A Nice August Rebound, More Choices for Buyers and a Market That Rewards the Right Price
August brought a little more energy back to Bend’s Riverwest neighborhood. The median sale price climbed back above $1 million, eight homes changed hands, and total sales volume topped $9 million.
At the same time, buyers had 24 active listings to choose from at month’s end, quite a change from the very limited inventory we saw earlier this year. Put it all together and the Riverwest neighborhoods continue to look like where buyers are active but they’re also paying close attention to price.
The Median Sale Price Returns to $1,098,000
Riverwest’s median sale price reached $1,098,000 in August, up substantially from July’s $820,000.
Interestingly, that’s exactly the same median price we saw in May. Looking back through 2026, monthly median prices have bounced around quite a bit, from $820,000 in July to $1,242,000 in January. With a relatively small number of sales each month, that kind of movement isn’t particularly surprising.
Rather than reading August as a sudden jump in Riverwest home values, I think it’s more useful to see it as another reminder that the mix of homes selling each month matters.
Price Per Square Foot Made a Bigger Move
The median price per square foot increased to $536, compared with $491 in July.
That puts August toward the upper end of what we've seen this year. Only June, at $593 per square foot, came in higher.
So while the jump in median sale price deserves some context, the increase in price per square foot adds a little more weight to August’s stronger pricing picture.
Eight Homes Sold
Riverwest recorded 8 closed sales in August, just one fewer than July’s nine.
That’s a bit quieter than May’s 11 sales and June’s 10, but still a healthy level of activity for the neighborhood. Those eight August transactions generated $9,015,855 in sales volume, up from approximately $7.79 million in July. Through the first eight months of 2026, Riverwest has recorded 59 sales totaling nearly $59.8 million.
That’s a fair amount of real estate changing hands in one Bend neighborhood.
Buyers Have More Choices Than They Did This Spring
This is one of the bigger changes in the Riverwest market.
August ended with 24 active listings. Compare that with just two listings in January, three in February and four in March. Inventory increased to 18 in May, peaked at 27 in June, dipped to 18 in July and then moved back up to 24 in August. For buyers, that means more opportunities to compare homes, locations, condition and price rather than feeling like they need to jump at the first available property.
For sellers, it means there’s more competition for buyers’ attention.
The Pricing Numbers Tell a Familiar Story
Here’s the part of August’s report that I find especially useful.
Homes sold for 90.18% of their original list price but 96.61% of their list price at the time of sale. That gap tells us something. Some sellers appear to have started higher than buyers were ultimately willing to pay. As those asking prices came closer to what the market would support, buyers stepped in.
We’ve seen versions of this pattern in several Bend neighborhoods this summer.
Buyers are still buying, they’re just being more selective about value.
Riverwest’s August numbers certainly seem to support that.
Homes Took a Little Longer to Sell
The median time on market increased to 40.5 days, compared with 23 days in July.
But Riverwest has had quite a range this year. January began with a 138 day median, while April and May were just three days. June was seven days before market time began increasing again during July and August. That doesn’t necessarily mean something is wrong with the market. With only eight August sales, a few longer-running listings can move the median considerably.
Still, combined with increased inventory and the gap between original asking prices and sale prices, it does suggest that buyers are taking a bit more time to make decisions.
Cash vs. Financing
Of the eight homes sold in August, 3 were cash purchases and 5 were financed.
That’s almost exactly the reverse of June, when six of the ten sales were cash. Looking across the year, Riverwest has had a healthy mix of both cash and financed transactions, which makes sense given the range of properties and price points within the neighborhood.
August’s numbers show that financing continues to play an important role even with a median sale price above $1 million.
What Does This Mean for Buyers?
Riverwest buyers are in a better position to be selective than they were earlier this year.
With 24 homes available at month’s end, there’s enough inventory to compare properties and take a closer look at value. And August’s 90.18% original list to sale ratio shows that some sellers have had to adjust their expectations. That doesn't mean every home is ripe for a big discount. A property that's already priced appropriately may have much less negotiating room.
The opportunity is in knowing the difference.
And for Sellers?
Riverwest is still attracting buyers.
Eight August sales, a median price above $1 million and more than $9 million in monthly sales volume certainly demonstrate that but sellers now have more competition than they did earlier in the year. With 24 active listings, pricing and presentation become increasingly important. Buyers can compare your home with several others, and they have shown they're willing to wait when the numbers don't make sense.
Getting the price right early may be much more effective than starting high and chasing the market later.
The Bottom Line
August was a solid month for Riverwest.
The median sale price climbed to $1,098,000, the median price per square foot reached $536, eight homes sold and total sales volume topped $9 million. At the same time, inventory increased to 24 homes and successful sales closed at 96.61% of their final asking price.
To me, that makes Riverwest a good example of the Bend market we're seeing right now: buyers are active, choices have improved, and price matters.
Add in Riverwest’s proximity to the Deschutes River, trails, parks and downtown Bend and it’s easy to understand why buyers continue to pay attention to this part of town.
If you're thinking about buying or selling in Riverwest, give me a call or send me a message. I'm always happy to dig a little deeper into the numbers and see what they mean for a particular home because the neighborhood averages are useful, but your house isn't average.
