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Fall vs Spring
A question we start to hear from clients this time of year is “am I better off waiting until the Spring to sell my home?”
The perception is that Spring is the busy time for home sales and that a Seller would be better served waiting to sell their home.
The reality is the numbers show that your odds of selling your home in the fall (and even the Winter) are just as good as the Spring. The reason is that the competition from other sellers is much lower in the Fall and Winter.
Let’s see what the numbers say…
We did an analysis of the number of homes that sold last year in each month versus the homes for sale that month and then looked at the ratio. For example, if 500 homes were for sale and 250 of them sold, the ratio would be 50%.
Here are the ratios for certain months in our 3 major Northern Colorado markets:
Fort Collins
- March = 38%
- October = 38%
- December = 55%
Loveland
- March = 39%
- October = 43%
- December = 46%
Greeley
- March = 48%
- October = 49%
- December = 82%
So the numbers tell us that there is no advantage of waiting until the Spring.
Also, all of our clients who are listing their home now see the advantage of dealing with the “known” versus the “unknown” when it comes to interest rates, demand levels and other market factors.
If you would like to see the odds of selling in your particular neighborhood and your particular price range, contact me today.
Colorado Home Price Appreciation
New Rankings
The new rankings are out from the Federal Housing Finance Authority which ranks all 50 states plus 
close to 300 individual metropolitan markets for home price appreciation.
Check out the FHFA recap video here:
Here is the data straight from FHFA’s report:
U.S. house prices rose 1.6 percent in the second quarter of 2017 according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) House Price Index (HPI). House prices rose 6.6 percent from the second quarter of 2016 to the second quarter of 2017. FHFA’s seasonally adjusted monthly index for June was up 0.1 percent from May.
The HPI is calculated using home sales price information from mortgages sold to, or guaranteed by, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. FHFA has produced a video of highlights for this quarter.
Significant Findings
- Home prices rose in 48 states and the District of Columbia between the second quarter of 2016 and the second quarter of 2017. The top five states in annual appreciation were: 1) Washington 12.4 percent; 2) Colorado 10.4 percent; 3) Idaho 10.3 percent; 4) Florida 9.4 percent; and 5) Utah 9.2 percent.
- Among the 100 largest metropolitan areas in the U.S., annual price increases were greatest in the Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, WA (MSAD), where prices increased by 15.7 percent. Prices were weakest in New Haven-Milford, CT, where they rose by 0.1 percent.
- Of the nine census divisions, the Pacific division experienced the strongest increase in the second quarter, posting a 2.6 percent quarterly increase and a 8.9 percent increase since the second quarter of last year. House price appreciation was weakest in the Middle Atlantic division, where prices rose 0.8 percent from the last quarter.
Source: FHFA
Should You Wait or Buy Now?
The housing market is remarkably tight across the U.S., and you may be wondering if you should wait for home prices to slow before making your move. Windermere’s Chief Economist, Matthew Gardner, shares why waiting could end up costing you more money in the long run.
Should You Wait out the Housing Market?
The housing market is remarkably tight across the U.S., and you may be wondering if you should wait for home prices to slow before making your move. Windermere's Chief Economist, Matthew Gardner, shares why waiting could end up costing you more money in the long run.
Posted by Windermere Real Estate on Friday, August 18, 2017
No two alike
Anyone who has more than one child is frequently amazed by the difference between the children. How is it that two kids from the same parents are so different from each other?
Same goes in our Northern Colorado market. We see a major difference between certain price ranges and certain locations right here in our little neck of the woods.
Clients are constantly reading about and hearing about the “hot” market. They make assumptions that every price range and every location in Larimer and Weld Counties are on fire. Not true!
Just like two kids from the same parents are different, two price ranges in the same place are very different.
To make this point, let’s look at months of inventory. This statistic simply measures how long it would take to sell the current inventory of homes at the current pace of sales.
Across all price ranges, months of inventory in Larimer County = 2.0. Meaning it would take two months to sell all the homes currently for sale. But this is misleading, because months of inventory…
- Under $500,000 is 1.2
- Between $500,000 and $1,000,000 is 4.2
- Over $1,000,000 is 11.7
So, the $1,000,000 seller who hears that the market is “hot” is actually faced with a year’s inventory currently on the market!
This is a very high-level look at the differences in our market. I am happy to give you a detailed look at your exact neighborhood in your exact price range. Let us know if we can help!
Gardner Report – Market Analysis
Signs of Slowing?
An article in last week’s Denver Post about the Metro Denver market cooling off has prompted questions from our clients.
Is the same thing happening in Northern Colorado?
Are the Larimer and Weld County markets showing signs of slowing?
Here’s the deal…
The Denver Post article points to the difference in number of transactions between June and July of this year. It’s no surprise to us that July had fewer closings.
What’s true in Metro Denver is also true in Northern Colorado – June tends to have more closings than any other month during the year so of course July will be slower.
What we do notice when we look at the numbers is that the difference between June and July is significant.
In all major markets in Northern Colorado, the difference between June and July is the greatest it has ever been in the last four years.
For example, in Fort Collins, July had 18% fewer closings than June. Whereas last year the difference was 9%. In Greeley the difference this year was 16% while last year was only 5%.
A month over month difference does not necessarily indicate a long-term trend. However, there is a difference compared to last year which should be welcome news to buyers who have been waiting for a slow down.
We have just completed a comprehensive report for anyone thinking about selling their home.
The Insider’s Guide to Selling Your Home (without any stress or surprises) is now available for you.
It is hot off the press and you can request a copy by emailing rdupont@windermere.com
Contact me to get your copy immediately so you can see everything you need to know to sell your home in today’s market.
The Wellington Explosion
What if we told you there is a real estate market that has seen a 300% increase in sales volume in only 5 years?
What if we told you that market was right in our back yard?
The market is Wellington and what is happening there is extraordinary.
Because price increases in Fort Collins have eliminated virtually all options for the sub $300,000 buyer, Wellington has become a very popular place to buy a home.
In June of 2012, the average price there was $185,000. Today it is $300,500!
In 2012 there were 222 residential sales in Wellington. This year is on pace to ecliplse 500.
Yes, Wellington has exploded and we don’t see it slowing down any time soon!
Fun facts about Wellington:
A History Lesson
The national homeownership rate is a very interesting statistic to track. It is simply the percentage of households in the country which are owned by the occupant (versus rented).
Now What?
The Federal Reserve raised their benchmark interest rate 0.25% this week.
So what does this mean for real estate?
Some perspective is in order…
First, mortgage rates are not directly tied to the Fed Funds rate. They are, however, closely tied to the 10-year Treasury.
While the Fed was raising their rates this week, mortgage rates actually dipped lower (although slightly).
Mortgage rates today on a 30-year loan are essentially 4.25%.
The long term average for mortage rates, going all the way back to 1970 is 7.5%
For every 1% rise in rates, there is a corresponding 10% impact to the monthly payment.
Mortgage rates have increased about 0.75% since the election.
Most economists expect rates to increase another 0.5% by year-end.
I am watching mortgage rates closely and will continue to keep my customers updated as to where the experts think they are heading.
The Results Are In!
You’ve probably heard that prices are up in Northern Colorado
Another source just confirmed this.
The Federal Housing Finance Authority recently released their quarterly report on 260 metropolitan markets across the country.
Get this, Colorado has 4 cities ranked in the top 15 for yearly price growth.
Northern Colorado is well-represented on this list.
- 11th Fort Collins/Loveland
- 12th Greeley
- 15th Boulder
By the way, Denver is 14th. And in case you are wondering, Palm Bay Florida is ranked 1st.
All of the Northern Colorado cities have had just over 10% appreciation in the last year meaning that prices are growing at about double the long-term average.
To receive a copy of the full FHFA report, simply email me at rdupont@windermere.com and I will get one in your hands right away.
