Bubble Talk

A hot topic of conversation these days is the prospect of another real estate bubble.  People wonder if prices can continue at their current pace and some fear a repeat of 2008.

 

Because we get asked about this topic so often from our clients, we thought it would make sense to ask our in-house expert, Matthew Gardner.

 

Matthew is our Chief Economist and was our Keynote Speaker at the Windermere Annual Market Forecast.

 

During the Forecast presentation, he discussed the bubble concerns and laid out his reasons why he sees no potential of prices bursting along the Front Range.

 

Quite the opposite actually, he sees that prices will continue to go up, but just not as fast as they have been.

 

His reasons for no bubble bursting are as follows:

  • Record-low inventory – prices cannot crash without a glut of supply on the market
  • Highly-qualified buyers – lending guidelines are more stringent today than they have been in our lifetime
  • Growing jobs – job growth in Colorado is projected to far outpace the national average this coming year

So, we project a healthy real estate market in 2021.

To see a replay of the Forecast presentation, simply reach out to us, we would be happy to send you the recording.

blowing bubbles

At Windermere Real Estate we are taking Safer at Home and Social Distancing very seriously.  Our people are following our Safe Showings protocol, staying connected to their clients, and providing help wherever needed.

The post Bubble Talk appeared first on Fort Collins Real Estate | Fort Collins Homes for Sale & Property Search.

Bubble Talk

A hot topic of conversation these days is the prospect of another real estate bubble.  People wonder if prices can continue at their current pace and some fear a repeat of 2008.

 

Because we get asked about this topic so often from our clients, we thought it would make sense to ask our in-house expert, Matthew Gardner.

 

Matthew is our Chief Economist and was our Keynote Speaker at the Windermere Annual Market Forecast.

 

During the Forecast presentation, he discussed the bubble concerns and laid out his reasons why he sees no potential of prices bursting along the Front Range.

 

Quite the opposite actually, he sees that prices will continue to go up, but just not as fast as they have been.

 

His reasons for no bubble bursting are as follows:

  • Record-low inventory – prices cannot crash without a glut of supply on the market
  • Highly-qualified buyers – lending guidelines are more stringent today than they have been in our lifetime
  • Growing jobs – job growth in Colorado is projected to far outpace the national average this coming year

So, we project a healthy real estate market in 2021.

To see a replay of the Forecast presentation, simply reach out to us, we would be happy to send you the recording.

blowing bubbles

At Windermere Real Estate we are taking Safer at Home and Social Distancing very seriously.  Our people are following our Safe Showings protocol, staying connected to their clients, and providing help wherever needed.

The post Bubble Talk appeared first on Fort Collins Real Estate | Fort Collins Homes for Sale & Property Search.

Supporting Our Communities

Wildfire

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our heart goes out to all the people affected by the wildfires along the Front Range and in our mountain communities.

We are also so appreciative of the brave men and women who are helping protect people and property from the fires.

We want to help and we want to ask for your help.

Through the Windermere Foundation we have set up a fund to benefit the Northern Colorado Chapter of the Red Cross and the Wildland Firefighters Foundation.

The Red Cross is of course helping people displaced by the fires.  The Wildland Firefighters Foundation helps firefighters and their families.

The $10,000 fund will match, dollar-for-dollar, any contribution made by our associates, clients and friends.

Please help us reach our goal of contributing $20,000 to these two worthy places.

To contribute simply click HERE.

Thank you for your support!

The post Supporting Our Communities appeared first on Fort Collins Real Estate | Fort Collins Homes for Sale & Property Search.

Pendings are Popping

Temperatures may be cooling off but the Front Range real estate market is not.

 

Typically the market starts to slow down a bit in the Fall after a hot Spring and Summer.

 

Not this year.

 

The indicator we use to measure future closed sales is current pending sales.

 

Simply, we look at the number of properties under contract and scheduled to close versus the same time last year.

 

Current pending sales are way up along the Front Range when measured against 2019:

 

Metro Denver up 34.1%

Larimer County up 48.6%

Weld County up 50.2%

Based on these numbers, closed sales numbers over the next 60 days will be very strong.

bubbles

At Windermere Real Estate we are taking Safer at Home and Social Distancing very seriously.  Our people are following our Safe Showings protocol, staying connected to their clients, and providing help wherever needed.

The post Pendings are Popping appeared first on Fort Collins Real Estate | Fort Collins Homes for Sale & Property Search.

New Home Surge

Sales of new homes have jumped to their highest levels in 14 years.

 

The annualized rate of single-family new construction homes is now at 901,000 according to the new Census Bureau report.

 

This means that across the U.S., at the current pace of sales, there will be almost 1,000,000 new homes built and sold over the next 12 months.

 

This pace is 36% higher than one year ago and the highest it has been since the end of 2006.

 

Given the low inventory levels of previously-owned homes that most of the Country is experiencing, this uptick in new home activity is welcome news.

new home

At Windermere Real Estate we are taking Safer at Home and Social Distancing very seriously.  Our people are following our Safe Showings protocol, staying connected to their clients, and providing help wherever needed.

The post New Home Surge appeared first on Fort Collins Real Estate | Fort Collins Homes for Sale & Property Search.

Housing Math

It’s interesting to look at what population growth means for housing.

 

On average, along the Front Range, 2.5 people live in each housing unit.

 

What that means is 4 housing units are needed for every 10 people who live here.

 

So, for every 1000 new people moving to our area, 400 new housing units are required.

 

The population of Metro Denver is just under 3,000,000 and the population of Northern Colorado is just over 650,000.

 

Assuming the Front Range grows in population at 2% per year, that means 60,000 new people in Metro Denver and 13,000 new people in Northern Colorado each year.

 

To house those people, 24,000 new housing units need to be built per year in Metro Denver and 5,200 in Northern Colorado.

At Windermere Real Estate we are taking Safer at Home and Social Distancing very seriously.  Our people are following our Safe Showings protocol, staying connected to their clients, and providing help wherever needed

The post Housing Math appeared first on Fort Collins Real Estate | Fort Collins Homes for Sale & Property Search.

Caught Up

We’ve been waiting for June to catch up.  It finally happened (almost).

 

Back in April, real estate activity was significantly limited and the showing of property was restricted which caused the number of closed properties in May and early June to be much lower than last year.

 

Bottom line, fewer properties going under contract in April caused fewer closings 30 to 45 days later.

 

Closed properties in May were down compared to 2019 by 44% in Northern Colorado and 43% in Metro Denver.

 

Then activity jumped significantly in May.  The number of properties going under contract was way up compared to last year.

 

We’ve been wondering when we would see this sales activity reflected in the number of closed properties.

 

Well, it finally happened (almost).

 

The number of closings so far in June compared to the same time period through June of 2019 is only down 1.8% in Northern Colorado and 1.6% in Metro Denver.

 

In both markets, there are only a handful of closings separating activity in June 2020 versus June 2019.

 

By the end of the month, when all the transactions are tallied up, we expect that June of this year will out pace June of last year in terms of number of transactions.

 

This is significant not only because of COVID-19, but also because of the reduced inventory compared to last year.  Quite simply, there are fewer homes to buy.

 

All of this speaks to the health and resiliency of the Front Range market.

At Windermere Real Estate we are taking Safer at Home and Social Distancing very seriously.  Our people are following our Safe Showings protocol, staying connected to their clients, and providing help wherever needed

The post Caught Up appeared first on Fort Collins Real Estate | Fort Collins Homes for Sale & Property Search.

Tight Inventory

The numbers that we find to be most interesting right now are all related to inventory.

 

Long story short, inventory is tight.

 

It was already tight pre-coronavirus and now it’s even tighter.

 

Here are the numbers.

 

Active properties for sale versus one year ago are down:

  • 11% in Larimer County
  • 20% in Weld County
  • 26% in Metro Denver

 

This low inventory is one of several reasons that prices are generally still up across the Front Range.

 

At Windermere Real Estate we are taking Safer at Home and Social Distancing very seriously.  Our people are following our Safe Showings protocol, staying connected to their clients, and providing help wherever needed

The post Tight Inventory appeared first on Fort Collins Real Estate | Fort Collins Homes for Sale & Property Search.

Special Event

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On Wednesday April 22nd you are invited to a special online event with Windermere’s Chief Economist Matthew Gardner.

He will be giving his insights into the U.S. economy and what that means for real estate along the Front Range of Colorado.

You will hear the answers to the biggest questions we are hearing from clients now like “do you think housing prices will crash?”

This event is exclusively for clients and friends of Windermere Real Estate. To receive the registration link simply reply to this email or reach out to your Windermere real estate broker.

Many of you have heard Matthew speak at our Market Forecast events we hold each year in January. He is famous for making complex economic dynamics very simple to understand.

You will get useful and valuable information which will give you clarity about where the market is headed and when we can expect the economy to improve.

For example Matthew predicts unemployment to hit 15% by the end of June, but then to improve to 8% by year-end and 6% by this time next year.

Again, if you would like the link just reply to this email or reach out to your Windermere broker.

At Windermere Real Estate we are taking Shelter in Place and Social Distancing very seriously.  Our people are working at home, staying connected to their clients, and providing help wherever needed.

The post Special Event appeared first on Fort Collins Real Estate | Fort Collins Homes for Sale & Property Search.

Millennial Buyers

Millennials often get a bad rap.  One of the myths about Millennials is that they don’t own homes and will be renters forever.

Not true!  Especially on the Front Range of Colorado.

Based on research by our very own Chief Economist, Matthew Gardner, Millennials make up a significant percentage of all home buyers in Metro Denver and Colorado.

In Metro Denver, 50% of all buyers last year were in the Millennial demographic.

In Northern Colorado, the number is 41%.

It turns out that Millennials, as they move into their mid to late 30’s, see the value of home ownership and are at the point in their lives where it makes sense to own instead of rent.

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