What March Revealed About Central Oregon Buyers
Buyer activity across Central Oregon in March offered a glimpse at a market that’s picking up...but not evenly.
In Jefferson County, the $300K range saw the strongest jump in buyer activity, an 11% increase, compared to February. Even with that boost, overall buyer activity in Jefferson still trails what we saw in 2023 and 2024.
Crook County, on the other hand, showed signs of movement in both the $300K and $400K ranges, with 37% and 35% of pending sales respectively. Buyers were clearly active at these levels in March. What’s interesting is that the $400K range saw a stronger presence in both new listings and current inventory, suggesting sellers in these two price points may have slightly different experiences based on this nuance in buyer behavior.
Meanwhile, Deschutes County told a slightly different story. After a strong February, buyer activity softened in March, coming in just below expected month-over-month growth. Had March activity hit projections, the number of homes going under contract would have mirrored 2023 and 2024. Instead, activity finished closer to levels last seen in 2011. Unlike Jefferson and Crook, Deschutes didn’t have a clear standout price range.
So what does this all mean?
Buyers are starting to engage—but mostly where affordability and perceived value are strongest. The spring market is happening, just not uniformly.
Whether this selective momentum evolves into something broader will depend on how inventory builds, how sellers price and position their homes, and how buyers respond to interest rates and economic signals over the next few weeks. The market could find itself in a true conflict moving forward: growing economic uncertainty is helping drive mortgage rates down, but that same uncertainty may also give buyers pause—creating a push and pull between improved affordability and shaken confidence.
If you're curious how these trends apply to your situation, or want to understand how this plays out at the city level, I’d love to connect.
