Is Fort Collins the Next Boulder?

by Rondi duPont

The hottest question we get in Northern Colorado is this “do you think Fort Collins is the next Boulder?”

Let’s look closely at that question and start with what is similar. They are both beautiful college towns nestled against the foothills. They both have affordability issues which push real estate buyers to satellite communities (what is happening is Wellington is not unlike what happened in Louisville).

Yet there are differences at a fundamental level that will forever keep these two places very different from each other. For example, the average Household Income in Boulder is 60% higher than Fort Collins. Here is another big deal, Boulder is only half the size of Fort Collins (25 square miles versus 57 square miles). And get this, the City of Boulder owns 71 square miles of open space in and around the City.

Essentially Boulder is a small island surrounded by an ocean of open space inhabited by very high income-earners. That is why the average price of a single family home in Boulder is now over $1 million.

We put together a short video which shows you more detail about this hot question. You can watch it here:

Blog • Fort Collins Real Estate • Fort Collins Realtor • Fun Facts • January 27, 2017

Our Crystal Ball

by Rondi duPont

Last week Windermere’s Chief Economist Matthew Gardner joined us for our annual Market Forecast events in Colorado. We were pleased to host over 500 customers at two events in Denver and Fort Collins.

Here are some of the big takeaways that we shared:

Interest rates will increase to 4.6% by the end of the year
First-time buyers are back and will make up 47% of all buyers in 2017
Inventory will remain at record lows and will continue to drive up prices
Appreciation is expected to be between 9% and 7% accross our Front Range markets
Home builders will get creative in order to hit lower price points – we will see more “tiny homes” and more homes without basements

Click HERE to see Matthew Gardner’s infographic on the 2017 Forecast.

Blog • Fort Collins Real Estate • Fort Collins Realtor • Fun Facts • Uncategorized • September 18, 2016

Remember When…

by Rondi duPont

With lots of focus on the presidential election it got us thinking about the last time we were getting ready to elect the leader of the free world.

Do you remember what you were doing in 2012? Back when Barack Obama and Mitt Romney were the candidates…

Do you remember what the real estate market was like? As it turns out, there is a $100,000 difference.

Here’s a walk down memory lane to real estate in 2012.

Average price of a home in Greeley = $170,500 (almost $100K less than today)

Average price of a home in Windsor = $297,800 (also $100K less than today)

Average price of home in Fort Collins = $259,994 (yep, $100K less than today)

Here’s the deal- in every case the price increase in 4 years has been almost exactly $100,000 in each community!

This is a pretty awesome place to own real estate!

Wonder where prices will be in another four years? Contact me to get my take on the market.

Blog • Fort Collins Real Estate • Fort Collins Realtor • Fun Facts • September 9, 2016

Signs of Slowing

by Rondi duPont

It's not just temperatures cooling off as we transition from summer to fall, there are signs that the market is cooling as well.

The numbers are in and both Loveland and Fort Collins had their slowest August in several years.

Loveland had 127 single family home sales last month. This is 16% lower than August 2015 and the slowest August for Loveland since 2012.

Fort Collins had their slowest August since 2011 with 206 single family sales. This is 13% lower than last year.

This is good news for buyers who may have been reluctant to enter the multiple-offer frenzy that occurred this past spring. It looks like we are moving toward a more "normal" market.

Blog • Fort Collins Real Estate • Fort Collins Realtor • August 24, 2016

August Housing Report

by Rondi duPont

Low housing supply continues to be the headline for the current market conditions. Curious to see the full picture of what the Real Estate Market in Northern Colorado did last month? Click HERE to get the full report.