Autumn Hills by PacTrend Homes: A Close Look at East Medford New Construction

If you have been looking at new construction in Medford, you have likely seen the signs for Autumn Hills along East McAndrews Road. This community from PacTrend Homes has been drawing steady interest from buyers who want the convenience of East Medford with views that feel a world away. I have taken several clients through this neighborhood over the past few months, and it keeps coming up in conversations for good reason.

Autumn Hills sits on the east side of Medford, just up the hill from the Rogue Valley Manor and the Centennial Golf Club area. The location puts you minutes from restaurants, grocery stores, and medical facilities, while the homes themselves look out over rural rolling hills and oak woodlands. For buyers who want a newer home in a established part of town without the farther commute of Eagle Point or White City, this community hits a sweet spot.

PacTrend Homes, also known as Pacific Trend Building and Developing, is a local Medford builder with deep roots in Southern Oregon. Founded by Dan Mahar, the company has been building homes in the Rogue Valley for years across communities like Eastgate Estates, Horse Arena Subdivision, Snowy Butte Station, and Westwind Estates. Unlike the large national builders that dominate much of the new construction market here, PacTrend is a family-owned operation that focuses on a smaller number of homes per community, with attention to lot placement and neighborhood feel.

One thing I appreciate about working with buyers who tour PacTrend communities is the flexibility they offer. They describe their approach as "build to suit" in addition to their pre-designed plans, which means buyers have more say in how the home is finished compared to the strict plan-and-spec model you get with some of the larger production builders. For someone who wants a home that feels customized without going through a full custom build process, that is a meaningful difference.

Autumn Hills is a smaller infill community tucked into the hills east of Medford's main commercial corridor. The homes here typically range from about 1,500 to 1,900 square feet, with 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom layouts being the most common configuration. Some plans offer bonus rooms or dens that can be used as home offices, which is a feature many of my remote-work buyers specifically look for.

Pricing has ranged from around $488,000 to the mid-$500,000s depending on the floor plan, lot location, and level of finishes. Each home comes with a two-car garage, hard-surface countertops, quality cabinetry, and energy-efficient windows and appliances that meet Oregon's current building standards. The lots in Autumn Hills are positioned to take advantage of the hillside views, and several homes enjoy a wide-open vista of the surrounding countryside.

A note on school assignments. Autumn Hills falls within the Medford School District, with Abraham Lincoln Elementary serving the neighborhood. The elementary school is about five minutes away on East McAndrews Road, which is convenient for families with younger children.

East Medford has become one of the most sought-after areas in the Rogue Valley for new construction, and Autumn Hills is a good example of why. The east side offers a balance that is hard to find in other parts of town. You get the newer housing stock and larger lots of the suburban neighborhoods, but you are still close to the core of Medford's shopping, dining, and services.

From Autumn Hills, you can reach the Rogue Valley Manor and Centennial Golf Club in under five minutes. The shops and restaurants along East McAndrews Road and Crater Lake Avenue are a quick drive. Providence Medford Medical Center and Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center are both about 10 to 15 minutes away. And the Rogue Valley International-Medford Airport is roughly 15 minutes west, making travel convenient for buyers who fly regularly.

For outdoor enthusiasts, the nearby Prescott Park hiking trails and the Rogue River access points are within a 10-to-15-minute drive. The Table Rocks are about 20 minutes north, and the ski slopes at Mt. Ashland are about 45 minutes south. East Medford is not the farthest point from the mountains or the river, but it is central enough that most destinations in the valley feel within reach.

When I take buyers through multiple new construction communities, the differences between builders become clear pretty quickly. National builders like D.R. Horton and Lennar operate on volume. They build the same floor plans across multiple markets, and they are efficient at it. That is not a criticism. It is a model that works well for a lot of buyers, especially at the entry-level price points.

PacTrend operates differently. As a local builder with a smaller footprint, they are able to offer a more tailored experience. Their "build to suit" option means buyers can work with the builder to select finishes and features that match their preferences, rather than choosing from a predetermined set of options. The lots in their communities tend to be larger and more thoughtfully positioned. And because they build fewer homes per year than a national production builder, there is often more direct communication between the buyer and the builder during the construction process.

PacTrend has completed several communities in the Medford and Central Point area over the years, including Eastgate Estates, which is right next to Autumn Hills. That track record matters. You can walk through homes they completed five or ten years ago and see how the homes have held up, which gives you a real sense of the builder's quality and craftsmanship.

If you are planning to tour Autumn Hills, here is what I tell every buyer before they go.

Bring your pre-approval letter. This is true for any new construction community, but especially for smaller communities where the builder wants to know you are serious before they spend time walking you through their process. A pre-approval from a local lender who understands Oregon's construction financing rules is ideal.

Ask about the lot premium. In Autumn Hills, the lot position and view make a significant difference in the final price. Homes on the hillside edge with the wide valley views carry a premium over interior lots. Make sure you are comparing apples to apples when you look at pricing across different homes in the community.

Understand the timeline. PacTrend builds homes as they are sold, so the timeline from contract to completion will depend on where they are in the construction schedule. Most new construction homes in Southern Oregon take 6 to 10 months from signing to closing, depending on the complexity of the build and current contractor availability. Ask the builder for their estimated completion date before you commit.

Tour the neighborhood, not just the model. One advantage of Autumn Hills being a smaller community is that you can get a real feel for the finished product by driving through the completed phases. Look at the landscaping, the street presence, and how the homes sit on their lots. That tells you more about what your daily life will look like than any model home tour.

Bring your own agent. I cannot say this enough. The on-site sales representative represents the builder, not you. Having a buyer's agent who understands local builders, contract terms, and the new construction inspection process ensures you have someone advocating for your interests from the first visit to the final walkthrough.

Medford's new construction market in 2026 is more diverse than it has been in years. You have D.R. Horton building entry-level homes in the mid-$300,000s at Addysen Park on the south end of town. You have Hayden Homes with Ponderosa Place near I-5 in North Medford and Cedar Landing in East Medford. And now you have PacTrend offering a locally built, mid-range product in the east hills.

Autumn Hills occupies a particular niche that I think is worth paying attention to. It is not the cheapest option in Medford, but it is also not the most expensive. What it offers is something a lot of buyers tell me they want: a newer home in an established, convenient part of town, built by a local company that cares about its reputation, with views that remind you why you moved to Southern Oregon in the first place.

For buyers who are comparing East Medford locations, it is also worth noting that the area has a good range of nearby services. The shopping centers along East McAndrews include a Grocery Outlet, Bi-Mart, multiple fast-casual restaurants, and a growing number of locally owned businesses. The Rogue Credit Union complex and several medical and dental offices are within the same corridor. It is a part of Medford that has matured nicely over the last decade, and new construction here benefits from being part of a already functional neighborhood, not a blank field.

Inventory at Autumn Hills has been moving steadily. Homes that are priced well and positioned on the nicer lots tend to go under contract within a few weeks of listing. If you are interested in this community, I recommend visiting sooner rather than later to see what is currently available and what lots are still open for pre-sale.

Lisa Sears, REALTOR®, eXp Luxury

Serving Southern Oregon