Let’s Talk Real Estate – April 2021

In the last few years, we have seen housing demand explode in Southern Oregon and far exceed the available supply. It only seems to be getting worse. Currently, there is less than a month’s supply of homes for sale and less than a 1% vacancy rate for rental homes. The lack of homes for sale is discouraging some buyers from relocating here, as well as driving up home prices. The same is true for rental properties.

There is hope on the horizon, with many of our local cities working hard to create solutions that will expand our local housing. None is more impressive than the City of Medford that has recently annexed over 1,000 acres into the city limits and approved over 4,700 dwellings to be built. Here are six major new subdivisions coming to Medford this year. All but one of these new subdivisions will include multi-family units which will be built as condos, townhomes or apartments, which provide less-expensive housing than single family homes.

Centennial Golf Course off of N. Phoenix Rd and Juanipero Way (Medford Development MD-5f)

  • 1713 Total Dwelling units
  • 1265 Multi-Family dwellings MFR-30 (30 homes per acre)
  • 448 Single Family homes SFR-4 (Large .25 acre lots)
  • Some homes in a gated community
  • Some homes 55+
  • 158 acres of commercial
  • South Stage Road will be extended and cross over interstate 5, ending at N. Phoenix Rd. It will become the south boundary of the Centennial Golf Course

Foothill Blvd., East Barnett Rd., Cherry St. (Medford Development MD-5b)

  • 1030 Total Dwelling units
  • 80 Single Family SFR-4 (4 homes per acre)
  • 505 Single Family SFR-6 (6 homes per acre)
  • 195 Single Family SFR-10 (10 Homes per acre)
  • 250 Multifamily MFR-15 (15 Dwellings per acre)
  • East Barnett Rd. will be extended to Cherry St.

Hillcrest Orchards off Foothill and Hillcrest (Medford Development MD-4)

  • 750 Total Dwelling units
  • 575 Single Family Homes
  • 44 Multifamily dwellings zoned MFR-15 (15 Homes per acre)
  • 115 Multifamily dwellings zoned MFR 20 or 30 (20 or 30 Homes per acre)
  • Some vineyards will stay, as well as the historic Hillcrest Home and Winery
  • Foothill Blvd. will be expanded and improved to Hwy 140

Mcloughlin, Foothill and Owen: Autumn Hills Subdivision (Medford Development MD-3C)

  • 733 Total Dwelling Units
  • 420 Single Family SFR -6 (6 homes per acre)
  • 83 Single Family SFR-10 (10 homes per acre)
  • 76 Multifamily MFR-15 (15 dwellings per acre)
  • 154 Multifamily MFR-20 (20 dwellings per acre)
  • Owen road will be extended to N. Foothill Blvd.

Owen, Springbrook  and N. Foothill (Medford Development MD-3a)

  • 444 Total Dwelling units
  • 128 Single Family homes both SFR-6 and 10 (6 & 10 homes per acre)
  • 316 Multifamily MFR-15 & 20 (15 & 20 dwellings per acre)
  • Owen road will be extended to N. Foothill Blvd.

South Stage Road and West of Kings Hwy (Medford Development MD 7c)

  • 102 Total Single Family homes SFR-10
  • All SFR-10 (10 homes per acre)
  • Alley access
  • Some commercial

In addition to approving 4700 dwellings to be built, Medford is encouraging the building of additional dwelling units (ADU’s) to be built in the backyards of current lots. Medford has reduced the Systems Development charge (SDC) it normally collects on ADU’s to Zero. From December 1st – June 1st 2022, Medford will waive these fees, making it much less expensive to build a cottage in your backyard.

It will take time for these and other subdivisions to get built, but thank you, Medford, for being so aggressive in increasing the future availability of new homes and reducing the cost of ADU’s by waiving the systems development charges. It will take strong action by the state, counties and cities in Oregon to catch up to our housing demand, but we are headed in the right direction with the 4,700 homes already approved this year in Medford!