Mary Hill, The Hill Group, Coldwell Banker
What’s going on with the Boulder County real estate market?
Boulder County
Homes are lingering on the market a little while longer (not for just a minute like it was a couple of months ago). Of course an average of 39 days from listing your home to receiving your check is pretty phenomenal if you are a home seller!
On average if you had Invested in Boulder County real estate last year and sold this year you would have made an almost a 13 percent return on your investment. That’s not bad, considering you were either receiving rental income or living in your home in addition to the increased equity of your home.
The inventory of homes for sale continues to be dismal with only a 0.9 month supply. Three months of inventory is considered a normal market. So, it is still a seller’s market due to the low number of homes for sale.
However, buyers have become more discerning and are not paying top dollar for homes that need work as they were earlier in the summer. Pay attention sellers: to get top dollar your home needs to be in tip-top shape.
Boulder
The Boulder real estate market increased in value approximately 10 percent compared to last year, but the average sales price dropped $71,000 since July. On average the price per square foot also fell ($60) to $490.
Boulder homes sold quickly with an average 32 days listing period. The number of homes for sale is down 51 percent compared to last year. Buyers are buying and sellers are selling, but the 1.2 month supply gives buyers little choice in their purchasing decision.
Erie
Erie homes sold for an average of $680K, up 10 percent year to year, but down an average of $18K since July. With only a 0.6 month supply of homes on the market Erie buyers are going head-to-head to get into a great home. Erie obviously has an enormous number of cash buyers with an average of 18 days between listing your home to handing the keys to the new owners.
Lafayette
Prices in Lafayette dropped an average of $16K since July, but increased 24 percent year to year. The trend of a lower average price per square foot, accompanied by a lower inventory of homes for sale (.7) compared to July was also true in Lafayette.
Longmont
The average price of a home in Longmont dropped $119K from July to August. An average decline of $29 per square foot went hand in hand with the lower price.
Analysis
Homes that present well and are in move-in-ready condition continue to receive multiple offers, but not as many as previously. Homeowners that want to list their home and receive a great return on their investment without getting it into show-home condition are having to lower their expectations.
The number of homes for sale continues to linger under a 1 month supply continuing the seller’s market we have seen over the past several months. Home owners are concerned that if they sell their home they will be left without a place to live which is causing this continued low supply of homes. There are many ways for sellers to work around this conundrum, including having a contingency of renting back the home after selling it.
By Mary Hill. Mary is a Realtor at The Hill Group, Coldwell Banker. Call 303.808.7796, e-mail [email protected] or visit cofrontrangelife.com.
