As we expect at this point every year, the market has taken its shift for the winter slow-down. Overall sales have dropped, new-listings are slowing down, and average days on market are increasing. This might sound like deja-vu, given the past few months of statistics, but the data falls within normal margins. What is surprising, though, is that we’re still considering this market a Seller’s Market, especially in Colorado. Let’s take a look at how October panned out.
Denver Metro Area
The median price of houses sold in October continued to hold steady just around $585,000. This is less than 1% higher than last year. Typically during this time of year we see a dip in housing prices as the market cools, but that dip hasn’t arrived yet. This indicates the Denver Metro Area Real Estate is still a strong market for sellers. The average days on market rose to 14 throughout the metro area. This is 27% higher than last year, but also follows the trend with these higher mortgage interest rates. Also a result of the interest rates is the difference between total Closed Homes at the end of the month. October saw a 21% decrease in closings from last year, totalling 3,175 units. With a 21% decrease in closings, there’s only an 11% increase in month-end inventory. This could indicate that some buyers are choosing to transition their properties into rentals or deciding to not move/sell. The close-price-to-list-price ratio is just under 100%, which means sellers are not lowering prices when closing. But concessions are quite prevalent in most closings these days.
Boulder County
The median price of homes sold in Boulder County rose to $827,500 in October. This is up 3.8% over last year, which is quite a rise for this time of year and the market at large. Boulder County did see a rise in closed homes last month, up by 13.6%, proving that our area is still desirable. The average days on market rose a staggering 15% this past month. Homes are sitting on the market an average of 53 days now, but this is expected given the price point. With home valuations so high, and prices continuing to rise, it’s no surprise that the close-price-to-list-price ratio is 98% in Boulder County. Negotiations are definitely starting with price in this area, and moving on to other concessions as well.
Longmont
Longmont is following closely the trends of the larger Denver Metro Area Real Estate Market. Housing prices are remaining steady at around $555,000 as the median sale price. This is just about 4% higher than last year. As expected for this time of year, the average days on market has risen 5 days up to 40 for homes listed in Longmont. Concessions are the main consideration when closing on homes in Longmont. We see this as we put together offers and in the close-price-to-list-price ratio (currently at 99.3%).
As we said before, this is still a seller’s market. The inventory levels are still low. The inventory that is on the market is staying around longer. Normally these would be indicators that the market is shifting toward a buyer’s market, but with the decrease in mortgage approvals, higher interest rates, and high prices sellers are having to negotiate in order to keep interested buyers. One of the more intriguing concessions seller’s are making is the buyer’s rate buydown. This helps reduce a buyer’s interest rate, but is a concession from the seller. If you’re in t
