So what does one do as a “spec” (spec is a term used for a home built on speculation that there will be a buyer for it when completed) builder when the banks no longer give loans and the home designs you were building no longer fit the buyer profile? If you are Greg Welch, you stay at it and prosper even in the worst of times. I recently sat down with Welch to get the builder’s perspective on the new economy.

Avid beer lover and blog author of Hack Bend and The Brew Site, Jon Abernathy has been instrumental in the creation of a new celebration of all things beer: Central Oregon Beer Week.

Surge in Activity Sees Big Increase in Bend Single Family Permits Issued

After several seeming false dawns, the climate looks a lot brighter for new residential construction this year as latest data shows the number of Bend single family home permits issued for the year-to-date through April 2012 up 55 percent compared to the same period last year.

More good news illustrative of the relative strengthening of market conditions also comes with figures showing Notices of Default for Deschutes County down 65 percent for the corresponding timeframes from 2011 to 2012, amid the perception of a general whittling down of distressed inventory.