The Garner Group Real Estate in Bend, Oregon Welcomes Two New Agents

We're excited to welcome Lauri Miller and Christina Wise to our Bend, Oregon real estate team!  They each bring lengthy experience in different segments of the real estate industry.

A Central Oregon resident since 1987, Lauri Miller has a lengthy background as a Certified Public Accountant. She served for 19 years as Chief Financial Officer of Eagle Crest Resort, accumulating experience on the financial side of real estate development. Later, as a consultant, she was interim Financial Director for the city of Redmond. Lauri has been active in several community organizations and is currently a member of the St. Charles Health System Board of Directors. Lauri lives in Bend with her husband, Charley Miller, and a canine family member, Porter. They have two grown daughters: Campbell, a recent Dartmouth College graduate, lives in New York City. Shelby is attending Lewis & Clark College in Portland. 

With over 20 years of experience in fields related to real estate, Christina Wise has gained extensive knowledge of the industry. She has title and mortgage company experience and held a real estate license in Washington state before moving to Bend in 2000. She earned her Oregon broker’s license in 2001 and returned to real estate sales in 2010 after holding marketing and sales positions in the title industry. She is a native of Portland, Oregon and studied in Eugene before starting her career. Christina has two grown sons, David and Joseph, and a teenage daughter, Katie. While she participates in numerous Central Oregon outdoor recreation, fitness and community activities, Christina’s passion is softball. She has played for 30 years and currently plays league softball with Bend Parks and Recreation. She is an avid supporter of local high school sports and music programs.

Gains, Rises, Up! That's How We Describe the Bend, Oregon Real Estate Market

When we sat down and analyzed recent numbers and statistics, we saw increases across several key categories compared to a year ago. New construction sales were up 75% and represent 21% of total home sales for the year so far, measured early this month. 
During the same period a year ago, new construction sales accounted for 13% of the total. The average sale price for the period increased by 23%.

In NorthWest Crossing, building activity is influencing the numbers and causing sharper percentage changes. Overall, prices are rising and total sales are up.  

More on the positive front, for all properties throughout the Central Oregon MLS area, sales totaled 3,142, 8.3% above the first half of 2012. Dollar volume and volume of sales were also up - 11.3% and 39.2%, respectively, above comparable 2012 figures.

July marked a high spot in a 12-month snapshot of the market. Keeping up with demand, permits for new construction are rising sharply, with a gain of 79.7% over last year. New home construction has increased every year since bottoming out in 2009, when 68 permits were issued. Charts containing more information may be viewed by clicking here.

 Want to know more? Our monthly Central Oregon News Digest has a wealth of fantastic information on the market, locally and nationally. You can sign up on our website.