I have good news and I have bad news.
I am not one of those realtors that only talks with “Happy Talk”. The market is not always wonderful, as we were well reminded in 2008, although that spurred the “Fix and Flip” industry. The market does always have opportunities, but it’s important to take a balanced look.
I know in the past I have talked about appreciation rates in the local market. Let’s take a quick look at the 12 month-rolling average for residential properties in Northern Colorado. (Statistics courtesy of the Fort Collins Board of Realtors and used here with permission).
In Fort Collins, the median residential sales price was up 2.6% in the last 12 months. In Loveland the Median price was up 5.6%. In Greeley the increase was 4.9%
The average sales price of residential properties in Fort Collins was up 2.5%. In Loveland it was 6.3%. In Greeley it was 3.6%.
The average appreciation rate is usually significantly higher than that at 6%-7%. The interest rate on a 30-year mortgage is fluctuating between 3.7% and 3.9%…historic lows. ‘Days on Market’ is at almost a 15% increase in the last 12 months in the overall Northern Colorado market. I have seen multiple listing sit on the market, some with price reductions, and I recently got a new residential property to manage as a rental because the sellers could not get it sold at the realtor’s recommended price.
All this shows that values are still going up, but not at the pace experienced post 2008. The average price of a residential property in Fort Collins was $474,428. The average price of a residence in Greeley was $331,401, and in Loveland the average sales price was $434,000. This means that Fort Collins was 8.5% higher than Loveland. Loveland was 31% higher than Greeley!
The statistics clearly show that the higher priced market is significantly slowing. For so many years now, it has been a sellers’ market. If properties were in good condition and priced right they lasted on the market for hours or maybe a day or two. But average ‘Days on Market’ is up 15% in the last 12 months which I believe shows the market shifting to a buyer’s market.
It used to be assumed that six months inventory of properties was a balanced market, and at this time in Fort Collins there is only a 2.5 month supply of properties, but I believe the shift is occurring to at least a balanced market if not a buyers’ market.
