Boulder County Weekly Real Estate Activity Index

# New Price Drops # U/C # Sold Median $ of Sold
30-Apr 166 142 125 81 $ 317,900
7-May 182 170 141 90 $ 294,700
14-May 211 170 126 46 $ 301,950
21-May 220 169 140 92 $ 275,950
28-May 167 165 137 66 $ 272,450
4-Jun 213 204 131 141 $ 324,500
11-Jun 210 198 155 74 $ 296,400
18-Jun 222 191 125 94 $ 339,950
25-Jun 178 223 131 100 $ 339,900
2-Jul 163 158 132 150 $ 299,000
9-Jul 157 181 102 81 $ 332,900
16-Jul 187 197 121 93 $ 289,900
23-Jul 166 211 95 92 $ 334,450
30-Jul 149 189 109 110 $ 278,950
6-Aug 155 197 106 144 $ 312,450
13-Aug 161 202 105 84 $ 319,975
20-Aug 178 187 120 79 $ 345,000
27-Aug 156 163 113 88 $ 317,475
3-Sep 138 173 112 103 $ 285,000

 

The chart above shows weekly activity in the real estate market as reported by IRES MLS for Boulder County.  A few trends might be emerging; fewer homes going on the market and fewer closings. This past week was the low water market for new listings on the market.  The number of sales was actually up last week but if you look back you will see that there is always a spike in weeks that include the end of a month. Last week there were 103 closings in Boulder County.  The norm for the summer months has been around 140 for the end of the month.  I will come out with my end of the month sales report in a few days once the final numbers are in for August.

Boulder Real Estate – Under Contract Percentages

One of the better indicators of market activity in the real estate market is the under contract ratio. This ratio shows the relationship between the houses that have found a buyer and are waiting to close and those that are still waiting to find a buyer. The higher the percentage the more activity there is in that particular market segment.

The first two graphs below show the under contract ratio for Boulder, Louisville, Lafayette, Longmont, Boulder County as a whole and Weld County as a whole. The first shows single family homes and the second shows attached dwellings or condos.

The third graph is quite interesting. It shows the under contract ratio across price ranges. This shows very clearly that the activity in the market is in the lower price ranges. Just over 40% of homes listed for under $250,000 are under contract while less than 2% of the homes listed for over $1,250,000 are under contract. 

How Long Will It Take To Sell? Boulder County Real Estate Inventory

I am often asked how long homes are taking to sell.  This is a difficult question and can only be answered with a specific home in mind.  I have a pretty good idea what areas and price ranges are moving well so that helps.  But the question is still loaded.  Beyond location and price range the two biggest factors (and most specific) are the condition of the house and the specific price of the house as it relates to the neighborhood and the market.  Clear as mud?  Let me give a few examples.

About how long will it take to sell my home? – Scenario 1:

A beautiful ome in the mountains just 10 minutes from Boulder. The current owners purchased it in 2007 for $1.7 million.  Since that time they have put $75,000 into landscaping and 1 other house in the vicinity has sold, for $1.9 million last summer.  The owners know the market is slow but think that their house is special, they want to list for $1.9 million to match the neighbors home.

Given the current slow market for luxury homes and the slower demand for mountain homes in general, this home needs to be priced very aggressively in order to sell in a reasonable amount of time.  This home on average if priced for $1.9 million may be on the market indefinitely.

About how long will it take to sell my home? – Scenario 2:

This cute 1,700 square foot house is located on a quiet street in Louisville.  The owners have lived in the house for quite some time and have decided to move into a larger home.  They have been thinking about selling for quite some time so they have been fixing the home to sell.  It has new counter tops, new carpet and new tile in the bathrooms.  They have spent all summer getting the yard really nice.  The realtor has suggested an asking price of $350,000.  They can see where he is coming from but, they really want to move this fall, so they decide to list for $325,000.

In this market, in order to get the job done in a hurry a home must be priced aggressively.  Many times this means listing at a price below what the neighbors house sold for a year ago.  This home should sell quickly.  It might even have multiple offers.

 

Below are the current numbers for inventory.  In this case inventory is the theoretical number of months it would take to sell all of the homes in a given area if they would continue to sell at the same pace as they have for the past year and no other homes would come on the market.  This of course can’t happen but it provides a good measure of market strength.  You can see, especially for single family homes that our inventory numbers are up.  This is largely due to the reduction in the number of sales.  Our sales pace has slowed, so you can expect houses to stay on the market for a longer period of time.

 

 

Boulder County Weekly Activity Index

# New Price Drops # U/C # Sold Median $ of Sold
30-Apr 166 142 125 81 $ 317,900
7-May 182 170 141 90 $ 294,700
14-May 211 170 126 46 $ 301,950
21-May 220 169 140 92 $ 275,950
28-May 167 165 137 66 $ 272,450
4-Jun 213 204 131 141 $ 324,500
11-Jun 210 198 155 74 $ 296,400
18-Jun 222 191 125 94 $ 339,950
25-Jun 178 223 131 100 $ 339,900
2-Jul 163 158 132 150 $ 299,000
9-Jul 157 181 102 81 $ 332,900
16-Jul 187 197 121 93 $ 289,900
23-Jul 166 211 95 92 $ 334,450
30-Jul 149 189 109 110 $ 278,950
6-Aug 155 197 106 144 $ 312,450
13-Aug 161 202 105 84 $ 319,975
20-Aug 178 187 120 79 $ 345,000

Boulder County Weekly Activity Index

# New Price Drops # U/C # Sold Median $ of Sold
30-Apr 166 142 125 81 $ 317,900
7-May 182 170 141 90 $ 294,700
14-May 211 170 126 46 $ 301,950
21-May 220 169 140 92 $ 275,950
28-May 167 165 137 66 $ 272,450
4-Jun 213 204 131 141 $ 324,500
11-Jun 210 198 155 74 $ 296,400
18-Jun 222 191 125 94 $ 339,950
25-Jun 178 223 131 100 $ 339,900
2-Jul 163 158 132 150 $ 299,000
9-Jul 157 181 102 81 $ 332,900
16-Jul 187 197 121 93 $ 289,900
23-Jul 166 211 95 92 $ 334,450
30-Jul 149 189 109 110 $ 278,950
6-Aug 155 197 106 144 $ 312,450
13-Aug 161 202 105 84 $ 319,975

 

Activity continues to stay consistent.  Usually August is relatively slow because of vacations and back-to-school, but we continue to roll along.

July Month-end Sales Statistics

The numbers are in and for those, like I who have a glass half full view of things, the numbers continue in a positive direction.  Sure, sales are down (see first chart)from last year, and the year before that … but what I focus on is the upward trend lasting through July.  Most years our market peaks in May and closings peak in June, but so far we are still on an upward tact into August.

The median prices (see second chart) are holding just fine, thank you.  Even with weak sales in the upper quartile, median prices are higher than they have been in quite some time.  This is a big positive.

Inventory (see third chart) is just about where it was a year ago and quite a bit below two years ago at this time.  The good news is that inventory went down just as sales started to drop.  Not a coincidence since many in the Boulder area have not been forced to move.  Think about how areas like Detroit are losing jobs in droves and people are forced to sell, well that is not happening here.  We are lucky to have a strong and diverse job base.