La Pine has been the area I mainly focused on. But life has changed and I am now a Bend girl (also Proud to say). There is no place as special as Central Oregon is, the love we have for our area makes being a listing agent a lot of fun.

The average buyer in Central Oregon does not yet live here!  This means the internet marketing your agent does is vitally important to getting your home sold.

Think about it – what and where are you reading this right now?

Living The Dream!

We have all heard this common phrase with a little sarcastic tone added to it… but don’t you think we have the opportunity to live the dream every day? Central Oregon has a lot of awesome things to offer every age group, we are lucky to have been able to achieve the dream. When I talk to people on the phone, in person or by email and even on Facebook of Twitter more people than not want to live where we already have the privileged to live. I am always amazed at the number of people from near and far that their goal is to be able to live in Central Oregon. With all of that being said, I am saddened by the lack of photos, video and marketing done by many agents in Central Oregon. It’s not their fault though, they don’t know any better or they don’t know how to create some of the best online marketing available.

Where Do They Search?

We all know how powerful the web is and there are statistics all over that will tell you anywhere form 82% to 90% of all home buyers start their search online. This is no surprise is it? Even agents that have possibly failed their sellers know this, but they are unaware of how to get that property seen on the web. Putting a property on the MLS of Central Oregon (MLS = Multiple Listing Service) will push your property out to places like Trulia, Zillow, Realtor.com and other sites we refer to as VOWs (VOW= Virtual Office Websites).

This week I was searching for a mountain view property in Bend for a buyer, he had emailed me asking for assistance because every time he did a search the search would have the same list of homes but he could not see the views. Why? Because there were no photos of the view! It made me wonder if the seller and the listing agent knew that in ANY market a home with a view is worth more than one without a view. You can build the same house over and over, but only so many homes have a view, same holds true for riverfront home of course.

I was also surprised by the lack of video, oh there were a lot of virtual tours most of which were slide show with the same exact photos that the MLS had, which is also the same photos that Zillow, Truila and the likes have. Many times a buyer will be looking at a lot of these different sites so why would you not change things up to showcase different highlights on different sites attracting a wider pool of buyers?

I am Taking Listings!

If you are thinking of selling your Central Oregon home, I currently have room to take on a few new listings. Let’s get together and talk about what would help get your home sold!

Waterfront homes are one of the most sought after properties in Central Oregon.  Central Oregon offers many choices of riverfront property.  Pricing, style, age and type of home varies as much as the bends of the rivers.

The Big Deschutes River is navigational by motor boat, it is the widest and deepest of all 4 rivers in most places.  The Big Deschutes River has private and public land along it’s banks.  Many of the homes located on The Big Deschutes River are located on what is often called the high side of the river.  When purchasing a property on The Big Deschutes River there are several things to keep in mind.  The water quality, the type of sewer, river setbacks and if there is a dock is it an approved dock?

The Little Deschutes River joins The Big Deschutes River at Crosswater Golf Course.  Several beautiful homes are located on The Little Deschutes River, such as Vandevert Ranch, Crosswater on the upper end and for more affordable homes Lazy River South is one of the most well known.  The Little Deschutes River is not generally navigated with a power boat or even a drift boat for any distance.  The Little Deschutes River does tend to have trees down and areas that are unexpectedly shallow.  Most of the recreational activities you will find on The Little Deschutes River is tubing, rafting, fishing and swimming.

Fall River is a shallow river that is extremely beautiful.  The Fall River Fish Hatchery is located on this river along with the subdivision Fall River Estates.

Spring River runs into The Big Deschutes River at Sunriver.  Homes on Cooper Drive are located on Spring River.  There are several homes currently for sale on this road, prices are varied from the high $400,000 to over a million.

When purchasing property on any of these rivers there are things you need to know, there are issues that an experienced Realtor® should know and also will need to disclose to you.  I am available to answer questions and show you the beauty that Central Oregon has to offer.

Click below to obtain your personalized list of Central Oregon Riverfront Properties or any other list YOU would like.

River Front Homes

Central Oregon may be seeing temps drop but the real estate market is still moving steady towards a recovery.  Although bank owned homes are coming on the market again they are being snatched up faster than agents can get the signs in the ground.  If you are looking to buy a bank owned home or you just want a really good deal, Central Oregon is the place for you.

When spring arrives, it seems like every couple of days I get a call from a potential seller. With the market trends we have seen over the last couple years it is more a buyer’s or investor’s market than ever before. Seller’s that succeed in selling are motivated, they are willing to listen to their agent and price their home correctly, and make their home standout above the competition.

Many of the sellers calling me at this time had their home on the market with other agents last year. They are frustrated that their home did not sell, that the listing agent never showed their home and they tend to blame the other agent. Most agents do not sell the property they list, they tend to bring the information to the real estate community and chances are another agent will bring the buyer.

While researching the past history of the home, the old listings and county records the handwriting is on the wall and very easy to see why their home did not sell. It all comes down to pricing.

This fact is driven home time and time again, but one such family that had came to me in 2008 had their home listed the previous year with a “local agent.” Even if we were in seller’s market the home had been listed about $75,000 higher than it would have sold for.

Now that another year has gone by we are looking at a price almost $100,000 lower than the price it was listed for. These sellers felt they had lost money since “the other agent” had over priced the home the sellers felt their home was worth the higher amount. This was never the case; the home actually has not lost any value, even with this buyer’s market we are currently in.

Will they list the home for the true value of the home and what it stands a chance for selling? I hope so, today after meeting with them I did not take the listing, I gave them the cold hard facts of what a 20 year old frame built home without a master and a small bedroom will truly sell. I explained my marketing plan, told them what buyers are looking for and what their competition has that they do not and what they have that the competition does not. I agreed to list the property for a price that shocked them but nothing more, asked them to take my listing presentation, marketing plan and paperwork home, to think about it and let me know tomorrow.

After I left them, I just wanted to drive to the other agent’s office and tell him exactly what I thought of what he had done to these wonderful people. The truly thought they had a chance of selling for a much higher price, they believed him, trusted him and were taken back with the truth.

Let’s fast forward to 2011 – the house never sold – the family lost their home, as the market continued to decline, jobs became more scarce and eventually they fell behind in their payments.  Sadly they are now another victim of the market and the economy.

If you plan to sell this year, please take a good look at your competing properties what more do you have to offer, price your home accordingly. Many agents will price the home where you set the price, knowing full well you do not stand a chance of receiving an offer and even if you did that the home will never appraise which will kill the deal. Competition is steep, but home are selling, allow your agent to give you the cold hard facts and price the home below your closest competitor.