Blog • Fun Facts • July 13, 2019

Sign Surprise

by Rondi duPont

Given how active our market is today and has been over the last few years, many people assume that virtually every home with a “For Sale” sign in the front yard is already under contract.

They are surprised to learn that, in most cases, the “For Sale” sign does indeed represent a home that is actively for sale.

For example, today in Fort Collins there are 655 single-family homes on the market. 290 of these are under contract and will be closing soon. 365 of these are still active. So, 56% of the signs in Fort Collins are in front of homes that are still available.

Here are the specific numbers for each of our Northern Colorado markets:
• Fort Collins = 56%
• Loveland = 57%
• Windsor = 58%
• Greeley = 41%

Blog • Fun Facts • July 12, 2019

Over List

by Rondi duPont

A statistic we keep our eye on is the percentage of homes which sell for at least list price.

In a robust, healthy, market with lower inventory, we will frequently see homes selling for their asking price or even higher.

Here are the number of sales that occur for list price or higher in each of our major markets:

• Fort Collins = 60%
• Loveland = 60%
• Greeley = 71%
• Windsor = 56%

There are a couple of things we notice about these numbers. First, well over half of all sales are for at least list price. This means that a buyer needs to be prepared to make a full price offer (or higher) in most cases. This also means that if a seller is priced right and marketed effectively, they should achieve their asking price.

We also notice that these percentages are lower than one year ago. In 2018 these numbers were 5% to 10% higher in each market. This is good news for buyers of course because the bidding wars are not as intense as last year.

Blog • Fort Collins Real Estate • Fort Collins Realtor • Fun Facts • Northern Colorado Real Estate • May 25, 2018

Top 5

by Rondi duPont

Greeley is the 5th-ranked city in the whole country for one year appreciation. This is according to the Federal Housing Finance Authority’s most recent quarterly report. They track close to 300 markets all over the U.S.

For the first time in a long time, the Fort Collins/Loveland market did not make the top 20 list- they came in ranked 76th.

Greeley’s appreciation over the last year was 12.63% and Fort Collins/Loveland’s was 7.98%.

Who was first? Boise, Idaho with 15.25%.

Who was last? Peoria, Illinois whose prices fell 1.26%.

What about other Colorado cities?

Colorado Springs – 14th @ 11.65%
Grand Junction – 16th @ 11.47%
Denver – 28th @ 10.18%
Boulder – 68th @ 8.25%

Overall, prices in the U.S. increased by an average of 6.9%. A couple of interesting side notes- a minimum of 11% was required to make the top-20, and 18 of the top 20 are in the Western U.S.

Grab a copy of our Investment Kit so you can see the simple steps to get started without stress or complication. Email us at rdupont@windermere.com and I will send you a video which clarifies the process and our Investment Checklist so you can see what to do first.

Blog • Fort Collins Real Estate • Fort Collins Realtor • Fun Facts • Northern Colorado Real Estate • January 19, 2018

Our Forecast

by Rondi duPont

Last night was our annual Market Forecast event. Thank you to the 400 clients and friends who joined us at the Marriott.

Here are our predictions for where prices are going in 2018:

Fort Collins 8%
Loveland 7%
Greeley 9%

Last year’s average price increases looked like this:

Fort Collins 7%
Loveland 8%
Greeley 11%

Low inventory will persist in many parts of the market during 2018. But, like we mentioned last night, there are many parts of the market where the market is in balance or even over-supplied with homes. All markets are local!

Our Cheif Economist, Matthew Gardner, shared several of his insights including his prediction for interest rates one year from now which is 4.4% (about 0.5% higher than today).

For buyers thinking about waiting until the market cools off, there is a tangible cost to that wait. If prices and interest rates go up as we predict, a one-year wait would equal over $200 per month for a $400,000 home.

In case you missed the event, you can read more about it here in the Loveland Reporter-Herald. They did a great recap of our presentation. CLICK HERE

Blog • Fun Facts • Gardner Report • November 5, 2017

Colorado Real Estate Market Update

by Rondi duPont

ECONOMIC OVERVIEW

Colorado added 45,800 non-agricultural jobs over the past 12 months, a growth rate of 1.8%. Within the metropolitan market areas included in this report, annual employment growth was seen in all areas other than Grand Junction (where employment was stable) with substantial growth seen in Fort Collins (4.6%) and Greeley (3.5%).

In August, the unemployment rate in the state was 2.2%, down from 3.1% a year ago. The lowest reported unemployment rates were again seen in Fort Collins at just 1.8%. The highest rate was in Grand Junction, at a very respectable 3.0%. It is still reasonable to assume that all the markets contained within this report will see above-average wage growth given the very tight labor market.

HOME SALES ACTIVITY

There were 17,140 home sales during the third quarter of 2017, which was a drop of 3.3% from the same period in 2016.
Sales rose the fastest in Boulder County, which saw sales grow 4% more than the third quarter of 2016. There were marginal increases in Weld and Larimer Counties. Sales fell in all the other counties contained within this report.
Home sales slowed due to very low levels of available inventory. Listing activity continues to trend at well below historic averages, with the total number of homes for sale in the third quarter 5.5% below the level seen a year ago.
The takeaway here is that sales growth has stalled due to the lack of homes for sale.

HOME PRICES

With substantial competition for the few available homes, prices continue to rise. Average prices were up 7.5% year-over-year to a regional average of $428,602.
Slower appreciation in home values was again seen in Boulder County, but the trend is still positive.
Appreciation was strongest in Weld County, which saw prices rise 12%.
Due to an ongoing imbalance between supply and demand, home prices will continue to appreciate at above-average rates for the foreseeable future.

DAYS ON MARKET

The average number of days it took to sell a home dropped by one day when compared to the third quarter of 2016.
Homes in all counties contained in this report took less than a month to sell. Adams County continues to stand out as it took an average of just two weeks to sell a home there.
During the third quarter, it took an average of 20 days to sell a home. This is up by 3 days compared to the second quarter of this year.
Demand remains strong, and well-positioned, well-priced homes continue to sell very quickly.

CONCLUSIONS

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

In the third quarter of 2017, I have chosen to leave the needle where it was in the second quarter. Homes are still scarce; however, there is a small slowdown in price growth and a decline in both closed and pending sales. This may suggest the market is either getting weary of all the competition or that would-be buyers are possibly putting off buying until they see more choices in the number of homes for sale.

Matthew Gardner is the Chief Economist for Windermere Real Estate, specializing in residential market analysis, commercial/industrial market analysis, financial analysis, and land use and regional economics. He is the former Principal of Gardner Economics, and has more than 30 years of professional experience both in the U.S. and U.K.

If you are in the market to buy or sell, let me know! I am happy to help!

Blog • Fort Collins Real Estate • Fort Collins Realtor • Fun Facts • October 22, 2017

Inventory is UP!

by Rondi duPont

For the past few years the hot topic in Northern Colorado real estate is inventory, or more specifically, lack of inventory.

Based on our current research, it looks like this trend is reversing.

Let’s look at the increase in inventory in our major markets versus a year ago…

Fort Collins up 28%
Loveland up 4%
Windsor up 37%
Greeley up 5%

This increase in is very good news for prospective buyers as now there are more homes to choose from.

To see an update as to what is happening in the Northern Colorado market, contact me to receive our quarterly “Scoop” report.

Blog • Fort Collins Real Estate • Fort Collins Realtor • Fun Facts • September 15, 2017

Greeley’s Major Milestone

by Rondi duPont

The Greeley market is about to hit a major milestone.

We project that in the first quarter of 2018, the average price for a single family home in Greeley will surpass $300,000.

Today the average price sits at $289,870.

Just a year ago it was $262,828.

Guess when Greeley broke the $200,000 barrier? It was only about 3 years ago in June 2014.

So what ‘s going on?

Double-digit price appreciation is being fueled by a healthy Northern Colorado economy, low interest rates and local affordability. Greeley prices can look really attractive compared to Fort Collins.

We don’t see anything on the horizon that will significantly change the trajectory of the Greeley market. It is a fundamentally a very strong place to own real estate.

For a detailed look at what ‘s happening across Colorado, request our quarterly market report called “The Gardner Report“, written by Windermere Real Estate’s Chief Economist, Matthew Gardner.