Awbrey Glen is an Established Bend Luxury Subdivision

Brooks Resources broke ground on Awbrey Glen in 1993 and completed the subdivision in 2006. Its 156 homesites were sold individually to buyers who were able to hire their own contractor to build their custom home, subject to architectural guidelines. This created a neighborhood of unique high end homes, many of which bordered Awbrey Glen Golf Course. Today there are 375 members of Awbrey Glen Golf Club, a private club offering the golf course, restaurant, pool, fitness facility, and many activities. People who live at Awbrey Glen tend to enjoy their home and social life.

Awbrey Glen Sales Prices Dropping

Unlike Bend in general, home prices in Awbrey Glen are going down. This may be partly because Awbrey Glen's listings are limited. With only 156 homesites in a fully built subdivision, Awbrey Glen home sellers are fewer than other developments in Bend. Homes there are of varied size and value. It may be...

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Awbrey Butte is One of Bend's Premier Luxury Neighborhoods

Originally developed by Brooks Resources in 1984, Awbrey Butte was "finished" in 2005. Containing over 1800 acres with 782 homesites, Awbrey Butte remains one of Bend's most prestigious neighborhoods. The development focused early on large homesites providing for privacy and retained much of the natural landscape and mature trees which existed there. Many homesites were situated to provide for Cascade Mountain, city or eastern views. A large number of the homes were built at a time in which natural woods were popular and the resulting neighborhoods often contained many large, lodge-style homes. Today's home buyers usually recognize the quality of these beautiful properties and may remodel them to a more current look while retaining much of the original ambiance.

Market Trends for Awbrey Butte Homes

Awbrey Butte experienced the same market trends of most of Bend during the past three years. Covid c...

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What's in the September 2023 Bend Premier Real Estate Newsletter?

• Bend Real Estate Sales Cooling
• Air Fryer Apple Fritters
• 9 Things You Should Do to Your Home Before Fall Starts
• Crater Rim Trail at Newberry National Volcanic Monument
• Homeowners Have a Lot of Equity Right Now

Bend Real Estate Sales Cooling Fall 2023

While it is typical in the Bend and Central Oregon real estate markets to see a slowdown in sales once we enter into late fall, the change to our market seen in August 2023 did not follow the normal trends. With the 30 year mortgage interest rate now above 7%, the purchasing power of many potential home buyers has been significantly changed. In addition, the number of sellers willing to sell a home which has a mortgage of less than 5% has curtailed new listings coming on the market. This has kept inventory low, pushed prices up and greatly impacted the number of Bend real estate sales.

Year Over Year Trends for Bend Single Family Home Sales

When we compare August of 2023 with August of 2022, Bend single family home sales on less than an acre show the following trends:

We have hiked Wickiup Plains in the past, reaching it after first traveling to Sisters Mirror Lake. Another time we hiked through it on our way to Moraine Lake, a wonderful destination or pass through for those hiking to the top of South Sister.  Last Saturday we had a break from the smokey air resulting from several forest fires and we capitalized on hiking to Wickiup Plains once again, this time with new plans. These included climbing two hills overlooking Wickiup Plains - Le Conte Crater and The Wife. 

Wickiup Plain is mostly a cinder plateau through which the Pacific Crest Trail passes. However, there are fabulous views of the western flanks of South Sister and Broken Top from the plain that many never see. The trip up to the top of Le Conte Crater had a social trail we found which is not on any map and was worth the hike.

The Wife, however, was a difference experience.  Many have heard of The Three Sisters and Mt Bachelor, four of the well recognized Cascade Mountain Peaks in Oregon. But besides the Sisters (also named Faith, Hope and Charity), there is Little Brother, The Husband and The Wife. Little Brother is part of the Three Sisters, its flank abutting Middle and North Sister. However, The Husband and The Wife stand alone without much recognition. The Wife is next to the Wickiup Plains and after coming down from Le Conte Crater, we trekked across the plains to The Wife. Rising over 7000 feet above sea level, The Wife is still drawfed by South Sister, which is the third highest peak in Oregon at over 10,300 feet. But having hiked both now, I can honestly say that the steepness of The Wife felt greater than what we experienced on South Sister. One review said the last 1/2 mile to the top of The Wife was at a 65 degree grade. But unlike South Sister, this grade is on small pumice stones in which tufts of fescue and other vegetation live. South Sister is nothing but pumice rocks and scree at the top. There was no trail to the top of The Wife whereas there is a clearly defined path to the top of South Sister. But the hike up The Wife was far shorter than that to summit South Sister.

Despite the steepness of the hike up to the the peak of The Wife, the slopes to the north and west of The Wife are dangerously steep and we were careful at the top to avoid getting too close.  However, the views were amazing. The Husband was to the north and South and Middle Sister were to the northeast. The air was clear despite recent rain, which probably helped immensely with our forest fires.

When we climbed down from the top of The Wife, we checked out what we think is a set up by the US Geological Survey to measure uplifts in the ground around South Sister. We have heard for years about the growing bulge near South Sister which is believed to be caused by build up of magna under the earth. We think the machinery we found is part of what is used to measure this. Hopefully we won't have another Mt. St. Helens in the near future!