Community February 18, 2022

Foundation Donations

Since 1989, over $46 million has been raised by the Windermere Foundation in support of non-profit organizations dedicated to helping the community.

We are proud to announce that over the course of 2021, the Windermere Foundation in Northern Colorado raised $10,000 in support of @childsafecoloradoinc and another $5,000 in support of @weldre4!

Thank you to everyone who contributed to our Foundation this past year! We couldn’t have done it without your support and can’t wait to see what 2022 has in store 🙌

Market Data July 16, 2021

How Popular is Colorado?

Here’s an interesting stat based on the most recent U.S. Census.

(although you probably won’t be surprised to hear this)

Since 1990, Colorado’s rate of population growth is double the Nation’s rate of population growth.

Here are the numbers since 1990:

30.3% growth in the U.S.
62.3% growth in Colorado

So, the Nation grows at roughly 1% per year and Colorado grows at roughly 2% per year.

It appears Colorado is twice as popular as compared to the Nation as a whole.

Market Data December 7, 2020

Real Estate Market Perspective

House

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 September 29, 2020

Northern Colorado Real Estate Market Update

 

The following analysis of the Metro Denver & Northern Colorado real estate market is provided by Windermere Real Estate Chief Economist Matthew Gardner. We hope that this information may assist you with making better-informed real estate decisions. For further information about the housing market in your area, please don’t hesitate to contact your Windermere agent. 

 

ECONOMIC OVERVIEW

COVID-19 had significant negative impacts on employment in Colorado. The pandemic caused the loss of over 342,000 jobs in March and April as unemployment rose to 12.2%. For comparison, peak unemployment following the Great Recession was 8.9%. However, it appears as if the massive contraction in employment is behind us (at least for now). Employment in Colorado rose in May by 68,800 jobs, a monthly increase of 2.8%, pushing the unemployment rate down to 10.2%. Regionally, the Denver metro area added 18,600 jobs in May and the Fort Collins metro area added 3,500 jobs. It is certainly too early to say that we are out of the woods, but we seem to be headed in a positive direction. Colorado’s COVID-19 infection rates started increasing again in June, which could slow down the economic recovery. However, I do not believe that it is likely to have any substantial impact on the housing market.

 

HOME SALES

  • In the second quarter of 2020, 9,867 homes sold. This represents a drop of 20.7% compared to the second quarter of 2019, but sales were 7.4% higher than in the first quarter of this year.
  • Sales dropped across all markets compared to the second quarter of 2019. I do not find this concerning as the drop can be attributed to limited supply and COVID-19.
  • Inventory levels remain tight, with the average number of homes for sale in the quarter down 21.3% from the same period in 2019. However, listings were up an impressive 15.6% over the first quarter of 2020.
  • I was pleased to see total pending sales in the quarter increase 16.3% compared to the first quarter, suggesting closing data for the third quarter will be better than we are currently experiencing.

 

HOME PRICES

  • Home prices held steady compared to the second quarter of 2019 at an average of $480,831. Prices were up 0.7% compared to the first quarter of this year.
  • Interest rates remain at very low levels and will stay in the low 3% range for the balance of the year, if not longer. This can allow prices to pick back up.
  • Price growth across the region was varied. Seven counties saw price growth and five experienced a drop in average sale price. Clear Creek County again saw prices rise substantially. However, as you are likely aware, it is a very small market and subject to wild swings. Prices dropped most in the equally small Gilpin County.
  • I am still watching affordability in many Colorado markets and will take this temporary “pause” as a good thing.

DAYS ON MARKET

  • The average number of days it took to sell a home in the markets contained in this report dropped by only one day compared to the second quarter of 2019.
  • The amount of time it took to sell a home dropped in eight counties, remained static in one, and rose in three compared to the second quarter of 2019.
  • It took an average of 29 days to sell a home in the region.
  • The Colorado housing market is demonstrating solid demand, and listing activity is trending higher. I expect that the summer market will be brisk.

CONCLUSIONS

This speedometer reflects the state of the region’s real estate market using housing inventory, price gains, home sales, interest rates, and larger economic factors.

Demand appears to be returning, which—combined with historically low interest rates—should lead to a brisk summer housing market. Assuming that the state gets new infection rates under control, I do not see why the housing market wouldn’t perform well this summer. As such, I have moved the needle just a little more in favor of home sellers.

 

Market Data July 22, 2020

Housing Numbers needed for CO

It’s interesting to look at what population growth means for housing. On average, along the Front Range, 2.5 people live in each housing unit.

What that means is 4 housing units are needed for every 10 people who live here. So, for every 1000 new people moving to our area, 400 new housing units are required.

The population of Metro Denver is just under 3,000,000 and the population of Northern Colorado is just over 650,000.

Assuming the Front Range grows in population at 2% per year, that means 60,000 new people in Metro Denver and 13,000 new people in Northern Colorado each year.

To house those people, 24,000 new housing units need to be built per year in Metro Denver and 5,200 in Northern Colorado.

Market Data July 10, 2020

More Homes Needed to Balance Market

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Compared to exactly one year ago, the supply of homes is down:

  • 32.6% in Metro Denver
  • 25.1% in Northern Colorado

An interesting and useful measurement we track is months of inventory.  This stat tells how long it would take to sell all of the homes currently for sale at the current pace of sales.

Of course, months of supply can vary greatly by price range and location.  However, this stat does a good job of explaining the overall state of the market.

Specifically, months of supply tells us if the market is in balance.

A ‘balanced’ market is when there is 4 to 6 months of supply.  A buyers market occurs when the stat is higher than this range.  A sellers market occurs when it is lower.

The months of supply looks like this in our market:

  • 1.0 months in Metro Denver
  • 1.3 months in Northern Colorado

What this means is our markets are significantly under-supplied and more homes are needed to meet demand. With that being the case you can expect that overall property values will continue to rise for the foreseeable future.

Buyers May 8, 2020

What the Numbers Say

To no one’s surprise, activity in April in terms of closings and new contracts did slow significantly.

Much of this slowing was caused by in person showings not being allowed for most of the month.

(showings are now allowed again by following Safe Showings protocols)

Here’s what the numbers say…

Closed transactions were down compared to April 2019

  • 26% in Northern Colorado (Larimer & Weld)
  • 27% in Metro Denver

New written purchase agreements were down compared to April 2020

  • 48% in Northern Colorado
  • 44% in Metro Denver

So, while activity did slow, there was nothing resembling a “screeching halt” that took place.

While the way property is shown has certainly changed, the market is still very active and we expect activity to increase even more with showings now being allowed again.

At Windermere Real Estate we are taking Safer at Home and Social Distancing very seriously.  Our people are following our Safe Showings protocol, staying connected to their clients, and providing help wherever needed.

Market DataUncategorized March 10, 2020

Economic Impact of NoCo’s Public Universities

A recent study by Emsi illustrates the economic impact that Northern Colorado’s Public Universities have on our local economy.

BuyersSellers February 17, 2020

NoCo Real Estate Stats

Here are some Northern Colorado Real Estate stats I think you’ll like:

  • Prices are up 3.5% compared to last year
  • Inventory is up 10% which means there is more selection for buyers
  • We just had the most active January in terms of closings in over 10 years
  • Well over 13,000 residential properties representing $5.4 Billion of volume has sold in the last 12 months

If you would like to see a video recap of our annual Market Forecast you can watch that HERE.

Market Data January 23, 2020

The 12 Facts of Real Estate

  • 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

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