Reality Bytes - Boulder County Home Inventories

When I say I can sympathize with frustrated homeowners whose properties haven't sold yet, I really mean it, because my own home is for sale too. I have been considering a price reduction on my property, so I decided to do some research on inventory levels in my home's market area. It occurred to me that other folks in Boulder County might want this information too.

Here's what I did ... I found the number of homes sold in various price categories for the last six months, from September 2008 through March 2009. Then I compared that with the current inventory as of yesterday, April 1st 2009. With some simple math I determined the number of months worth of inventory in each price range. This gives a seller an idea of how long it may take to sell their home.

And let me tell you ... the news ain't good, at least in some price ranges. Not so great for sellers that is, but great for buyers because there is a lot to choose from. Overall the most dismal news is in the high end condo market in the City of Boulder. And not surprising is the glut of homes in county inventory over the $1.5M price point. The good news ... if you have a home between $200-500k you can expect to sell it within approximately 6 months or less. In the chart below, if you see "none sold" instead of a number of months of inventory it is because no properties sold in that price range from September 2008 through March 2009, which in itself is a significant statistic.

A couple of notes ..

• The numbers represent the number of months it would take for all of the existing inventory to sell, assuming that the rate at which buyers are purchasing remains the same and no new inventory is added.


• The existing inventory is just a snapshot in time. Inventory changes daily and usually increases in the spring and summer. But there are also more buyers during this time as well.


• Unfortunately not every home is saleable in its current condition - some properties are just too flawed to attract a buyer without deep, deep discounting.
  

If you would like a similar analysis of inventory in your neighborhood don't hesitate to contact me!

Pam Metzger

Director of Relocation

pam@coloradolandmark.com

303-302-8839 (direct)

Get Off the Fence (and INTO your new yard!)

Is the real estate market in the Boulder/Denver area tough - you bet it is, especially if you are a seller. But if you are a buyer it is a dream come true! The number of available homes in inventory is higher than ever, and mortgage rates are at historic lows. So what are you waiting for?

Afraid you won't get as much out of your current home as you hoped? That might be true, especially if you bought your home between 2000-2006. Historically homeowners have realized 25% appreciation in their homes over every five year period since 1980. Something happened between 2000 and 2006 - that appreciation skyrocketed to 89%! No wonder our ideas of value are skewed now! We saw that bubble and thought "Hey, I want a part of that." Well, guess what? That bubble has burst.

But hey, 25% appreciation every five years is not too shabby, especially as compared to the stock market. From 2000 through 2008 the Dow lost 9.8%, the S & P lost 20.6%, and the Nasdaq lost 47.8%. Let's all get off the fence, back in the yard, and be grateful for our 25% again.

What's going on in the Boulder/Broomfield/Longmont area? Well we all know that sales are down. For February 2009 the number of single family residential units sold was down more than 11% as compared to February 2008, and condo sales were down almost 8%. Average sales prices are down too - 7.3% for single family but UP almost 2% for condos! And compared to the rest of the country, that 7.3% drop isn't that bad! Areas in California, Florida, Arizona, etc... are down over 40%! Again, let's all be grateful that we live in this beautiful, clean, relatively uncrowded area and our prices are holding somewhat steady compared to the rest of the country.

How many times have you heard someone say, or said yourself, "If I knew 20 years ago what I know now, I could have bought that property for nothing. Today that property is worth a million bucks! " THIS is the time folks. If you have a home to sell, you won't make as much money on it as you would have had you sold it two years ago. But chances are you WILL make money on it, and you can pick up a replacement property for a screaming deal.

If you appreciate this information and would like more, please let me know by contacting me at pam@coloradolandmark.com. I am the Relocation Director here at Colorado Landmark. I am NOT a licensed real estate professional and I won't try to sell you anything. As the Relocation Director it is my job to assist people moving in and out of the Boulder/Longmont/Broomfield area in any way that I can. I stay abreast of the current trends and statistics and can help you dig up information, analyze your current situation, and make decisions about where you want to go.

Pam Metzger

Director of Relocation

Colorado Landmark, Realtors

pam@coloradolandmark.com