A More Affordable Price Point, More Buyer Choice and a Market Where Pricing Matters
If you’ve been following Bend’s real estate market, you already know that citywide numbers don’t always tell you what’s happening in a particular neighborhood. Larkspur is a good example.
August brought a lower median sale price, a modest increase in available homes and a slower pace of sales. But there’s another number buried in the data that I think tells an important part of the story: homes that sold ultimately closed at 98.61% of their list price at the time of sale.
In other words, buyers are still buying. They’re just paying attention to price.
Median Sale Price: $527,450
Larkspur’s median sale price dropped to $527,450 in August, down from $635,000 in July and well below May’s $668,800.
At first glance, that looks like a pretty dramatic change. But neighborhood statistics need some context.
Only 8 homes sold during August, so the mix of properties that happened to close can move the median considerably. Larkspur’s monthly median price has ranged from $527,450 to $668,800 so far this year.
That makes it difficult to look at August alone and conclude that neighborhood home values suddenly dropped.
Price Per Square Foot Tells a Similar Story
The median price per square foot came in at $342, compared with $395 in July and $418 in June.
That puts August below the 2026 monthly average of approximately $359 per square foot through August.
It’s worth watching, but again, eight transactions are a relatively small sample. Property size, age, condition and location within the neighborhood can make a substantial difference.
Buyers Have More Choices
Larkspur finished August with 31 active listings, up slightly from 29 in July.
With eight homes selling during the month, that works out to approximately 3.9 months of inventory.
That's up from about 3.2 months in July, but it's hardly an oversupplied market. Instead, it suggests buyers have enough choices that they don't necessarily have to jump on the first property they see.
For sellers, that means your home has to compete—not just on price, but on condition and presentation as well.
Pricing May Be the Most Interesting Number
This is where August gets more interesting.
The homes that sold closed at 94.61% of their original list price, but 98.61% of their list price at the time of sale.
That's an important distinction.
It suggests that some sellers needed to adjust their expectations after coming to market. But once those homes reached a price buyers considered reasonable, the eventual negotiations were relatively small.
We've been seeing this same theme in several Bend neighborhoods: buyers haven't disappeared, but they're increasingly reluctant to chase an overpriced home.
For sellers, getting closer to the right price earlier can potentially mean less time spent waiting for the market to catch up with expectations.
Market Time Increased
The median market time for August sales was 47 days, compared with just 11 days in July and 7 days in June.
That's a noticeable change.
It suggests buyers are taking more time to make decisions, particularly when they have several properties to compare. It also reinforces why sellers need to pay attention to the competition once their home hits the market.
Financing Continues to Drive Larkspur
Another interesting characteristic of Larkspur is how buyers are purchasing homes.
The data of 1 cash sale and 8 financed sales for August. Throughout 2026, financed purchases have represented the large majority of Larkspur transactions.
That distinguishes Larkspur from some of the other Bend neighborhoods I've been following, where cash purchases can represent half or sometimes more of monthly sales.
It also means mortgage rates and affordability can have a particularly meaningful influence on buyer activity here.
One note on the August data: the spreadsheet lists 8 total sales but records 1 cash and 8 financed transactions, which totals 9. I would verify those figures before publishing a financing percentage for August.
Looking at the Bigger Picture
Through August, Larkspur has generated $39,756,380 in total residential sales volume.
The average monthly median sale price through August is approximately $594,091, with an average median price per square foot of about $359.
August came in below both of those benchmarks.
But that doesn't necessarily mean Larkspur is heading sharply downward. The neighborhood has experienced quite a bit of month-to-month variation this year, and the number of sales in any individual month is relatively small.
What August does tell us is that buyers currently have more room to be selective.
What It Means
For buyers, Larkspur is offering more choices and some negotiating room. Homes are taking longer to sell, and the difference between original asking prices and eventual selling prices suggests buyers shouldn't automatically assume the first price they see is where a transaction will end up.
For sellers, the 98.61% final list-to-sale figure is actually encouraging. Buyers are still willing to pay close to asking price once they believe the price reflects the market.
That makes the initial pricing conversation especially important.
Bottom Line
Larkspur's August market wasn't simply up or down.
The $527,450 median sale price and $342 per square foot figure were lower, while inventory increased modestly and market times lengthened. At the same time, homes that found the market sold for 98.61% of their final asking price.
That points to a market where buyers have choices, but well-positioned homes can still attract serious offers.
And that's exactly why I like looking at these numbers neighborhood by neighborhood. What's happening in Larkspur can be quite different from what's happening across Bend or even a few miles away.
If you're thinking about buying or selling in Larkspur, I'd be happy to help you look beyond the averages and see what the market is doing for homes that are actually comparable to yours.
