Fun Facts • May 26, 2023

2.5 Per Household

by Windermere Evergreen

On average, up and down the Front Range, there are 2.5 people living in each household.

This is an important number to know as you read the stories about census data and population growth.

Obviously, as population grows, housing needs also grow.

For every 100 people added to the population, there needs to be 40 more housing units to accommodate those people.

Those housing units come in all shapes and sizes of course. Some are for sale and some are for rent.

The projection is that by 2040, Northern Colorado (Larimer and Weld Counties) will have 1,000,000 people which is 300,000 more than today.

So, Northern Colorado needs a total of 120,000 more housing units or 7,000 per year.

Metro Denver will grow by 500,000 people in that same time frame and will need 200,000 more housing units or 12,000 per year.

Big population growth means big growth for housing.

Fun Facts • May 19, 2023

Months of Supply

by Windermere Evergreen

As measured by months of supply, we have a strong Seller’s market in Northern Colorado.

Both Larimer County and Weld County measure at 1.6 months of supply.

That means, at the current pace of sales, it would take only about 6 weeks to sell all of the existing homes for sale.

The measurement becomes even more interesting when we look at specific price ranges.

Under $500,000 is 1.0 months in Larimer and 0.9 in Weld.

$500,000 to $700,000 is 1.6 months in Larimer and 2.0 in Weld.

$700,000 to $1,000,000 is 2.0 months in Larimer and 3.0 in Weld.

And, over $1,000,000 is 3.6 months in Larimer and 5.3 in Weld.

We are not surprised to see higher months of inventory in higher price ranges.

It is interesting that even $1,000,000 properties have less than 6 months.

Fun Facts • May 12, 2023

More New

by Windermere Evergreen

Nationally, new home inventory as a percentage of the total inventory just hit a record high. 26% of all properties currently available for sale are brand new homes.

To put this in perspective, in 2018 it was 14%. From 2000 to 2008 it bounced between 10% and 15%

Locally, we notice even higher numbers.

In Larimer County, 29% of all inventory is brand new. In Weld County, it is a whopping 35%.

The reason why the percentage is high is not so much because of a surge in new construction, but because the amount of re-sale properties listed for sale is so low.

The Front Range has an under-supplied market, especially when it comes to re-sale properties.

Colorado Housing • Fun Facts • Property Tax • May 5, 2023

TAX ASSESSMENT TIME

by Windermere Evergreen

This week’s fun fact is that you just received your new valuation from your County Assessor and you have until June 8th to protest the value.

By statute, properties in Colorado are re-assessed every two years and owners are given their new Assessed Valuation in early May.

This year, many Colorado property owners are surprised by the amount their property’s value went up in just two years.

An important reason why many increases are substantial is based on the timing of comparable sales.

By statue, each County will only consider comparable sales used for the valuation between 7/1/2020 and 6/30/22.

This particular 24-month period happens to be one of the most active and robust real estate markets in history.

It can also be confusion that a new valuation received in May 2023 is based on comparable sales from way back in 2020, 2021 and the first half of 2022.

If you do plan to protest, comparable sales during that same 24-month period are the only ones which can be considered.

You may have questions about your new valuation and you may want to protest.

In any case, we are happy to help you.

Simply reach out to us!

Fun Facts • April 28, 2023

In Demand

by Windermere Evergreen

For evidence that the Front Range is a desirable place to live and own real estate, look no further than the average price of our real estate.

According to the National Association of Realtors, the average price of a home in the United States is $486,000.

Compare that to the average price in our major markets:

Larimer County = $662,000
Weld County = $535,000
Metro Denver = $670,000

This means prices along the Front Range are 10% to 38% higher than the National Average.

While interesting, this is not surprising given our employment growth, economic health, and quality of life in our markets versus the Nation as a whole.

Fun Facts • April 21, 2023

Not As Different

by Windermere Evergreen

Real Estate in the first part of 2023 along the Front Range is certainly different than the first part of 2022. But, in terms of number of transactions, it is not as different as one might guess.

Yes, higher interest rates and lower inventory has caused the number of transactions to be less than last year.

Generally speaking, the number of homes that have sold so far in 2023 is 20% lower than the same time period last year.

This does vary by region. Larimer County is down 15%, Weld County 29% and Metro Denver 21%.

It is important to keep in mind that the first 110 days of 2022 were unprecedented in terms of activity.

Some of the sensationalized media attention on real estate may imply that activity has come to a screeching halt, but that is simply not true.

There is still plenty of demand in the market for real estate on the Front Range.

Fun Facts • April 14, 2023

More Buyers Than Sellers

by Windermere Evergreen

The real estate market today, quite simply, has more buyers than sellers.

Let’s be clear, this is not the heated market of 2021 and 2022.

However, the market is undersupplied in most price ranges and most locations.

The National Association of Realtors just reported that the number of new listings hitting the market each week has been lower than the same time the previous year for 40 weeks in a row.

There are roughly 20% fewer new listings hitting the market each week versus last year.

The result of low inventory is homes selling quickly in many cases.

Altos Research reports that of the 73,000 listings that have come on the market so far this week Nationally, 25% of those are already under contract- selling within days, if not hours.

Bottom line, the market needs more listings.

Fun Facts • April 7, 2023

Dropping Inventory

by Windermere Evergreen

Breaking News – months of inventory has dropped significantly signifying an uptick in real estate activity along the Front Range.‘Months of inventory’ is an important statistic and something we commonly talk about in this blog. It simply measures how long it would take to sell all of the homes currently for sale at the current pace of sales.As a reminder, a market is ‘balanced’ when there is four to six months of inventory on the market.During the fast-paced market of June 2020 to June 2022, this statistic dropped to less than one month.During the market cooling of last Winter, it increased to over two months.Now, it is back to nearly one month of supply signaling a clear seller’s market.Of course, all markets are hyper-local and this number can vary based on specific price point and specific location.However, looking at ‘months of inventory’ from a big picture view, offers a good understanding of overall market conditions.Here is what months of inventory is for each Front Range market:Larimer County = 1.3 MonthsWeld County = 1.2 Months Metro Denver = 1.1 Months

Fun Facts • March 31, 2023

Picking up Steam

by Windermere Evergreen

In a market that seems abnormal to a lot of people we notice a very normal trend right now. As we head into Spring, activity is picking up.

This happens pretty much every Spring and it is happening again.

When we measure the number of properties under contract, which are set to close in the next 30 to 45 days, we see that it is significantly higher than just one month ago.

Bottom line, many more properties went under contract in March than in February. Specifically:

Larimer County is up 27% month over month.

Weld County is up 16%.

Metro Denver is up 18%.

This increase is noteworthy especially considering interest rates dropped only slightly during the month.

We expect this trend of increased sales activity to continue, as it normally does, through the Spring and into the early Summer.

Fun Facts • Uncategorized • March 24, 2023

No Middle Class

by Windermere Evergreen

“The middle class is going away” is an often-used adage when talking about society. It is also a good way to describe today’s real estate market. When it comes to properties for sale, the middle class has gone away.There is a class of listings which are priced to the market, in great condition, with world-class marketing.Then, there are those that are overpriced, not in good condition, with sub-par marketing.Properties in the first class are selling quickly, sometimes with multiple offers and sometimes even over list price.Properties in the second class are sitting on the market.Sellers, who want a successful result, must be in the first class.Buyers, who want a bargain or who want to ‘wheel and deal,’ can typically only find those opportunities in the second class.Here’s the thing. Rising interest rates have caused buyers to be more picky. Yet, low inventory has caused competition for the best properties.Both sellers and buyers need to know there is no middle class when it comes to listings.