Halfway Check

/in , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , /by

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.

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

Top Three

/in , , , , , , , , , , /by

Here are the top three reasons why prices are unlikely to crash even though the market has cooled off:

  1. Inventory – Ultimately, prices are driven by supply and demand.  Although supply has increased, it still remains relatively low with less than two months’ supply in most areas.
  2. New Homes – New home construction still lags behind the demand stemming from population growth.  New home starts today are roughly 2/3 of what they were in 2005.
  3. Credit – Home buyers today are highly qualified which protects the market from a glut of ‘distressed’ properties hitting the market in an economic downturn.  The average credit score of buyers is now 776 which, by definition, is ‘excellent.’   Only 2% of loans today are given to buyers with scores under 640 whereas in 2001 25% of buyers had that low of a score.

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

Top Three

/in , , , , , , , , , , /by

Here are the top three reasons why prices are unlikely to crash even though the market has cooled off:

  1. Inventory – Ultimately, prices are driven by supply and demand.  Although supply has increased, it still remains relatively low with less than two months’ supply in most areas.
  2. New Homes – New home construction still lags behind the demand stemming from population growth.  New home starts today are roughly 2/3 of what they were in 2005.
  3. Credit – Home buyers today are highly qualified which protects the market from a glut of ‘distressed’ properties hitting the market in an economic downturn.  The average credit score of buyers is now 776 which, by definition, is ‘excellent.’   Only 2% of loans today are given to buyers with scores under 640 whereas in 2001 25% of buyers had that low of a score.

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

Colorado Bound

/in , , , , , , , /by

The 2020 Census confirms what we already know – Colorado is popular!

It turns out that many people have been Colorado-bound over the last 10 years.

Our state has grown by the equivalent of one Mile High Stadium’s-worth of people each year over the last 10 years.

Here are the numbers:

  • 2020 population is 5.77 million
  • 10-year population increase is 744,000
  • 10-year percentage increase is 14.8%
  • Colorado ranks 21st among all states for population
  • Only 5 states had a larger percentage increase over the last 10 years (Idaho, North Dakota, Nevada, Texas & Utah)

Only 8 states had a larger increase in population over the last 10 years (Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, New York, North Carolina, Texas & Washington

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

Colorado Bound

/in , , , , , , , /by

The 2020 Census confirms what we already know – Colorado is popular!

It turns out that many people have been Colorado-bound over the last 10 years.

Our state has grown by the equivalent of one Mile High Stadium’s-worth of people each year over the last 10 years.

Here are the numbers:

  • 2020 population is 5.77 million
  • 10-year population increase is 744,000
  • 10-year percentage increase is 14.8%
  • Colorado ranks 21st among all states for population
  • Only 5 states had a larger percentage increase over the last 10 years (Idaho, North Dakota, Nevada, Texas & Utah)

Only 8 states had a larger increase in population over the last 10 years (Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, New York, North Carolina, Texas & Washington

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

96 Weeks

/in , , , , , , , , , /by

Mortgage rates have been below 4% for 96 weeks in a row.

 

Today, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate sits at 3.17%.

 

This is 0.5% lower than January and exactly 1.0% lower than March 2020.

 

Rates recently ended a 31-week streak of being under 3%.

 

Over the last 5 years, rates have averaged 3.8%.

 

Most experts believe that rates will continue to creep higher as the year goes on.

The post 96 Weeks appeared first on Fort Collins Real Estate | Fort Collins Homes for Sale & Property Search.

Compound Effect

/in , , , , , , , , , , , , /by

If you have driven on I-25 lately you may have noticed that the Front Range is a popular place.

The projections show that it will only get more popular in the future.

Today, 4.8 million people live along the Front Range from Fort Collins down to Pueblo.

In 2030, just 11 short years from now, 5.7 million people will live here. Yes, that’s almost 1 million more than today.

This is all according to the Colorado State Demographers Office.

While this seems like a big increase, keep in mind that this assumes that population growth occurs at a fairly modest 1.7% per year.

It seems that our state will continue to grow and there will continue to be a demand for housing.

 

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

Where Are The Sales?

/in , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , /by

 

 

A high-level look at the Northern Colorado region shows that the number of residential sales is down 5.4% in Larimer County and up 4.7% in Weld County. This is simply comparing the number of closings from June 2018 to June 2019 versus June 2017 to June 2018.

 

The high-level look doesn’t tell the whole story. It get’s more interesting when we look at individual Northern Colorado cities and towns:

• Fort Collins = -8.8%
• Loveland = -5.7%
• Greeley = +11.7%
• Windsor = +16%
• Wellington = -16.9%
• Timnath = +44.1%
• Severance = +20.4%
• Johnstown = -18.7%
• Berthoud = +18.1%
• Evans = -14.7%

 

So, what can we learn from this? The areas with increased sales are where there is an abundance of new construction (Timnath and Severance for example).

The areas with decreased sales don’t have an abundance of new construction (Fort Collins for example).

The exceptions to this would be Wellington and Johnstown. It appears that there is price sensitivity to the new construction product now being built in these areas. Given rising costs, builders are challenged to deliver a product under $350,000 in these places.

For instance, in Wellington, between June 2017 and June 2018 there were 137 sales of new homes priced under $350,000. Today there are only 6 new homes on the market at that price point.

The post Where Are The Sales? appeared first on Fort Collins Real Estate | Fort Collins Homes for Sale & Property Search.

The Question of the Day

/in , , , , , , , , , , , , , /by

As we are helping people understand their new property assessments and putting together information so that they may protest their new valuation, here is the most common question we hear…

Did my property really go up that much?

Here are some stats that will help you answer that question.

First, you need to know that property assessments are done by the County every two years. So, as you look at how much your property increased in value according to the County, keep in mind that this increase is over a two-year period.

 

Next, it will help you to know how much our markets increased, on average, over the last two years. This data comes from our most trusted source, the Federal Housing Finance Authority.

Two Year Appreciation:

• Metro Denver = 18.65%
• Larimer County = 17.60%
• Weld County = 22.31%
• Boulder County = 16.28%

If you have questions about your new valuation or how to protest your property’s assessment, we would be happy to help. Just reach out and let us know.

 

The post The Question of the Day appeared first on Fort Collins Real Estate | Fort Collins Homes for Sale & Property Search.

83 Miles Per Hour

/in , , , , , , , , , , , /by

 

Pretend you have been driving on the Interstate at 100 miles per hour. 

Also, pretend you have been doing that for a long time.

Now pretend you slow down to 83 miles per hour.

How would that feel?

It would probably feel slow, right?

83 miles per hour is a 17% decrease from 100. It may feel slow, but it’s still pretty fast.

How does this relate to real estate?

Well, the market has been moving fast for a long time.

It’s been going 100 miles per hour for at least two years (some would argue even longer).

We’ve recently seen a 17% change in terms of number of transactions that are occurring.

There were 17% fewer sales in October 2018 versus October 2017 in Metro Denver.

It feels slow because we’ve been driving so fast for so long. But, our market is still moving.

For example, prices are still up. So, remember, that it’s all relative.

The post 83 Miles Per Hour appeared first on Fort Collins Real Estate | Fort Collins Homes for Sale & Property Search.