Bend is Oregon’s largest city east of the Cascades and is the recreational and commercial center of Central Oregon. It harbors an air of entrepreneurial spirit and opportunity, and is populated with those that have a true zest for life, each other and the outdoors. Offering a scenic setting and year-round outdoor and indoor recreational activities, the city is thriving and current major industries include: craft brewing and distilling, aviation, software/tech, bioscience, outdoor recreation products/manufacturing and of course tourism.
Bend offers big-city amenities with a small-town feel. The city has cultural offerings and the facilities of a larger metropolitan area, but with lower living costs and shorter commutes. It is a stellar place to raise a family, the school system is impressive and you have easy access to trails, lakes, rivers and mountains that provide the work-life balance many dream of.
Bend is essentially divided into four quadrants – NW, SW, NE, and SE. Hwy 97 acts as a division of sorts, splitting Bend into East and West. The East side offers a more ‘high desert’ feel with less trees, more sage brush and better ‘bang for your buck’ when it comes to housing and lot sizes tend to be a little larger overall. This side of town gets a little less snow and is slightly warmer. St. Charles Medical Center, the majority of Bends medical facilities, COSTCO (and a slew of other larger retail stores including Safeway, WholeFoods, Old Navy, Barnes & Noble, Pier 1, Officemax andThe Bend Factory Outlets) are located on this side of town. There are also a few larger indoor and outdoor sports facilities on Bends East side that include Juniper Swim & Fitness Center, Pine Nursery Park and Big Sky Park that are operated by the local parks and rec. district. There is an indoor rock gym if you love to climb and there are plenty of dining opportunities. Honestly, you can still also get to anything on the West side from here in under around 20 minutes, so everything is extremely accessible no matter where you choose to live .
The West side of Bend has more of a ‘mountain town’ feel, with more ponderosas and undulating topography since it is closer to the Cascade Ranges. The majority of Bend’s many events take place on the West side and this is where many of us spend most of our time. This side of town provides access to Mt. Bachelor and a large percentage of Bends trails (both biking and hiking). The Deschutes river, downtown, the Old Mill area, the Les Schwab Amphitheater, the Newport and Galveston corridors (think breweries, shops, restaurants), golf courses, the OSU campus and COCC (Central Oregon Community College) are all on Bends West side. For this reason many consider the NW area to be the most ‘desirable’. Home prices are generally higher here, as are the property taxes.
In September of 2019 the median home price hit a high of $475,000. You’ll find NW Bend offers a median home price that is roughly 50% higher than Bend’s overall median home price and SW Bend about 25-30% higher. Values on the East side of Bend drop to roughly 10% under the overall median home price. This gives you a picture of the value you can find on the East side of town if you don’t mind driving a little more. On the West side, you do pay for the convenience factor.
Every part of Bend has its benefits so it is really a matter of finding the location that best suits your lifestyle, employment and recreational pursuits. If you need help learning about Bend and deciding where to land, give me a call, I am always happy to help.
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TESTIMONIALS - What others have to say...
My husband and I recently moved to Bend. We were referred to Silvia by friends who had made the same move across the country eight years ago. From our very first contact, Silvia was friendly, knowledgeable, forthright and very supportive. She was accessible and willing to work with us every step of the way.
We never saw our house “in person” until the day we moved in. However, the FaceTime tour Silvia gave us was skillful, detailed and honest. With the extremely competitive and desirable housing market in Bend, it is due to her expertise, work ethic and timeliness getting our documents submitted that we are here today. At the end of our five day road trip, she was personally there to welcome us.
We love our Bend home and Silvia Knight definitely made it happen for us! Thank you for everything!
Brenda and Dan C.
Silvia Knight first came to us about three years ago, wondering if we were interested in selling our home. We were not at that time, but said we might be interested in a few years. We kept in contact, and called her with questions regarding selling, which she answered faithfully. When we finally did decide to sell, she came right over and began the process. She arranged for videos, photos, and kept us fully informed as to what was going on. She answered all our questions promptly. She respected our safety regarding COVID which was really beginning to spread into the area. When the house went on the market it sold the next day, and Sylvia was on it constantly keeping us informed and doing all the arranging necessary for closing which went smoothly. She has been answering our questions ever since also. We would Highly recommend her as a realtor to anyone who asked. Silvia couldn’t have been more helpful.
Vern & Jessie C.
I have bought/sold over 15 homes in the last 40 years and worked many real estate agents, and Silvia is by far the most impressive i have worked with. Fabulous communication skills, follow-up and knowledge of the business. Silvia sold 3 of my homes in just over a month in Bend, and everything was easy and smooth. Silvia is simply the best! I highly recommend Silvia to be anyone's real estate professional.
Tim F.
Silvia is a consummate professional and caring individual. She took care of the details and guided me through “next steps” counseling me along the way. She is the real estate professional person you always hope to work with; she knows what to do and has the experience but is never pretentious.
Jeff R.
Silvia was wonderful to work with, we recommend her highly! All our questions were answered in a timely manner and she was great about keeping us up to date with where we were in the purchase process. We felt that Silvia truly cared about us and helping us purchase the perfect investment house for our circumstances. We feel as though we made a friend and will most certainly work with Silvia again.
Rick & Jan P.
Silvia was so great to work with. She was knowledgeable, very responsive and ensured all of our needs were met. I would highly recommended her to anyone in need of real estate services. She even provided local resources to make us comfortable in our new neighborhood. I never knew buying a house could be so easy!
Cori M.
Silvia, we wanted to thank you for the hard work and extra efforts you made to sell our home. You repeatedly went above and beyond, including holding our hands when we were in most need of just that. You were not only professional and efficient, but handled things with kindness and concern. We appreciate you!
Kerry & Marcia M.
For a couple of years we had watched houses in Bend come and go very quickly We needed an agent who got us out in front of other buyers. That is exactly what Silvia accomplished for us. Through her back channels she found just what we had been looking for: a single level, well located, perfectly priced home in a mature...
June F.
Silvia helped us with a short sale on one property, then as soon as we were on our feet, helped us find our dream home! She was in tune with our needs, and delivered more than we expected!! A true professional, other realtors could learn from her.
David M