Oregon Public Broadcasting

A national real estate report find that the Northwest remains a pocket of “extremely overvalued” homes. 

Bend, Longview and Wenatchee, along with the Portland metro area, rank near the top for overheated home prices.  Correspondent Tom Banse has more.

Economic forecaster Global Insight and a separate finance company did the nationwide statistical analysis.  They compared home prices to factors such as family incomes and land scarcity. 

Bend, Oregon was judged the second most inflated housing market in the country, overvalued by 47 percent.  Southwest Washington, Clark & Cowlitz counties, was close behind at 35 to 37 percent overvalued.

But if it’s any consolation, that’s better than last year.  Falling home prices moved Bellingham, Eugene, Salem and Medford out of the “extremely overvalued” category.

The East Coast-based study authors say “downward pressures on home prices remain strong" even though price declines are slowing.

The report judges the Tri-Cities in south-central Washington as the only metro area in the Northwest to be “fairly valued.” 

Online: Global Insight/National City Corporation: House Prices in America - 2nd Quarter 2008