Northern Colorado Real Estate • July 28, 2017

A Shocking Truth

by Fort Collins

Here’s a stat that may shock you.

Even in this hot market, all up and down the Front Range, one out of five homes for sale have been sitting on the market for more than 100 days.

When other homes are under contract within days or even hours, 20% sit on the market waiting for a buyer.

Why are these houses not selling? What’s wrong with them?

Perhaps the answer is obvious: the roof is in disrepair, the paint is peeling, weeds have overtaken the yard, a railroad track runs behind the home, the neighbor’s property looks like a junkyard – the list goes on as to the possibilities.

The important lesson for sellers is this- it is the dynamic of price relative to condition which generates offers.

If a buyer visits a home and they are (unpleasantly) surprised by the condition, they will not write an offer. Buyers conjure up a certain expectation of the home based on the marketing and the photography they see online. When the home does not live up to that expectation, the buyer will pass and move on to other options.

Sellers only have a small number of items within their control. Oftentimes the conditions which a buyer may not like cannot be changed by a seller (road noise for instance.)

The one condition a seller can control is price. The price of a home must be aligned with its condition, or the seller risks being one of the unlucky 20% of homes languishing on the market.

We have just completed a comprehensive report about this topic.

The Insider’s Guide to Selling Your Home (without any stress or surprises) is now available for you.

It is hot off the press and you can request a copy by emailing colorado@windermere.com or by calling (970) 460-3033.

Contact us to get your copy immediately so you can see everything you need to know to sell your home in today’s market.

Northern Colorado Market Forecast Overview

by Fort Collins

Did you miss our Northern Colorado real estate market forecast or do you just want a quick refresher?

Windermere Colorado’s President, Eric Thompson, gives you a recap of what we discussed and what we predict will happen with the housing market in the upcoming years.

A few key points from Matthew Gardner, co-presenter at the forecast and Windermere Real Estate’s very own Chief Economist:

OVERVIEW

Annual employment growth in Colorado was measured at a respectable 2.2% in November and will likely finish the year having created around 55,000 new jobs. Within the metropolitan market areas included in this report, we are seeing employment growth at or above the state level and I anticipate that this will continue to be the case in 2017.

Unemployment rates continue to drop, and with rates now below three percent, all of Colorado’s metro areas are at full employment. Because of this robust level of growth—in concert with very low unemployment levels—I anticipate that we will see some fairly substantial income growth as companies look to recruit new talent and keep existing employees happy.

HOME SALE ACTIVITY

There were 14,614 home sales during the fourth quarter of 2016—up by a marginal 0.7% from the same period in 2015.
Jefferson County saw sales grow at the fastest rate over the past 12 months, with a 5.9% increase. Sales activity fell in three counties, but this was a function of short supply rather than slowing demand.
Listing activity continues to remain well below historic averages, with the total number of homes for sale in the fourth quarter 12.8% below that seen a year ago.
The key takeaway from this data is that 2017 is shaping up to be one which will still substantially favor home sellers. I do anticipate that we will see some improvement in listing activity, but it is almost a certainty that demand will exceed supply for another year.

HOME PRICES

Demand continued to exceed supply in the final three months of 2016 and this caused home prices to continue to rise. In the fourth quarter, average prices rose by 9% when compared to the fourth quarter of 2015. The average sales price across the region is now $393,969.
In many parts of the region, prices are well above historic highs and continue to trend upward. With double-digit price increases over the past year, the market remains very hot.
Annual price growth was strongest in Larimer and Jefferson Counties, where prices rose by 11.8% and 10.9% respectively.
While we will likely see some modest softening in home price growth in 2017, we can still expect a very strong market.