Real Estate Market Update April 8, 2022

Active Average

While we frequently research and discuss average prices for properties that sell, it is also interesting to look at the average prices for properties that are active on the market but not sold yet.

These are the average prices, by area, for properties currently listed for sale and not sold yet:

  • Metro Denver = $954,000
  • Larimer County = $878,000
  • Weld County = $880,000

If you are surprised that Weld County is higher than Larimer County, it’s important to note that there are several large acreage properties listed for sale in Weld County which are skewing the average.

These average active prices are all roughly 30% higher compared to a year ago and further emphasize the strong activity in the Front Range market.

Real Estate Market Update April 1, 2022

No Foolin’

This is not an April Fool’s joke.

 

Average prices in Metro Denver just exceeded $700,000 in Metro Denver.  Larimer County isn’t far behind.

 

For the month of March, the average residential sales price in the 5-county Metro Area was $704,000.  This does not include Boulder County.

 

Larimer County was $691,000 and we expect to see an average exceeding $700,000 in the very near future.

 

It’s also interesting to note the average price for properties currently listed for sale and not sold yet.  In Larimer County it is $848,000 and in Metro Denver it is $1,100,000.

 

You might be asking, why have prices appreciated to this level?  Quite simply, supply and demand.

 

The Front Range has a healthy, growing economy plus an incredibly high quality of life.  Meanwhile, standing inventory is low which results in upward pressure on prices.

Colorado Housing January 21, 2022

Standing Low

The standing inventory of residential properties currently for sale is staggeringly low.

The number of active properties for sale is almost 90% below the average for this time of year.

In Metro Denver, there are 1,144 residential properties for sale today.

In Larimer County, there are 136 and in Weld County there are 174. 

Current inventory along the Front Range is essentially half of what it was one year ago.

The low standing inventory bolsters our belief that nothing resembling a decline in housing prices is on the horizon.  The low supply will continue to put upward pressure on prices.

It is time to register for our annual Market Forecast with Chief Economist Matthew Gardner.  This year the event will be hosted online on Thursday February 3rd from 11:00 to 12:00.

You can register at www.ColoradoForecast.com

Colorado Housing January 17, 2022

Housing Inventory

Many of our clients wonder if the current pace of price growth can continue.  Some even ask if prices will decline this year. 

Based on researching the Case-Shiller Home Price index and the National Association of Realtors home inventory data, there must be at least 6 months of inventory in a market for prices to have any chance of declining. We wrapped up 2021 with about 2 weeks of inventory in both Larimer County, Weld County. This marks a 45%-46% decrease in inventory as compared to December 2020.

The dwindling supply and the rising prices have led to a lot of questions about the future of the housing market. Is there a market crash on the horizon? Is there a housing bubble that’s about the burst? The answer is no. Although it is unlikely that the market can continue at this pace indefinitely, all signs point to a healthy housing market in 2022.

sellers December 3, 2021

Why List Now

Why does it make sense to list a home now?  Shouldn’t I wait until the Spring?

These are legitimate questions we hear occasionally from our clients.

It turns out there are several good reasons to list a home in December or January instead of waiting for April or May.

The first reason is low competition.  Today there are only:

  • 279 homes for sale in Larimer County
  • 263 homes for sale in Weld County
  • 2,151 homes for sale in Metro Denver

So, a home on the market today has high odds of standing out in the market versus the higher-inventory market in the Spring.

In addition to lower competition:

  • Buyers looking in the winter tend to be more serious and motivated by tighter timelines
  • Interest rates will likely be higher in the Spring which will impact the purchasing power of Buyers, and consequently, the selling power of Sellers.
BlogFun FactsReal Estate Statistics October 29, 2021

Average Prices

It’s true, average prices have increased substantially over the last year.

Would you have guessed that Weld County has seen the largest increase along the Front Range?

The specific numbers are below.

As you look at the numbers, it is important to remember that average prices have increased because of appreciation and because there are more higher-end homes that are selling.

The increased volume of high-end transactions has played a big rule in increasing the average price.

Average Price of a Single-Family Home based on closings so far this month:

  • Metro Denver = $675,000
  • Larimer County = $624,000
  • Weld County = $514,000

Average Prices exactly one year ago:

  • Metro Denver = $614,000
  • Larimer County = $549,000
  • Weld County = $417,000
BlogFun FactsReal Estate Market Update October 8, 2021

No Inventory?

One misconception about today’s market is that there is ‘no inventory.’

Actually, there are numerous new listings that hit the market each month. It just so happens that they tend to sell quickly.

The numbers show the number of new listings that came on the market in September closely equate to the number of sales that occurred.

  •  In Larimer County, 693 new residential listings hit the market last month and there were 688 sales.
  •  In Weld County, there were 681 new listings and 733 sales.
  •  In Metro Denver, there were 6125 new listings and 5233 sales.

So, while homes tend to sell quickly today, there is still a significant amount of new inventory hitting the market each month for buyers to consider.

BlogReal Estate Market UpdateReal Estate Statistics September 10, 2021

Staggering Stat

By definition, a real estate market is balanced when there is 4 to 6 months of inventory currently for sale.

Anything less than 4 to 6 months means a Sellers’ market, anything more means a Buyers’ market.

For example, if there are 1,000 closings per month in a market, the market would be balanced if 4,000 to 6,000 homes were available for sale.

Here is a staggering stat for you…

At the current pace of sales, the Front Range market would need 6 to 7 times more inventory for the market to be balanced.

This is why we don’t see any sort of significant market correction or anything resembling ‘the market crashing.’ Bottom line, the market is still undersupplied.

Here are the numbers:

• Larimer County has 441 properties for sale and would need 2,200 to be balanced.
• Weld County has 322 properties for sale and would need 2,000 to be balanced.
• Metro Denver has 3,023 properties for sale and would need 20,000 to be balanced.

BlogBuyers & SellersFun FactsMarket Update September 3, 2021

Tracking Change

The market is changing. The change is slight, not drastic.

Both potential sellers and potential buyers need to know that the pace of the market has slowed since the Spring.

Here is one way we track this change…

A review of the August numbers shows the pace of sales in each of our Front Range markets:

  •  Larimer County = 18 closings per day
  • Weld County = 16 closings per day
  • Metro Denver = 165 closings per day

Based on the pace of sales, we can determine the inventory of current homes for sale measured in days:

  • Larimer County = 24 days of inventory
  • Weld County = 23 days of inventory
  • Metro Denver = 18 days of inventory

Then we can measure the increase in days of inventory versus April of this year:

  • Larimer County = 26% increase
  • Weld County = 15% increase
  • Metro Denver = 20% increase
BlogFun FactsNorthern Colorado Real EstateReal Estate Statistics August 20, 2021

Population Math

The brand new Census data has just been released and it is fascinating!

Colorado’s population now sits just below 6 million people at 5.773 million.  Just 20 years ago it was 4.301 million.

Northern Colorado is booming and now has 688,047 in Larimer and Weld Counties.  It grew by 135,592 people in just ten years.  If Northern Colorado grows at just 2% per year, it will have 838,725 people by 2030 and 1,022,402 by 2040.  

For several years we have been predicting that Northern Colorado would exceed by 1 million people by 2040 and it looks like that will come true.

Metro Denver is also booming.  For reference, we define ‘Metro Denver’ as Adams, Arapahoe, Denver, Douglas, and Jefferson Counties.

Population in Metro Denver is now 2.831 million and was 2.109 million in the year 2000.  It has grown by 722,000 people in 20 years.

If Metro Denver grows at 2% per year, it will hit 3.451 million in 10 years and 4.206 million in 20 years.