When the economy collapsed in 2008, construction of new homes ground to a halt.

Evidence of the crash’s speed could be seen across Bend, and even more so on the east side of town.

New homes in northeast and southeast neighborhoods like Quail Crossing, Mirada, Gleneden and Eagles Park stood surrounded by empty lots, often with infrastructure — roads, electric and sewage — in place.

But some developers think now is the time to start testing the market. In several corners of Bend, homes are rising again, some in developments that haven’t seen activity in years.

Deacon Development Group, a Portland company developing the 15-lot Rabbit Hills subdivision off Boyd Acres Road, put 13 lots back on the market last month for the first time since 2008. Two homes were built in Rabbit Hills in 2007.

“We made the decision (to return to the market) just in the last 30 days,” said Pete Snook, co-founder of Deacon Development. “We’ve been watching Bend’s market for a couple of years, and just decided in the last month that we would start to move forward.”

Gardenside, a 72-lot subdivision near Southeast 27th Street and Reed Market Road, has received permits for 16 new homes this year. Thirty-five have already been built, though none since 2008.

Construction began this summer on six homes at South Deerfield Park, a 63-lot subdivision near Parrell Road, adjacent to U.S. Highway 97. Ten additional homes are under permit review there, and could be approved this summer, said Darrin Kelleher, a broker with Coldwell Banker Morris Real Estate. Kelleher represents investors at the Deerfield and Gardenside properties.

The 16 new homes that are planned or in construction at both sites mark the first building activity on the properties in four years. Those developers are looking to build this summer. But they’re really banking on 2013 as the year buyers start returning to the market in large numbers.

“It’s a calculated gamble,” Kelleher said. “Inventory is low, so we feel 2012 is the year to get ready for new activity.”

South Deerfield Park is one of more than a half-dozen Bend subdivisions bought by a group of investors that includes U.S. Rep. Gary Miller, R-Calif.

The congressman, who represents a district southeast of Los Angeles, is a longtime California developer.

Miller and development partners Harry Crowell and David Langmans pooled their funds in 2009 and 2010. They took advantage of depressed land values to buy seven stalled subdivisions around Bend, Deschutes County property records show.

“Even in a bad real estate market, Bend is a great community and a great long-term investment,” Miller said. “But we see the market turning. We’ve been waiting for a rebound, and we think that’s starting to happen.”

Bend’s real estate market has shown some signs of improvement recently, at least compared with the last four years.

Home sales in Bend in the first half of 2012 are up 12.6 percent from the same time last year, according to data released this week by the Central Oregon Association of Realtors. So far this year, 43 percent of home sales have been distressed — either short sales or bank-owned sales. That’s down from 58 percent through June 2011.

Yet median home prices in Bend are still well off their prerecession values, and lending standards are tight.

But the combination of low home inventory in Bend, and a slight increase in home values over the last few months, is renewing interest in development, said Snook of Deacon Development.

Bend had just three months of single-family housing inventory in May, according to figures from Bratton Appraisal Group. Without any new construction, all the available homes in the city would be sold in that span.

At the same time, median single-family home prices in Bend have risen in recent months. It reached $234,000 in May, Bratton data shows, the highest since late 2008.

Still, some developers aren’t sure whether home buyer activity will pick up fast enough to drive demand for a new wave of homes.

William Olsen, a real estate broker with Century 21 Gold Country, has been trying to sell lots at Island Park, a 38-lot development east of Brosterhous Road, since 2010.

“The streets are paved, electricity and sewer services are in place,” Olsen said. “All you need is a building permit.”

But just five homes are in place, and there hasn’t been any new building activity there in more than two years.

“I think the market has turned a corner,” Olsen said. “But there’s just not a lot of buyers out there looking for newly built homes.” Buyers instead are finding deals on property built before the market crash.

“I think there’s plenty of inventory,” he said.

Coldwell Banker’s Kelleher, who represents Rep. Miller’s investment group, disagreed. He called a lack of inventory here a major issue.

The decision to build at South Deerfield Park came after developers saw a dwindling supply push home prices up, he said.

“I’m still not sure when we’re going to fully recover, but I’m confident in saying we’re stabilizing,” Kelleher said.