The number of single-family homes available for sale has grown to about a month’s supply, and could be a sign that the market will swing in favor of buyers and not sellers, according to the monthly Beacon Report.

The national average for single-family homes inventory is about five to six months, said Donnie Montagner, owner of Beacon Appraisal Group LLC of Redmond. But since 2013, the Bend-Redmond area has averaged about a two- to three-month supply of single-family homes for sale, Montagner said.

It’s a slow increase of supply, rising slowly since last summer when the supply of single-family homes for sale sunk to less than a month, Montagner said.

“Inventory levels give you a peek into the economic factors,” Montagner said. “Prices tend to fluctuate depending on the increase sales and how many of them were more than a million. Prices will stabilize when the inventory increases.”

The median price of a single-family home in Bend in July was $650,000, up $10,000 from June’s median price. In Redmond, the median price of a single-family home dipped slightly to $436,000, compared to June when the median price was $451,000.

The median sales price is the midpoint value of all transactions in a month, which has been influenced by a seller’s market where more than one buyer is bidding on a home. The median sales price also is influenced by the number of homes selling in the million dollar-plus price range, Montagner said.

In June, the median sales price of a single-family home in Bend was $640,000, higher than the May median price of $628,000. Inventory levels were less than a month in July.

Redmond’s June median sales price of a single-family home was $8,000 higher than May at $451,000, according to the data. Homes in Redmond took four days to sell, according to the monthly report. There were less than a month’s worth of homes on the market in July, according to the report.

The more homes up for sale, the more choices buyers have and the fewer concessions they have to make to get into a home, Montagner said.

“Inventory levels are a key indicator to the market stability,” he said. “There’s a short marketing time and higher prices when sellers are in control.”

“Prices will stabilize when the inventory increases.”

Donnie Montagner, Beacon Appraisal Group