Real Estate Market Changes: Year-To-Date May, 2011

Single Family Home Sales

                                                           % Change                                     % Change

                    from ’10                                        from ‘09

            Boulder:                                        -17%                                            +31%

            Broomfield:                                   -19%                                               -3%

      Erie:                                              -17%                                            +18%

            Lafayette:                                      -13%                                            +24%

            Longmont:                                     -22%                                            -10%

            Louisville:                                      -15%                                             +3%

      Superior:                                       +8%                                              +8%

            Mountains:                                  -21%                                              +13%

            Plains:                                          +5%                                               +57%

Summary:  Home sales year-to-date May are generally down from last year but up from 2009.

Average Sales Price ’05-’10 + Year-To-Date May’11

                                                           % Change                                            % Change

                   from ’10                                              from ‘09

            Boulder:                                      +3%                                                     +4%    

            Broomfield:                                -14%                                                    -8%

            Erie:                                            -8%                                                      -9%

            Lafayette:                                   +6%                                                     +9%

            Longmont:                                  -6%                                                      -2%

            Louisville:                                   -9%                                                      +3%

            Superior:                                   +2%                                                     +1%

            Mountains:                                +3%                                                     -3%

            Plains:                                       +1%                                                     +2%

Summary:  Average home prices are up in Boulder, Lafayette, Superior and on the Plains and somewhat up in Louisville and in the mountains.

Average Year-To-Date May Inventory

                                                       % Change                                            % Change

                from ’10                                             from ‘09

            Boulder:                                   -3%                                                      -12%

            Broomfield:                               +7%                                                     -11%   

            Erie:                                         -14%                                                    -19%

            Lafayette:                                 -2%                                                      +2%

            Longmont:                                -8%                                                      -4%

            Louisville:                                 -18%                                                    -5%

            Superior:                                 +16%                                                   -9%

            Mountains:                              -14%                                                    -13%

            Plains:                                     -6%                                                      -11%

Summary:  Inventories are generally down everywhere.

Average Year-To-Date May Months of Inventory

                                                        % Change                                            % Change

                from ’10                                              from ‘09

            Boulder:                                   +17%                                                   -33%   

            Broomfield:                              +33%                                                   -8%

            Erie:                                         +3%                                                     -32%

            Lafayette:                                 +17%                                                   -18%

            Longmont:                                +18%                                                   +6%

            Louisville:                                  -4%                                                      -8%

            Superior:                                   +8%                                                     -16%

            Mountains:                                +8%                                                     -23%

            Plains:                                       -10%                                                    -43%

Summary:  Months of Inventory (absorption rate) are generally down from ’09 and up from ’10.

Average Days to Contract Year-To-Date May

                                                        % Change                                            % Change

                from ’10                                             from ‘09

            Boulder:                                  +11%                                                   +7%

            Broomfield:                             +28%                                                   -8%     

            Erie:                                         -9%                                                      +21%

            Lafayette:                                +33%                                                   +26%

            Longmont:                                 +9%                                                     +3%

            Louisville:                                 +17%                                                   -3%

            Superior:                                +63%                                                   +125%

            Mountains:                             -10%                                                    -12%

            Plains:                                     0%                                                        -10%

Summary:  Average Days to Contract are up.

Year-To-Date May Boulder, Broomfield County Home Sales Charts & Statisitics

How to Sell Your Home in a Buyer's Market

Months of inventory (inventory or listings divided by sales), also known as the "absorption rate", is used to determine if its a buyer's market (typically more than 5 or 6 months of inventory) or a seller's market (less than 5 or 6 months).

It's generally a buyer's market today, though not everywhere in Boulder and Broomfield Counties and not in all price ranges, so you have to check the segment that applies to your home.

Because of that competition it's a "beauty contest" out there and the home has to be presented (as a product or commodity) to the market in it's very best light.

Also, becasue of low interest rates, buyers are going to prefer having those desirable upgrades (think new kitchens and baths) included in the price of the home rather than making the improvements after they buy with non-mortgage funds.

For a detailed and frank analysis of yoru situation call Dagmar at 720-352-8285.

Boulder, CO area Plains April, 2011 Year-To-Date Home Real Estate Highlights

Plains sales year-to-date is up for the second year in a row.  Average price is up 7% from last year and 10% from ’05.  Average days to contract is steady just over 100.  Inventory shot up 2 years ago and has just inched down for the second year. Months of inventory has dropped in half from where it was in ’09 yet still is at over 13.  5 to 6 months of inventory mark the dividing line between a buyer’s and a seller’s market.  More than 5/6 months is a buyer’s market, less is a seller’s.

For details and a search or study tailored to your needs and future call Dagmar Alford at 720-35-8285.

Boulder April, 2011 Year-To-Date Home Real Estate Highlights

Home sales trail 2010 by 21% but are ahead of ’09 so far.  Average sales price is up 4% over last year and 12% over ‘05’s average.  It’s taking on average longer (100 days) to sell homes.  Inventory (listings) are down for this time of year for the second year in a row while its 11 months of inventory is up over last year.  This is more than double where it was 6 years ago.  5 to 6 months of inventory mark the dividing line between a buyer’s and a seller’s market.  More than 5/6 months is a buyer’s market, less is a seller’s.

For details and a search or study tailored to your needs and future call Dagmar Alford at 720-35-8285.

Broomfield April, 2011 Year-To-Date Home Real Estate Highlights

Sales are down 14% from last year yet Broomfield has not seen the precipitous drop other areas have.  Average sales price  -  so far  -  is off  15% from 2010, but only down 2% from where it was in ’05 after peaking in ’08.  Days to contract are up over last year, as is inventory after declining for 3 years in a row.  Due to increased sales and relatively steady listings months of inventory in April dropped to 4.7, a seller’s market!  5 to 6 months of inventory mark the dividing line between a buyer’s and a seller’s market.  More than 5/6 months is a buyer’s market, less is a seller’s.

For details and a search or study tailored to your needs and future call Dagmar Alford at 720-35-8285.

Boulder, CO Area Mountains April, 2011 Year-To-Date Home Real Estate Highlights

Mountain sales are off 58% from where they were 6 years ago and down again this year but the average sales price is up 9% this year and 8% over ’05 levels.  Days to contract dipped to an area low of 78 in April.  Inventory contracted 15% from last year and 20% from ’05 levels.  Months of inventory in the mountains has always been high, is up in 2011, now at 23, and is almost double from ’05.  5 to 6 months of inventory mark the dividing line between a buyer’s and a seller’s market.  More than 5/6 months is a buyer’s market, less is a seller’s.

For details and a search or study tailored to your needs and future call Dagmar Alford at 720-35-8285.

Existing-Home Sales Rise

http://realtytimes.com/rtpages/20110511_rise.htm 

by Carla Hill, Reatly Times

Existing-home sales were on the rise during the first quarter of 2011, according to the National Association of Realtors® (NAR).

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, reports, "The rising sales trend in nearly all states is a part of the healing process to clear off inventory. Sales need to rise before prices can firm up."

Regionally, sales increases were seen across the board. The West experienced the biggest rise, jumping 13.5 percent. This took the existing-home sales rate to 2.1 percent above year ago levels.

Following the West's lead was the South, which increased 8.5 percent. The Midwest had the third strongest rise, increasing 7.9 percent, but it was still down 5.0 percent down from last year. And increasing just 0.8 percent was the Northeast, which was down 7.3 percent from the first quarter of 2010.

NAR President Ron Phipps, broker-president of Phipps Realty in Warwick, R.I., feels distressed property sales could be a key to recovery. "The good news is foreclosures, which account for two-thirds of all distressed homes sold, are selling very quickly," he said. "Short sales still take far too long to get lender approval, but it appears the inventory of distressed property is peaking and will be gradually declining next year. This means the market should slowly return to balance. We are encouraged that recent home buyers are having exceptionally low default rates."

Median home prices also saw activity in the first quarter. All regions saw price declines, ranging from down 0.6 percent in the South to down 5.3 percent in the Midwest. This is good news for buyers searching for a deal, but unwelcome news for homeowners trying to hold onto equity.

In terms of pricing, the median existing single-family home price is varied. Yun says that "the reading of quarterly price data can be volatile because they are based on the types of homes that are sold during the quarter. When buyers principally purchase distressed properties in a given market, the recorded prices will be very low, which is what we're seeing now in much of the country." He says, "Annual price data provides a better guide about the direction of the market in those areas." Currently we are seeing a range of prices across the nation.

• Northeast: $234,000
• Midwest: $124,000
• South: $141,800
• West: $197,400

Yun notes that "the biggest sales increase has been in the lower price ranges, which are popular with investors and cash buyers. The preponderance of sales activity at the lower end is bringing down the median price, so what we're seeing is the result of a change in the composition of home sales."





Published: May 11, 2011

Louisville, CO April, 2011 Year-To-Date Home Real Estate Highlights

Louisville sales also were off from 2010 but ahead of ’09.  Average sales price, off from 2010, is up over ’09 and 14% ahead of where it was in ’05.  Average days to contract dropped to 42 in April!  Inventory is off 19% from last year and 10% below where it was in ’05.  Months of inventory was 5.9 in April.  5 to 6 months of inventory mark the dividing line between a buyer’s and a seller’s market.  More than 5/6 months is a buyer’s market, less is a seller’s.

For details and a search or study tailored to your needs and future call Dagmar Alford at 720-35-8285.

Longmont, CO April, 2011 Year-To-Date Home Real Estate Highlights

Longmont’s year-to-date sales in 2010 were boosted by the tax credit and now they’re off again from ’09.  Average price declined 7% from a year ago and is down 13% from 6 years ago.  Days to contract are steady in the 80’s.  Inventory is down for the fourth time in five years and down 38% from 6 years ago.  Months of inventory held steady in April at 8.4.  5 to 6 months of inventory mark the dividing line between a buyer’s and a seller’s market.  More than 5/6 months is a buyer’s market, less is a seller’s.

For details and a search or study tailored to your needs and future call Dagmar Alford at 720-35-8285.

Market Conditions Summary for Boulder, Colorado

Market Conditions Summary for Boulder, Colorado

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Reported by Brian Delaney as of 11/2/2010:

Homes continue to sell when priced correctly. Still demand for Boulder, CO location, weather and lifestyle. Lots of Buyer... MORE->

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Average Current Market Rating: 3    (1 rating) 1 2 3 4 5 Buyer's Market Seller's Market

Average Current Price Trend: 2    (1 rating) 1 2 3 4 5 Falling

Appealing Boulder County Assessor Notice of Valuation

You only have until June 1st to appeal your Notice of Valuation from the Boulder County Assessor.

You'll need good, applicable comparable sales from the two year period ending June 30, 2010 that focus on finished square feet above grade, although all features of the house are (theorietically) considered.  Nonetheless the Assessor's office is hard pressed to value all properties in the county.  In some instances it seems as though the comps picked computer generated.

Call Dagmar at 720-352-8285 for insight into your situation.

Foreclosure filings, sales down in April

By Boulder County Business Report Staff

May 18, 2011 --

DENVER - Both foreclosure filings and foreclosure sales at auction in Colorado's metropolitan counties fell in April compared to the same month in 2010, according to a report by the Colorado Division of Housing.

The report said April was the fifth-consecutive month in which both foreclosure filings and sales were down when compared to the same month a year earlier. Foreclosure filings were down by 40.1 percent while foreclosure sales at auction were down by 11.2 percent.

Foreclosure filings hit a 31-month low in March, the report said, but have risen slightly since.

Through April, foreclosure filings are down 33.2 percent compared to the same four-month period in 2010 and foreclosure sales at auction are down by 18 percent.

"It's now been seven months since new foreclosure filings increased year over year, and three of those months showed drops of 30 percent or more," said Ryan McMaken, Division of Housing spokesman. "The filings news is great, but there are still clearly many pending foreclosures left to deal with."

Home Sellers Step Up as Last-Resort Lender to Poor-Credit Buyers

By Prashant Gopal - May 10, 2011 10:00 PM MT   Bloomberg News

Financing provided by home sellers, popular in the 1980s when mortgage rates reached 18 percent, is making a comeback in markets such as Michigan that have been hit hard by foreclosures. Photographer: Mark Elias/Bloomberg

Sue and Douglas Reed knew no bank would give them a mortgage -- not with a bankruptcy and two foreclosures fresh in their credit history.

They turned to Hilarie Walters, whose childhood home on 15 acres (6 hectares) in Marshall, Michigan, had been on the market since 2009. The unemployed single mother of twins agreed in December to sell the property to the Reeds for $105,000. She also consented to a risky payment plan that in effect makes her the couple’s mortgage lender.

Financing provided by home sellers, popular in the 1980s when mortgage rates reached 18 percent, is making a comeback in markets such as Michigan that have been hit hard by foreclosures and where tightening lending standards and years of economic distress have drained the pool of creditworthy buyers. For a small but growing number of people, it’s the only way to get a deal done.

“This is the American dream, and we’re going for it no matter what,” said Sue Reed, 56, who sells snacks from a trailer at estate auctions and going-out-of-business sales. “We’ll either make it or it will break us.”

Michigan, where unemployment is 10.3 percent, leads the nation with about 1,600 home listings advertising seller financing, according to Trulia Inc., a San Francisco-based real estate information company. It is followed by Florida, Ohio, California, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Texas.

Last year, 52,991 U.S. homes were purchased with various forms of owner financing, up 56 percent from 2008, said Realtors Property Resource LLC, a subsidiary of the Chicago-based National Association of Realtors, citing data collected from county-record offices. Such deals accounted for 1.5 percent of all transactions in 2010.

Coping Mechanism

“Anytime the market is in this much trouble, people have to find ways to get it to function,” said Dennis Capozza, a professor of finance at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Capozza has direct experience with seller financing: He purchased a friend’s foreclosed home a couple years ago and allowed him to buy it back in installments.

Home sales, weighed down by a 9 percent national jobless rate and tight credit, have languished even as 30-year mortgage rates remain below 5 percent. Loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration carried an average FICO score of 703 in March, compared with 629 two years earlier, highlighting that lenders are requiring stronger credit histories. FICO scores range from 300, the least creditworthy, to 850 for the best borrowers.

“The market is locked up because there’s no financing,” said Gordon Albrecht, executive vice president of FCI Lender Services Inc., an Anaheim Hills, California-based firm that oversees mortgages for private investors. “This is moving houses.”

Land Contracts

The Reeds are using an increasingly popular form of seller financing known as a land contract, also called a contract for deed, in which the buyer takes immediate possession of the house and the seller holds legal title until the debt is paid. Land contracts were used in 319 sales in Michigan in the first quarter, or 2.4 percent of the total, compared with 252 sales, or 1.2 percent, a year earlier, according to Realcomp II Ltd., a Farmington Hills, Michigan, multiple-listing service operator. One land contract was recorded in the first quarter of 2005.

Down payments, interest rates and other terms of land contracts are subject to negotiation. There is often a balloon payment in five or 10 years, at which time the buyer must find a way to pay back the seller or risk losing the house and the money already put in.

$565 A Month

The Reeds put down $25,000 and make monthly payments of $565, reflecting a 7 percent interest rate amortized over 30 years, with the full balance due in five years. Walters, who lost her job as an automobile engineer in 2008, the same year she inherited the ranch, hopes the Reeds can pay off the loan sooner.

“They’re paying me interest every month, but I’d rather have the money and be done with it,” said Walters, who is using their payments to cover the mortgage on her Battle Creek, Michigan, residence. “It does make me nervous.”

The Reeds, who earn a combined $20,000 a year, fell behind on mortgage payments for two homes they had borrowed against after inheriting them from Douglas’s father, and went into bankruptcy in 2007. They later spent $10,000 to make their daughter’s home wheelchair accessible after she was severely injured in a 2009 car crash, Sue Reed said.

They’re hoping for a settlement from a lawsuit stemming from the accident to make the balloon payment to Walters, she said. Their daughter, 33, died last year from her injuries.

“In five years we hope to get everything straightened out enough to have a good credit rating again,” Sue Reed said.

Hope, Opportunity

The risks in such deals are significant for both buyer and seller, said Jason P. Hoffman, a Faribault, Minnesota, real estate attorney, who calls the participants “hope-ortunists.”

“Each of them is seeking an advantage in an otherwise difficult situation, and they’re hoping everything will work out as envisioned,” Hoffman said. “It’s an act of faith.”

The riskiest gambles involve sellers who -- unlike Walters -- have bank loans on the properties, Hoffman said.

Most mortgages contain a “due on sale clause,” meaning the lender can call the loan if the home is transferred. While community banks sometimes grant exceptions, many homeowners take their chances, hoping lenders won’t ask questions as long as the payments stream in, he said.

A buyer in this arrangement has little protection if the seller goes into bankruptcy or loses the property to foreclosure, Hoffman said. The seller’s risk is that the borrower won’t qualify for a bank mortgage when the land contract comes due, he said. And a continuing drop in home prices can imperil the deal for both sides, he said.

Hand Holding

Rafik Moore, an investor in Minneapolis who offers seller financing for his properties, said he seeks to help buyers rebuild their credit. He counsels them to start making payments on time and open secured credit-card accounts.

“I hold their hand until they’re able to finance me out,” Moore said. “The problem is this is someone who lost their home, never understood credit to begin with and has always been struggling.”

Not all buyers are broke.

Michael Fazio, broker and owner of American Real Estate Services in Roseville, Michigan, said he’s helping one couple with a combined annual income of $100,000. They owe $450,000 on a four-bedroom house in a Detroit suburb that is now valued at $250,000. They plan to walk away from the mortgage if they find a home to buy with a land contract, he said.

Finding a qualified buyer requires careful scrutiny of credit and job histories, especially if the price of the home is too low to extract a significant down payment, he said.

“It’s gut-check time,” Fazio said. “Do you really think these people are good, credible people?”

Amenable Laws

Real estate investors prefer land contracts to private mortgages in states such as Michigan, Ohio and Minnesota, where the laws allow for forfeiture actions against delinquent borrowers, said Dale Whitman, a professor of law at University of Missouri in Columbia. Forfeiture is usually faster and less expensive than foreclosure.

Sellers may provide other forms of financing, such as leases with the option to purchase or private mortgages, in states such as Florida, where land contract laws are less favorable, according to Jeff Riddell, a real estate attorney in Sarasota, Florida.

“This has been going on for 100 years or more in Michigan,” said Allan D. Daniels, 46, whose family has been buying land contracts for three generations beginning with his grandfather in the 1930s.

Underwater Borrowers

Daniels, president of Dr. Daniels & Son in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, said business picked up in the past two years after a two-decade lull when low interest rates made traditional financing attractive. Land contracts aren’t as popular as they were during the 1980s because many underwater homeowners --those owing more than their properties are worth -- can’t finance the transaction, he said.

More than 28 percent of U.S. homeowners with mortgages were underwater in the first quarter, Zillow Inc., a Seattle real estate data company, said on May 9.

Daniels often hears from sellers when they’re having second thoughts about the risks or the paperwork involved in servicing the loan. The seller must prepare an amortization schedule, send the borrower interest statements and make certain property taxes and insurance are being paid, he said.

“For some people, at first it sounded great,” Daniels said. “Then they realized there was more than they like doing.”

Market Segment

Mark Cook, 30, a real estate agent in Lake City, Florida, said he sees an untapped market in the millions of homeowners who have had their credit ruined by a foreclosure or short sale. More than 3 million homes have been repossessed since 2006, according to RealtyTrac Inc., an Irvine, California-based data seller.

Cook said he is working with a Canadian investor who bought and renovated four homes in Florida’s Cape Coral and Fort Myers areas since September, selling them for a premium to buyers needing financing. One more is on the market, another is under renovation and they have contracts to buy another handful of homes.

They market homes to buyers with foreclosures in their credit history, along with second-home purchasers and self- employed borrowers who don’t show enough income on their tax returns to qualify for traditional financing, he said. Cook offers an interest rate of 9.95 percent and balloon payment after seven years to buyers who can put down 20 percent in cash.

“We are advertising in markets that are cheap and we’re satisfying the consumer’s appetite for a bargain,” Cook said. “Assuming you’re not creditworthy and have cash, we are your avenue for buying a home.”

Time Is Right

Rebecca Hill, a 33-year-old high school science teacher, and her fiancé, Nicholas Lehman, bought an almost 2,000-square- foot (186-square-meter) house in Cape Coral through Cook for $107,000 on May 4. Her credit was damaged a year ago when her ex-husband lost a home they they had purchased together to foreclosure, according to Hill.

While they paid a premium for a seller-financed home, the monthly mortgage costs are $175 less than the rent they previously paid for a unit half the size, she said.

“If I wait for my credit to be restored and then purchase, I’m not going to get a $107,000 four-bedroom home,” Hill said. “That’s not going to exist anymore.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Prashant Gopal in New York at pgopal2@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Kara Wetzel at kwetzel@bloomberg.net

Erie, CO April, 2011 Year-To-Date Home Real Estate Highlights

Erie year-to-date sales are off from 2010’s tax-credit inspired mini-burst and ahead of this time in ’09.  Average sales price is down 9% from last year but only 13% from ‘05.  Days to contract is down from last year.  Inventory for this time of year is down for the fourth year in a row and is down 24% from 2005.  Months of inventory declined to 7 in April and average year-to-date is 8% below where it was 6 years ago meaning Erie is moving toward being a seller’s market.  5 to 6 months of inventory mark the dividing line between a buyer’s and a seller’s market.  More than 5/6 months is a buyer’s market, less is a seller’s.

For details and a search or study tailored to your needs and future call Dagmar Alford at 720-35-8285.

Lafayette, CO April, 2011 Year-To-Date Home Real Estate Highlights

Lafayette sales to date are also ahead of ’09 and a bit behind 2010.  Average price is up for the second year in a row, up 6% over 2010 and hit nearly $376,000 in April.  It’s down 3% from where it was 6 years ago.  Days to contract are up a bit. Inventory is down once again after 4 previous years of decline.  It’s on average down a third from levels 6 years ago.  Months of inventory dropped to 5 in April:  a seller’s market, at least for now.  5 to 6 months of inventory mark the dividing line between a buyer’s and a seller’s market.  More than 5/6 months is a buyer’s market, less is a seller’s.

For details and a search or study tailored to your needs and future call Dagmar Alford at 720-35-8285.

Boulder, CO area Plains April, 2011 Year-To-Date Home Real Estate Highlights

Plains sales year-to-date is up for the second year in a row.  Average price is up 7% from last year and 10% from ’05.  Average days to contract is steady just over 100.  Inventory shot up 2 years ago and has just inched down for the second year. Months of inventory has dropped in half from where it was in ’09 yet still is at over 13.  5 to 6 months of inventory mark the dividing line between a buyer’s and a seller’s market.  More than 5/6 months is a buyer’s market, less is a seller’s.

For details and a search or study tailored to your needs and future call Dagmar Alford at 720-35-8285.

Boulder April, 2011 Year-To-Date Home Real Estate Highlights

Home sales trail 2010 by 21% but are ahead of ’09 so far.  Average sales price is up 4% over last year and 12% over ‘05’s average.  It’s taking on average longer (100 days) to sell homes.  Inventory (listings) are down for this time of year for the second year in a row while its 11 months of inventory is up over last year.  This is more than double where it was 6 years ago.  5 to 6 months of inventory mark the dividing line between a buyer’s and a seller’s market.  More than 5/6 months is a buyer’s market, less is a seller’s.

For details and a search or study tailored to your needs and future call Dagmar Alford at 720-35-8285.

Broomfield April, 2011 Year-To-Date Home Real Estate Highlights

Sales are down 14% from last year yet Broomfield has not seen the precipitous drop other areas have.  Average sales price  -  so far  -  is off  15% from 2010, but only down 2% from where it was in ’05 after peaking in ’08.  Days to contract are up over last year, as is inventory after declining for 3 years in a row.  Due to increased sales and relatively steady listings months of inventory in April dropped to 4.7, a seller’s market!  5 to 6 months of inventory mark the dividing line between a buyer’s and a seller’s market.  More than 5/6 months is a buyer’s market, less is a seller’s.

For details and a search or study tailored to your needs and future call Dagmar Alford at 720-35-8285.

Average Home Sales Price 2005 through Year to Date April, '11 for Boulder, Colorado, Broomfield, Erie, Lafayette, Longmont, Louisville, Superior, Mountains, Plains

Boulder, CO Area Mountains April, 2011 Year-To-Date Home Real Estate Highlights

Mountain sales are off 58% from where they were 6 years ago and down again this year but the average sales price is up 9% this year and 8% over ’05 levels.  Days to contract dipped to an area low of 78 in April.  Inventory contracted 15% from last year and 20% from ’05 levels.  Months of inventory in the mountains has always been high, is up in 2011, now at 23, and is almost double from ’05.  5 to 6 months of inventory mark the dividing line between a buyer’s and a seller’s market.  More than 5/6 months is a buyer’s market, less is a seller’s.

For details and a search or study tailored to your needs and future call Dagmar Alford at 720-35-8285.

April, 2011 Year-To-Date Home Real Estate Highlights

Boulder

Home sales trail 2010 by 21% but are ahead of ’09 so far.  Average sales price is up 4% over last year and 12% over ‘05’s average.  It’s taking on average longer (100 days) to sell homes.  Inventory (listings) are down for this time of year for the second year in a row while its 11 months of inventory is up over last year.  This is more than double where it was 6 years ago.  5 to 6 months of inventory mark the dividing line between a buyer’s and a seller’s market.  More than 5/6 months is a buyer’s market, less is a seller’s.

Broomfield

Sales are down 14% from last year yet Broomfield has not seen the precipitous drop other areas have.  Average sales price  -  so far  -  is off  15% from 2010, but only down 2% from where it was in ’05 after peaking in ’08.  Days to contract are up over last year, as is inventory after declining for 3 years in a row.  Due to increased sales and relatively steady listings months of inventory in April dropped to 4.7, a seller’s market! 

Erie

Erie year-to-date sales are off from 2010’s tax-credit inspired mini-burst and ahead of this time in ’09.  Average sales price is down 9% from last year but only 13% from ‘05.  Days to contract is down from last year.  Inventory for this time of year is down for the fourth year in a row and is down 24% from 2005.  Months of inventory declined to 7 in April and average year-to-date is 8% below where it was 6 years ago meaning Erie is moving toward being a seller’s market. 

Lafayette

Lafayette sales to date are also ahead of ’09 and a bit behind 2010.  Average price is up for the second year in a row, up 6% over 2010 and hit nearly $376,000 in April.  It’s down 3% from where it was 6 years ago.  Days to contract are up a bit. Inventory is down once again after 4 previous years of decline.  It’s on average down a third from levels 6 years ago.  Months of inventory dropped to 5 in April:  a seller’s market, at least for now. 

Longmont

Longmont’s year-to-date sales in 2010 were boosted by the tax credit and now they’re off again from ’09.  Average price declined 7% from a year ago and is down 13% from 6 years ago.  Days to contract are steady in the 80’s.  Inventory is down for the fourth time in five years and down 38% from 6 years ago.  Months of inventory held steady in April at 8.4. 

Louisville

Louisville sales also were off from 2010 but ahead of ’09.  Average sales price, off from 2010, is up over ’09 and 14% ahead of where it was in ’05.  Average days to contract dropped to 42 in April!  Inventory is off 19% from last year and 10% below where it was in ’05.  Months of inventory was 5.9 in April.  

Superior

Superior sales are up 8% over this time last year but down by almost half from 6 years ago.  Average sales price is flat from a year ago and up 2% from ’05.  Average days to contract is around 90.  Inventory is up from last year but lower than ’05. With sales up a bit and inventory down, months of inventory dropped to 4.4 in April:  a seller’s market, for the moment. 

Mountains

Mountain sales are off 58% from where they were 6 years ago and down again this year but the average sales price is up 9% this year and 8% over ’05 levels.  Days to contract dipped to an area low of 78 in April.  Inventory contracted 15% from last year and 20% from ’05 levels.  Months of inventory in the mountains has always been high, is up in 2011, now at 23, and is almost double from ’05. 

Plains

Plains sales year-to-date is up for the second year in a row.  Average price is up 7% from last year and 10% from ’05.  Average days to contract is steady just over 100.  Inventory shot up 2 years ago and has just inched down for the second year. Months of inventory has dropped in half from where it was in ’09 yet still is at over 13. 

Options Realty LLC    720-352-82852    AgentDagmar@comcast.net