Blog • Housing Trends • January 14, 2021

Incorporate Pantone’s Color of 2021 Into Your Home

by Rondi duPont

For the second time ever, Pantone’s Color of the Year is actually two colors: Ultimate Gray and Illuminating Yellow. Ultimate Gray is emblematic of natural elements that stand the test of time, while Illuminating Yellow is a cheerful sunshine yellow, symbolizing energy and clarity.

Here are some ways you can harness this color harmony in your home.

Brighten Your Bedroom

With a foundation of Ultimate Gray, Illuminating yellow will brighten your bedroom, livening up the space and radiating positivity. Mix and match different furniture and accent wall combinations to get the right balance of sunny yellow and solid gray.

Refresh Your Home Office

Home offices have become more important than ever. As working from home continues in 2021, your remote workspace is the perfect location to add in Pantone’s Color of the Year. We all could use some added stimulation to keep our workdays going smoothly and productively. Use Illuminating to add some colorful accents or to paint your wall, balance it out with some Ultimate Gray, and let the positivity fill your home office.

Accents In Your Living Room

Pantone’s Illuminating is a perfect accent color for your home. Incorporate this energetic sunshine yellow in your living room in the form of decorative throw pillows, blankets, and accent décor pieces like vases and curtains. Ultimate Gray is a perfect color for large furniture items and will help to balance out the tone of your living room. It provides a neutral backdrop, which gives you the freedom to decorate brightly.

Make A Statement With Your Front Door

Your front entrance plays a significant role in the first impressions of your home. What better way to use Pantone’s striking yellow than a front door makeover? Illuminating yellow presents an opportunity to bring a little sunshine to your family and guests every time they approach. Ultimate Gray as both a wall color and an accent color will help to solidify your new, strikingly optimistic front door. Accent pieces like house numbers, your mailbox, and plant pots will help create harmony between the two colors.

Read more about this year’s color trends and how you can incorporate them into your home here: 2021 Paint Color Trends

Blog • Fun Facts • Market News • January 8, 2021

Inverted

by Rondi duPont

Typically, in the Front Range Market, the number of new listings will exceed the number of closings on a monthly basis.

Meaning, the amount of properties that hit the market in a given month will be higher than the amount of properties that sell in that month.

It is normal to have the ‘inflow’ exceed the ‘outflow’ because some properties never sell for a variety of reasons.

As a result, the market remains stocked with inventory.

Starting about 5 years ago, we saw months where the number of new listings was roughly the same as the number of closings.

Then, in late 2020, these numbers inverted. Closings started to exceed new listings.

This culminated in December 2020 when we saw the most drastic difference we have ever seen.

Here are the specific numbers for December:

Larimer County = 267 New Listings / 426 Closings
Weld County = 293 New Listings / 530 Closings
Metro Denver = 3028 New Listings / 4807 Closings

What this means is the market needs new listings. This also means that your home is likely worth more than you might think. If you want to see your home’s current value, even if you aren’t thinking of selling soon, I would be happy to show you.

Blog • Fun Facts • Market News • December 4, 2020

14 Times

by Rondi duPont

For the 14th time this year, 30-year mortgage rates set a record and hit an all-time low.

Based on data just released by Freddie Mac, rates are now at 2.71%. Their weekly survey of the 30-year mortgage rate dates back to 1971.

Just one year ago rates were at 3.68%.

So, what does this mean for buyers?

Based on a $400,000 loan, current rates result in a monthly payment that would be $212 less than one year ago.

Blog • Fun Facts • November 20, 2020

Remodeling Impact

by Rondi duPont

Americans spend $400 billion per year remodeling their homes.

So, which remodeling investment gives the best return when it comes to resale value?

It should come as no surprise, especially leading up to Thanksgiving, that the best money to spend upgrading your home is in the kitchen.

It’s the place where most homeowners spend most of their waking hours.

According to the research from the National Association of Realtors, it’s where remodelers will see the biggest return on investment.

Here is the ranking of various projects in terms of the value it adds to the home:

Complete kitchen remodel
Kitchen upgrade
HVAC replacement
Owner’s suite renovation
Bathroom renovation
Finishing a basement
Adding a bathroom

Blog • Colorado Housing • Fun Facts • November 13, 2020

A Little Perspective

by Rondi duPont

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.

Blog • Fun Facts • Luxury Real Estate • November 6, 2020

The Votes Are In

by Rondi duPont

Real estate buyers made their voices heard last month and made a clear choice for… higher-end properties!

One of the interesting dynamics of our current market is the significantly- increased activity in higher price ranges.

The combination of high equity and low-interest rates is clearly causing people to move up. They are able to purchase the home that has the features they have always wanted whether it be size, finishes, or location.

The considerable equity growth that has occurred for homeowners over the last 7 years is allowing them to have sizable down payments on their ‘move up’ property plus today’s rates keep their monthly payments lower than expected.

Here are the numbers we researched which demonstrate this trend.

Compared to October of 2019, sales of properties priced over $750,000 last month were up:

176% in Larimer County
375% in Weld County
96% in Metro Denver

Properties in the $550,000 to $750,000 range also saw a large jump:

57% in Larimer County
63% in Weld County
83% in Metro Denver

This is a unique time in history for people to move up and own a home they have always dreamed about.

Blog • Fun Facts • Gardner Report • October 30, 2020

Brand New Market Report

by Rondi duPont

The latest quarterly report from our Chief Economist Matthew Gardner is now available. Here is a quote from the report with his take on the Front Range economy:

What a difference a quarter makes! Following the massive job losses Colorado experienced starting in February—the state shed over 342,000 positions between February and April—the turnaround has been palpable.

Through August, Colorado has recovered 178,000 of the jobs lost due to COVID-19, adding 107,500 jobs over the past three months, an increase of 4.2%.

All regions saw a significant number of jobs returning. The most prominent was in the Denver metropolitan service area (MSA), where 78,800 jobs returned in the quarter.

Although employment in all markets is recovering, there is still a way to go to get back to pre-pandemic employment levels.

The recovery in jobs has naturally led the unemployment rate to drop: the state is now at a respectable 6.7%, down from a peak of 12.2%.

Regionally, all areas continue to see their unemployment rates contract. I would note that the Fort Collins and Boulder MSA unemployment rates are now below 6%.

Cases of COVID-19 continue to rise, which is troubling, but rising rates have only slowed—not stopped—the economic recovery. Moreover, it has had no noticeable impact on the state’s housing market.

To receive a complimentary copy of the latest Gardner Report, simply reach out to me and I will send it to you right away.

Blog • For Buyers • Fun Facts • Luxury Real Estate • October 16, 2020

Million Plussing

by Rondi duPont

The luxury market is very active right now. Buyers in the high-end are taking advantage of low interest rates and the equity they have built in their prior homes.

Closings of million-plus single family homes are up significantly along the Front Range.

When compared to this same time last year, sales of properties in this price range are up:

87% in Metro Denver
150% in Larimer County
67% in Weld County

Windermere Real Estate in Colorado recently hosted a private online event for our clients with our very own Chief Economist Matthew Gardner. I would be happy to send you the recording if you would like.

For Buyers & Sellers • Fun Facts • Market News • October 9, 2020

Re Bubble

by Rondi duPont

The activity in the Front Range market is causing us to hear the bubble question again.

People are curious to know, based on recent growth in price appreciation, if we are in a housing bubble.

This question seems to crop up when prices go up.

While we do not believe that the current double-digit price appreciation is sustainable, we firmly believe we will not see prices crash or see any kind of a bubble bursting.

Here’s why we think that…

This past Tuesday we hosted a private online event for our clients which featured our Chief Economist Matthew Gardner.

Matthew is well-known and well-respected in the industry. He is often quoted in leading real estate publications.

He sees four reasons why there is no real estate bubble that is about to pop in Colorado.

Inventory is (incredibly) low. The number of homes for sale is down over 40% compared to last year. The market is drastically under-supplied. Based on simple economic principles of supply and demand, inventory would need to grow significantly for prices to drop.
Buyers’ credit scores are very high. The average credit score for buyers last month, for example was 759. So, by definition, average buyers today have excellent credit which means there is low risk of them walking away from their mortgage and causing a foreclosure crisis.
Buyers have high down payments. On average, buyers are putting 18% down on their purchases. This means that prices would need to fall by a considerable amount in order for the average buyer to be ‘upside down’ on their mortgage.
Owners are equity rich. Well over a third of property owners along the Front Range have more than 50% equity in their homes. This means that a severe economic downturn causing a slew of distressed properties to hit the market is highly unlikely.

Bottom line, as Matthew Gardner reminded us, what we are experiencing in the economy today is a health crisis not a housing crisis.

If you would like a recording of the private webinar I would be happy to send it to you. Just reach out and let me know.

Blog • Colorado Housing • Economics 101 • October 2, 2020

Stat of the Month

by Rondi duPont

We just completed a review of the September numbers in our market.

Here is the one number that is standing out to us – average price.

Prices are way up over last year. Here are the specific average price increases in each of our markets compared to September 2019:

Metro Denver = 13.2%
Larimer County = 16.9%
Weld County = 7.4%

This change in prices has of course generated questions from our clients.

To help our clients answer questions about prices and other real estate topics, we have set up a private online event with our Chief Economist Matthew Gardner.

The event is set for Tuesday from 9:00 to 10:00.

Simply reach out to me to receive your registration link.

Matthew will be addressing these questions as well as many others:

What effect will the election have on the economy and on real estate?
How long can interest rates stay this low?
Can prices keep appreciating at their current pace?

This online event is for the clients and friends of Windermere. If you would like to register, please contact me.