Market Data • January 21, 2022

How low is Inventory?

by Brandon Bidwell

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

Market Data • August 17, 2021

$100k, $90k & $60k

by Brandon Bidwell

As I’m sure you’ve probably noticed, housing prices have gone up quite a bit along Colorado’s Front Range.

Low interest rates, strong demand, lower supply, and a healthy local economy are all contributing to increased prices.

It may interest you to see exactly how much prices have increased since one year ago in the markets where we have the most activity.

Over the last year, Weld County has increased roughly $100,000, Metro Denver $90,000 and Larimer County $60,000.

Specifically, here are the average prices one year ago vs. today:

Weld County = $426,000 vs. $523,000
Metro Denver = $523,000 vs. $612,000
Larimer County = $532,000 vs. $592,000

With that being said Real Estate can still be hyper local, sometimes right down to the block. If you’re ever curious about what’s going on in your neighborhood just let me know. I’m always happy to share my insight.

Market Data • June 7, 2021

Is there really “No Inventory”?

by Brandon Bidwell

A common phrase that is being used right now to describe the market is ‘no inventory.’

‘There’s no inventory’ is said frequently among those inside and outside of the real estate industry.

The problem with this phrase is that it is untrue.

There is inventory. Meaning, there are a significant number of new listings hitting the market.

However, there is low standing inventory. Meaning, the listings that do hit the market don’t stick around for very long before they are purchased.

Standing inventory, which is the number of active properties on the market, is down roughly 70% along the Front Range.

However, the number of new listings coming on the market is essentially:

Double compared to December 2020
Only 20% to 25% less than this time of year in 2017, 2018, and 2019

So, there is inventory available, it just sells quickly because demand is historically high right now.

Market Data • April 14, 2021

The percentage of homes selling at or above list price

by Brandon Bidwell

What percent of properties are selling for list price or more!?!

Take a guess. Of the properties that have sold so far in April, how many of them sold for at least list price?

Meaning, how many of them had a final sales price that was equal to or above the asking price?

The answer…

88% for properties in Larimer County and 86% for properties in Weld County.

We have been tracking this statistic for many years and this is a new record high.

Here’s something else that is interesting…

Not only do the number of properties selling for over asking price exceed the number selling under asking price, they also exceed those selling at list price.

There are roughly double the amount of properties selling for more than asking as compared to the number selling at asking price.

This is all a result of the low inventory, high demand market that we are experiencing.

We are using all of our researching, offer writing and negotiating skills right now to help our clients win in this highly competitive market.

Market Data • February 3, 2021

Employment recovery fuels NoCo Real Estate Market

by Brandon Bidwell

Interest Rates

“How could the real estate market be so strong in the middle of a pandemic?”

That is a fair question and one we hear frequently from our clients.

There are several reasons for this but two stand out.

Interest rates
Jobs

Employment has bounced back much quicker than most people expected. When COVID first showed up, the expectation was that many industries would be hit hard for a prolonged period of time.

The reality is that only a few industries were severely impacted by COVID and the rest were able to get back to a near-normal level of business relatively fast.

Additionally, what we find along the Front Range is that our ‘job bounce’ is even better than the national average.

Here are the numbers…

The COVID-peak unemployment rate for the Front Range looked like this:

Larimer County = 11.1%
Weld County = 10.1%
Metro Denver = 12.3%

Today it looks like this:

Larimer County = 5.2%
Weld County = 5.2%
Metro Denver = 6.4%

Nationally, unemployment peaked at 14.8% and now stands at 6.7%.

So, a main reason why values are soaring right now is because jobs have bounced back, and that bounce combined with near all time low interest rates has increased demand while supply remains at a record low!

Market Data • December 7, 2020

Real Estate Market Perspective

by Brandon Bidwell

Here’s a little perspective on the inventory of homes for sale in today’s market…

First we’ll look at Metro Denver:

The average number of residential listings for sale at this time of year is 15,577
The highest-ever for this time of year is 29,722 which occurred in 2006
The number of listings right now is 4,821
So, inventory in Metro Denver is roughly one-third of the average and 25,000 fewer than the highest-ever.
DMAR is the source of the stats listed above

Now, Northern Colorado:

Larimer County has 802 active listings today
Based on 10 years of data, this is the lowest it has ever been
The high in Larimer County occurred in 2010 with 2608 listings so today’s inventory is one-third of what it was 10 years ago.
Inventory today in Weld County is 727 which isn’t the lowest-ever.
The lowest during the last 10 years was 2017.

The highest was 2010 with 1791 properties so today there are roughly 1,000 fewer properties to choose from.

Market Data • January 23, 2020

The 12 Facts of Real Estate

by Brandon Bidwell

Here are 12 facts about Colorado real estate as we head into 2020:

1 is the ranking Colorado owns for long-term home price appreciation versus all other states
2.6% unemployment rate in Colorado right now
3.73% mortgage rate for a 30-year mortgage which is about half of the long term average
4.7% apartment vacancy rate in Metro Denver, the lowest since 2015
5.5% is the long-term average for yearly home price appreciation along the Front Range
6,000,000 live in Colorado
7,000 residential properties are for sale in Metro Denver right now and the average for this time of year is 14,700
80,000 is the number of people that is added to our state’s population each year
9 homes are for sale in Larimer and Weld County priced over $2,500,000
-10% is the decrease in new home construction in Larimer County compared to last year while Weld County grew by 17%
11 times in the last 40 years home prices have gone up at least 8% along the Front Range
$1,202,488 is the average price for a single-family home in the City of Boulder

Buyers • Market Data • December 18, 2019

Good News for home buyers in NOCO!

by Brandon Bidwell

Here are some vital signs for the Northern Colorado Real Estate Market. This data will show how statistics now compare to this time last year.

First, Larimer County:

Average prices are up 2.4%
Number of transactions is down 2.5%
Inventory is up 11.9%
Days on market is up 4.1%

Now, Weld County:

Average prices are up 4.3%
Number of transactions is up 3.6%
Inventory is up 12.9%
Days on market is flat (same as last year)

What this means is prices are still going up, just not as fast as they were a couple of years ago. More inventory is coming on the market which is great news for buyers.

Buyers • December 6, 2019

Colorado’s New Home Value by County

by Brandon Bidwell

Metrostudy, who in our opinion is the leader in new home research, recently did a study on the average price of a new home in each of the Front Range Counties.

Here are some interesting takeaways…

If you want to find the least expensive new home on the Front Range, the places to look are Weld County and El Paso County.

· Weld County Average New Home Price = $411,269

· El Paso County Average New Home Price = $427,361

The most expensive place for a new home is in Boulder County (no surprise) at $698,208.

Jefferson County has the largest difference between the average price of a new home and the average price of a resale home: $664,600 vs. $510,003.

Here’s the County by County breakdown of the average price of a new single-family home:

· Boulder = $698,208

· Jefferson = $664,600

· Douglas = $624,315

· Broomfield = $612,779

· Denver = $581,480

· Arapahoe = $545,943

· Larimer = $507,105

· Adams = $480,464

· El Paso = $427,361

· Weld = $411,269

If you have questions about real estate in Northern Colorado I’m here to help!

Market Data • November 16, 2019

New Homes in Larimer vs Weld

by Brandon Bidwell

Two Tales

This is a Tale of Two Counties.

When it comes to new home activity, there is a big difference between Larimer and Weld Counties.

Larimer County’s new home starts are down 10% and new home closings are down 15% compared to last year.

Weld County’s new home starts are up 18% and new home closings are up 8% compared to last year.

This is all according to the new home research experts and Metrostudy.

So why the difference? It comes down to price and availability.

There is more land available for new home development in Weld County.

Plus, the land tends to be less-expensive than Larimer which means that builders can deliver a lower-priced product and reach a larger pool of buyers.

The average price of a new home in Larimer County is $507,105 while the average new home price in Weld is $411,269.

If you want to see even more insights about the Colorado market so that you can make really good decisions about your real estate, you are welcome to watch this complimentary webinar, just click HERE.