by Neil Kearney | Jun 26, 2012 | Boulder County Housing Trends, Statistics
As of today home sales in Boulder County are up 24% for the year. At the same time inventory has been consistently low. These conditions have led to multiple offers in many cases. So the logical assumption would be that the average negotiation between buyers and sellers would have become smaller. Makes sense, simple economics. However, after looking at the numbers I am surprised.
Historically, the average negotiation off of the last list price of the property in Boulder County has been just under 3%. Here is a list of the average negotiation of residential properties in Boulder County for each year since 1999.
- 1999 – 1.37%
- 2000 – 1.36%
- 2001 – 1.76%
- 2002 – 2.41%
- 2003 – 2.83%
- 2004 – 2.66%
- 2005 – 2.44%
- 2006 – 2.77%
- 2007 – 3.15%
- 2008 – 3.23%
- 2009 – 3.80%
- 2010 – 4.14%
- 2011 – 4.11%
- 2012 – 3.16%* through June 27th
What I find interesting in the figures above are the macro trends in our market. Back in 1999 our area was one of the hottest markets in the country. Our appreciation (as measured by FHFA.gov) was ranked first in the nation, we were in the midst of a sellers market and the average negotiation off of list price was just 1.37%. During 2010 the number of sales had dropped by 40% from the peak in 2005, we had a negative appreciation (-1.9%, FHFA.gov), it was a full buyers market and the average negotiation was up to 4.14%. This year the market has showed some real improvement. We are ranked in the top ten in the nation for appreciation, sales are up 24% from last year and negotiation has fallen to 3.16%.
Delving more into the numbers I found that the difference in negotiation by price range is significant.
The simple table above compares the average negotiation by price range so far this year to the last six months of 2011. Overall sellers improved their negotiation range by around 1/2 %. This improvement held through most price ranges except for the luxury market over $1,500,000. In that segment 28 homes sold with an average negotiation of 3.4%. A huge improvement over the 7% that was recorded over the last six months of 2011.
by Neil Kearney | Jun 10, 2012 | Boulder County Housing Trends, Statistics
The real estate market in Boulder County is very strong. The highlights of the market through May are:
- Year-to-date sales are up 23%.
- Sales in May were 40% greater than last May.
- 44% of homes on the market were under contract at the beginning of June.
- Inventory is down 12% from last year.
- Multiple offer situations are common.
- There is some positive pressure on prices in some market segments.
Take a look at the slideshow below to view all of the details.
by Neil Kearney | May 29, 2012 | Boulder County Housing Trends, Statistics
The market has really been strong this year and now we have some national credibility to boot. The Federal Housing Finance Agency releases four Home Price Indices per year and the latest, including results through March 31, 2012 was recently released. In the report it showed that homes Boulder County appreciated by 2.35% over the past year. This ranks us tenth nationally of the 303 largest metropolitan districts that are ranked.
For comparison, last quarter our home appreciation was measured at -.8% and that ranked 57th nationwide. Nationally, homes have appreciated .48% over the past year. This breaks a 15 quarter streak of negative appreciation that spans back to 2008. Good news indeed!
The first chart below shows the home appreciation over time of Boulder County and the US national average. The second chart shows Boulder County’s national ranking over time. The last time we were ranked this high was in 1999.
by Neil Kearney | May 25, 2012 | Colorado Lifestyle
Memorial Day weekend is one of the best times to enjoy Boulder Colorado. Here are some of the can’t miss events that bring people to Boulder.
Bolder Boulder
The Bolder Boulder is one of the premier running races in the United States. Each year it attracts over 50,000 runners and walkers
and tens of thousands more spectators to enjoy the 6.2 mile course through the streets of Boulder. The race finishes in Folsom Stadium, the CU football stadium. All along the course there is live music to help the current of runners flow past without a thought of the exertion they are putting out. The event is broken into to races; the citizens race (which is segmented into waves of similar runners) and the professional or elite race. The professional race takes place after most of the racers have made it into the stadium and follows a different course which allows spectators to more easily view the race filled with international runners.
After the running there is a Memorial Day tribute featuring skydivers, an air force flyby and a patriotic ceremony. It is a great way to remember what Memorial Day is all about.
Boulder Creek Festival
The Boulder Creek Festival is an art festival in Downtown Boulder. It features booths filled with art, services and entertainment. A great way to spend an afternoon is to wander around and view the various wares and enjoy some edible treats. 
Division 1 Ultimate Frisbee Championships
Boulder again is lucky to host the Ultimate Frisbee National Championships at the Pleasant View soccer complex on North 47th Street 
just north of Iris. Unlike March Madness or the Orange Bowl, you can get up close to the action and enjoy the best ultimate frisbee players from all across the nation. I love to watch this event because for the most part ultimate frisbee is self refereed and the spirit of sportsmanship and teamwork is present in every matchup. There are twenty teams entered and pool play starts on Friday. The tournament culminates on Monday with the national championship game slated for Monday at 11 am. Check it out!
by Neil Kearney | May 24, 2012 | Photos
I took this photo on a recent evening walk at Sawhill Ponds just east of Boulder. With the beautiful weather and just enough rain, everything is lush and green.
