Blog • Fun Facts • February 26, 2021

Days of Inventory

by Rondi duPont

In the residential real estate industry, inventory is typically measured in months.

For example, the definition of a “sellers’ market” is when there is less than 4 months of inventory on the market. Meaning, at the current pace of sales, it would take less than four months to sell all the homes currently for sale.

Today it makes more sense to measure inventory in days instead of months.

Here is the number of residential properties currently listed for sale in each market:

Larimer County = 255
Weld County = 261
Metro Denver = 1,645

Here is the current pace of sales in each market:

Larimer County = 10/day
Weld County = 10/day
Metro Denver = 112/day

So, at the current pace of sales, this is how long it would take to sell all the residential properties currently for sale in each market:

Larimer County = 26 days
Weld County = 27 days
Metro Denver = 15 days

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.

Blog • For Buyers • Fun Facts • February 19, 2021

Double Lumber

by Rondi duPont

The price of lumber has doubled in three months.

Lumber is just one of several examples of skyrocketing materials costs which are impacting both home builders and home buyers.

The cost of lumber is now at a record-level $1000 per 1000 board feet.

These rising costs not only add to the sales price of a home but also add to the inventory shortage issue. Some large, publicly-traded home building companies are slowing production in hopes of building costs dropping over the next few months.

Many people expected lumber prices to drop, or at least level off, when the tariff on Canadian lumber changed in December.

However, because demand has been so high from both building and remodeling, lumber costs continue to climb.

Blog • For Buyers & Sellers • Fun Facts • January 29, 2021

Job Bounce

by Rondi duPont

“How could the real estate market be so strong in the middle of a pandemic?”

That is a fair question and one we hear frequently from our clients.

There are several reasons for this but two stand out.

Interest rates
Jobs

Employment has bounced back much quicker than most people expected. When COVID first showed up, the expectation was that many industries would be hit hard for a prolonged period of time.

The reality is that only a few industries were severely impacted by COVID and the rest were able to get back to a near-normal level of business relatively fast.

Additionally, what we find along the Front Range is that our ‘job bounce’ is even better than the national average.

Here are the numbers…

The COVID-peak unemployment rate for the Front Range looked like this:

Larimer County = 11.1%
Weld County = 10.1%
Metro Denver = 12.3%

Today it looks like this:

Larimer County = 5.2%
Weld County = 5.2%
Metro Denver = 6.4%

Nationally, unemployment peaked at 14.8% and now stands at 6.7%.

So, a main reason why demand is high now is because jobs have bounced back, and the bounce is even higher than the average across the country.

Blog • Fun Facts • July 10, 2020

More Homes Needed

by Rondi duPont

The market is in short supply.

More homes are needed to fulfill the need to buyer demand.

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

So, the market overall is significantly under-supplied and more homes are needed to meet demand.

Blog • Fun Facts • October 25, 2019

Most Active

by Rondi duPont

What is the most active price range in Northern Colorado? Take a guess…

$300,000 to $400,000
$400,000 to $500,000
$500,000 to $750,000
$750,000 and above

By far, the most active price range is $300,000 to $400,000 with 60% more closed transactions than the $400,000 to $500,000 range and 400% more than homes priced $750,000 and above.

However, this lower price range does not have the most inventory. The price range with the greatest selection of homes is $500,000 to $750,000.

Blog • Fun Facts • September 25, 2019

What We Notice

by Rondi duPont

Here are some observations we have about the market right now:

Inventory is up, price reductions are up, the length of time to sell a home is up
Seller concessions are more prevalent
Sellers are more willing to accept contingent offers (especially in higher price ranges)
If a home doesn’t sell within a week, it often becomes stigmatized by the market and potential buyers assume there must be something wrong with it
Homes that likely would have sold within hours a year ago, are now sitting on the market
Condition is super-important as buyers become even more picky
Pricing a property correctly on day one is paramount
Sellers who over-price their property are finding themselves chasing the market

Posted on August 2, 2019 at 11:09 am
Fort Collins | Posted in Blog, Fun Facts | Tagged blog, Friday Fun Facts, homes, inventory, market, potential buyers, Price Range, up, Windermere Real Estate

Blog • Fun Facts • August 5, 2019

What We Notice

by Rondi duPont

Here are some observations we have about the market right now:

Inventory is up, price reductions are up, the length of time to sell a home is up
Seller concessions are more prevalent
Sellers are more willing to accept contingent offers (especially in higher price ranges)
If a home doesn’t sell within a week, it often becomes stigmatized by the market and potential buyers assume there must be something wrong with it
Homes that likely would have sold within hours a year ago, are now sitting on the market
Condition is super-important as buyers become even more picky
Pricing a property correctly on day one is paramount
Sellers who over-price their property are finding themselves chasing the market

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 • May 10, 2019

Inventory vs. Sales

by Rondi duPont

A stat we find interesting is the relationship between the inventory for sale versus what is actually selling.

Specifically what we look at are price ranges.

We are curious to know if the inventory that is for sale lines up with what the buyers want.

Here’s what we notice…

In Larimer County, 23% of all the single family homes for sale are priced under $400,000. No surprise, this is a popular price range among buyers and it represents 45% of all sales.

So, the ratio is 23% of the inventory versus 45% of the sales.

In Weld County, the difference is more pronounced.

Homes under $400,000 represent 44% of the inventory and 69% of the sales.

Because the percentage of sales is higher than the percentage of inventory, properties under $400,000 will sell much quicker and are more likely to have multiple offers.

To see the latest on the market, be sure to check out a copy of the new Gardner Report, our Chief Economist’s quarterly look at Front Range real estate.

Forecast • Fort Collins Real Estate • Fort Collins Realtor • February 12, 2019

2019 Annual Forecast

by Rondi duPont

If you missed our Annual Forecast Review last month, click the link below to get a recap of the event: