How an Oregon TND has succeeded

Many traditional neighborhood developments struggle with the depressed new housing market — but there are exceptions, including NorthWest Crossing.

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This year sales in NorthWest Crossing, A 486-acre traditional neighborhood development (TND) in Bend, Oregon, are the highest they have ever been — even before the Great Recession. The community is on target to sell 107 houses in 2012, according to project general manager David Ford. A new phase of lots nearly sold out in early October in a single day, with 35 sales to approved builders.

NorthWest Crossing has generally outperformed the market throughout the real estate downtown. While most other projects in the region were dormant, NorthWest Crossing has increased sales every year from a low point of 18 sales in 2007. The median price is $372,950, well above the regional median of $190,000.

Bend, Oregon, a relatively fast-growing city of 77,000 on the high desert 175 miles from Portland, has attracted new residents and technology entrepreneurs who are looking for an alternative and active lifestyle.

Surveys show that buyers are attracted to the community design of NorthWest Crossing, which was well established as a TND, with a small mixed-use town center built, by the time the housing crash hit, Ford says. The location is advantageous — close to downtown on the east and adjacent to the urban growth boundary

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