Community • January 7, 2022

Marshall Fire’s Impact on Coloradoans

by Brandon Bidwell

Our heart goes out to all of the people impacted by the Marshall Fire in Boulder County.

If you would like to give your support, we have set up a special fund through the Windermere Foundation where we will match any donation you make up to $5000.

You can make that donation HERE.

This devastating event will have significant impacts on the real estate market both short term and medium term.

There are some interesting things to consider related to the fire:

This will be the costliest wildfire in Colorado history, by far. The total losses will probably approach $800 million. The most expensive wildfire up until now was last year’s East Troublesome fire at just over $500 million.
It’s likely that the vast majority of the residential property owners who lost their homes were underinsured. Given the recent rise in both property values and construction costs, these homeowners may find that their insurance won’t cover their actual loss. We encourage everyone to check in on their own property insurance versus actual replacement costs.
Nearly 1000 households are now in need of housing. Today there are only 161 residential properties for sale in Boulder County. In addition, the rental market also has low supply. We expect that many of the people impacted will consider housing alternatives outside of Boulder County simply out of necessity.
The homebuilding industry is currently challenged with both labor and material shortages. It may take long time to replace the properties that were destroyed by the fire.

Again, we are so sad for the people who were impacted. We are also encouraged to see all the different ways that our community has stepped up to help.

We are all committed to help these people get back on their feet and replace what they lost.

Beautifully Updated, Ideally Located

by Brandon Bidwell

614 Prichett Court, Fort Collins is a well maintained and updated home nicely situated on a cul-de-sac near the neighborhood park, swimming pool and Coyote Ridge Elementary School. The kitchen features Quartz Countertops, Tharp Cabinets and recessed lighting. The primary 5 piece bathroom and the secondary full bathroom have both been tastefully remodeled. Other features include newer paint (exterior & interior), newer furnace & A/C (with humidifier), whole house fan, radon mitigation, Finished Garage plumbed with gas for heating. Call (970) 215-1573 to schedule your private tour or click here for more information.

Economic • December 18, 2021

Job Openings in Construction

by Brandon Bidwell

It’s not just the availability of materials impacting home builders today, it’s also the availability of labor.

The market could use more inventory. Home builders are trying to catch up.

You’ve likely read the stories about the cost and availability of materials making an impact on home builders’ ability to keep pace with demand.

It turns out they have another factor impacting them as well- labor.

There are more construction job openings than ever before in history.

This is according to a new report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

There are 410,000 job openings in the Construction Sector.

A year ago there were 253,000.

If you know of anyone looking for work, there is a good chance a home builder could use the help.

Economic • December 15, 2021

American Equity Assessment

by Brandon Bidwell

CoreLogic just released their quarterly Home Equity Insights Report.

Their analysis shows U.S. homeowners with mortgages (roughly 63% of all properties) have seen their equity increase by a total of over $3.2 trillion since the third quarter of 2020, an increase of 31.1% year over year.

In the third quarter of 2021, the total number of mortgaged residential properties with negative equity decreased by 5.7% from the second quarter of 2021 to 1.2 million homes, or 2.1% of all mortgaged properties.

Negative equity means a home is worth less than the amount owed on the property.

In Colorado, the percentage of homes with negative equity is even lower than the National average at 1.5%.

Sellers • December 3, 2021

The benefits of selling during the holidays!

by Brandon Bidwell

Why does it make sense to list a home for sale right 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

So, a home on the market today has high odds of standing out right now 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 how much of a premium they might be willing to pay.

Market Data • October 30, 2021

Average Home Price Increase

by Brandon Bidwell

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

Troutman Park • October 28, 2021

Troutman Park Q3 Market Update

by Brandon Bidwell

Now that we’ve made it through the 3rd Quarter of 2021 it’s time to look back and see how Troutman Park’s Real Estate market has performed compared to other recent years. If you own a home in the Troutman Park area you’ll probably be happy to see the appreciation we’ve noticed.

In Northern Colorado we typically see the market take a little bit of a seasonal breather during the 3rd quarter of the year as families put their home search on pause while getting ready for back to school. This year was no exception but the activity around Troutman Park didn’t drop off as much as we’ve seen in other years.

Here are the numbers compared to the 3rd Quarter of recent years:

2021 Q3 – 21 homes sold for $9,904,802. They ranged from $352,052-$623,000 at an average of $471,657

2020 Q3 – 27 homes sold for $11,109,356. They ranged from $340,200-$480,000 at an average of $411,457

2019 Q3 – 19 homes sold for $7,555,400. They ranged from $300,000-$494,500 at an average of $397,652

2018 Q3 – 17 homes sold for $6,043,650. They ranged from $290,000-$449,500 at an average of $355,508

2017 Q3 – 18 homes sold for $6,290,750. They ranged from $296,000-$429,900 at an average of $349,486

2016 Q3 – 19 homes sold for $6,288,000. They ranged from $260,000-$405,000 at an average of $330,947

If you have questions about Real Estate I’m always happy to share what I know. I grew up here in Fort Collins, I’ve worked in Real Estate since 2002 and live right here in Troutman Park so feel free to reach out if you ever have questions.

Market Data • October 28, 2021

Home Seller Stats

by Brandon Bidwell

Here are some fun facts about recent home sellers. This research comes from the National Association of Realtors survey of home buyers and sellers:

10 years = the average time recent home sellers have lived in their home. This number has remained essentially unchanged for the last ten years. From 1987 to 2007 the average was 6 years.
89% = the percentage of home sellers who use a Realtor to help sell their home. This has been trending higher over the last 20 years. In 2001, 79% of home sellers used a Realtor. As the transaction gets more and more complex, more sellers seek the help of a Realtor.
75% = the percentage of home sellers who found their Realtor through a personal relationship as opposed to seeking out an agent they didn’t know.
77% = the percentage of home sellers who only interviewed one Realtor for the job of selling their home.

Economic • Market Data • October 20, 2021

Perspectives on Real Estate Prices

by Brandon Bidwell

Interest Rates

Let’s put today’s home prices in perspective.

Appreciation has been significant over the last 18 months. Some people are wondering if it can last and if there might be a housing bubble.

There are two ways to look at prices. One way is in absolute terms. This is simply looking at the dollar amount a home would sell for at some point in the past versus the dollar amount it would sell for now.

The other way is in real terms. ‘Real’ is an economics term which means that inflation is factored into the valuation.

For example, a gallon of milk costs more today in absolute terms than it did 15 years ago. However, in real terms, the cost is about the same as 15 years ago because inflation is factored in. The price of milk has essentially escalated at the same rate as inflation.

So, how about home prices? As we know, prices in absolute terms are higher than 15 years ago. To be exact, prices are 43% higher Nationally compared to 2006 according to Case-Shiller.

However, in real terms, prices are the same as 2006.

Over the last 15 years, homes have appreciated at essentially the same rate as inflation.

Market Data • October 20, 2021

Is Housing Inventory Increasing?

by Brandon Bidwell

A review of the September market stats shows a slight increase in inventory along the Front Range.

The way we currently measure inventory is in days.

Meaning, at the current pace of sales, how many days would it take to sell all of the inventory currently for sale.

The results, based on September’s activity, shows only a slight increase compared to August. This increase can be tied to seasonality as we always experience a slight cooling off of the market heading into the Fall.

Here is what the residential inventory looks like in each of our markets:

Larimer County = 25 days
Weld County = 23 days
Metro Denver = 21 days

Bottom line, the residential market is still very healthy.