Blog • Fun Facts • January 20, 2023

No Bear

by Rondi duPont

Altos Research is one of the most trusted sources of real estate market information in the United States. Each week they track every single home for sale across the Country. They analyze the pricing, supply, demand, and status changes for all listings. This amount of data allows them to expertly predict changes in the market.

Their founder, Mike Simonsen, recently said this about the current state of the real estate market:

“The most important thing to take away is that the most bearish scenarios for home prices this year are not taking place. If a buyer is sitting on the sidelines waiting for a home price crash, in general across the country that’s not happening.

“We can measure demand and the direction of future sales prices by looking at the percent of homes on the market with price reductions. This number, frankly, is lower than I would have expected given how few buyers were out in the fall. This a sign that sellers are not panicking and that smart, properly priced listings are getting their offers.”

Blog • January 6, 2023

RSVP Time

by Rondi duPont

There are four key questions that our clients have right now:1. What will values do this year and is there any chance of a housing bubble?2. When will mortgage rates drop below 6%?3. Will inflation subside this year?4. Is now a good time to buy or sell? All of these questions will be answered by our Chief Economist Matthew Gardner on February 1st at our annual Market Forecast. Fun Fact, Windermere is the only real estate brokerage in the United States with a Chief Economist. You can RSVP for Matthew’s lively and informative presentation at ColoradoForecast.com.The Windermere Forecast is at 5:30pm on Wednesday, February 1st at the Fort Collins Marriott.

Blog • For Buyers & Sellers • November 18, 2022

Bargaining Power

by Rondi duPont

Buyers (finally) have more bargaining power. For many, many months sellers had the distinct upper-hand and commanded above-list price offers. Bidding wars were the norm. Buyers had virtually no negotiating power.The numbers show that the dynamic has absolutely changed.The ratio of the final sales price to the list price is now at 98.1%.From April 2020 to July 2022, the ratio was at or higher than 100%.The peak was in April 2022 at 104.3%.In the span of just a few months, sellers have gone from multiple, over-list price offers to expecting to come off their list price.

Blog • Fun Facts • October 28, 2022

Luxury is Stronger

by Rondi duPont

The market above $1,000,000 is stronger than the market overall.This is true in both Northern Colorado and Metro Denver.The luxury market is not slowing to the same degree as the overall market.In Northern Colorado:

Closed transactions are down 41% in the overall market and 26% in the luxury market over $1,000,000
Pending transactions are down 44% overall and only 13% in the luxury market

In Metro Denver:

Closed transactions are down 40% overall and only 13% over $1,000,000
Pending transactions are down 41% overall and only 17% in the luxury market

This is likely because higher-end buyers are not as sensitive to higher interest rates and there tend to be more cash transactions in the luxury market.

Blog • Fun Facts • October 14, 2022

Halfway Check

by Rondi duPont

This is a market which is changing quickly. We are studying the numbers every day so we can be clear about where the market is heading.

Here is a check on the market halfway through October.

Compared to last October…

Available inventory is up 73% in Northern Colorado and up 112% in Metro Denver. This is significant for buyers who, for years, were challenged with limited selection.
Number of closed transactions is down 50% in Northern Colorado and 41% in Metro Denver. This reflects the fact that fewer buyers are active right now given higher interest rates.

Prices continue to be higher than last year. They are up 12% in Northern Colorado and 13% in Metro Denver. We don’t expect double-digit increases to continue, but don’t expect anything like a price crash.

Blog • For Buyers & Sellers • Fun Facts • October 7, 2022

Toward Balance

by Rondi duPont

Our market is moving toward a balanced market, but it is still unbalanced.

By definition, a balanced market has between 4 and 6 months of inventory for sale.

Today there is essentially two months. One year ago, there was only 3 weeks of inventory.

It has actually been 16 years since the market has been in balance.

So, while we still have a ways to go before it is balanced, it is moving that way.

Blog • For Buyers & Sellers • Fun Facts • September 16, 2022

Peak Price

by Rondi duPont

Here is a peek at average residential prices along the Front Range through the first half of September and how they have changed versus one year ago:

Larimer County = $663,000 up 11.6%
Weld County = $511,000 up 4.5%
Boulder County = $1,165,000 up 17%
Metro Denver = $668,000 up 9%

Blog • Fun Facts • September 9, 2022

Best Places

by Rondi duPont

U.S. News & World Report just released their ‘Best Places to Live’ rankings and two Colorado cities made the top five list.

They rank the 150 most populated metropolitan areas on criteria such as employment, quality of life, and strength of the housing market.

Here are the top 5:

1. Huntsville, AL

2. Colorado Springs, CO

3. Green Bay, WI

4. Boulder, CO

5. San Jose, CA

Blog • Fun Facts • August 26, 2022

Like 1993

by Rondi duPont

Here’s a trivia question…

The number of new, single-family homes completed in 2022 will most closely resemble which prior year?

If you guessed 1993, you are correct.

Yes, the number of homes built and completed this year is no more than the number from 30 years ago.

In 2022, there will be just over 1 million single family homes constructed in the U.S. which is the same as 1993.

This is much more than the bottom of construction in 2011 which saw just under 500,000 new homes built.

But it is also much less than the top of 2006 which had almost 1.7 million.

Limited new home construction today is preventing anything close to a glut of inventory on the market which, in turn, insulates us from any sort of major price correction.

Blog • Fun Facts • August 15, 2022

What Gives?

by Rondi duPont

Cooling Off

“I thought the market was cooling off, so why are prices still going up?”

This is a frequent question we hear from our clients.

They are understandably confused by the fact that average prices have continued to rise at a rapid pace even though sales activity is slower than what it was 6 months ago.

Bottom line, they want to know why prices are up along the Front Range anywhere from 12% to 17% compared to last year.

Firstly, we don’t expect this pace of price appreciation to continue. What we foresee is price growth going back to the long term average of 5% to 6% per year.

The reason why we still see double-digit growth comes down to two words. Supply and Demand.

Supply, while higher than a year ago, is still relatively low.

Also, demand, while lower than a year ago, is still relatively high.

The market is still healthy, just not as frantic as it was.

Properties are still selling, but bidding wars and multiple offers have mostly gone away.

Sellers remain in a strong position, but they face more competition than before.