by neil kearney | Jan 10, 2007 | Statistics
Median prices of single family homes in Boulder County were up 5.11% for the year. All communities showed some appreciation with the exception of Lafayette which had just a slight decline. Average prices were up across the board for the year. The chart below shows the increase of median prices over time. As you can see the gap between Boulder and its neighbors has become more pronounced as time has gone by. This is mostly due to the proliferation of new and remodeled, high end properties in the city of Boulder.
The median price for an attached dwelling in Boulder County increased by just under 1% for the year. In the City of Boulder the median price in December 2005 is exactly the same as it is now $240,000. The largest increase was in Louisville where the net gain was 6.4% for the year.
Days on Market and Days to Offer remained roughly the same as compared with year end 2005 figures. On average it took 74 days to obtain an acceptable offer. In my experience this number is a lower than it should be due to the realities of agents and sellers withdrawing homes from the market and re-listing them to “refresh” the listing. This practice happens in all markets so I believe the comparison across years paints a fairly accurate picture.
by neil kearney | Jan 9, 2007 | Statistics
While I’m already into 2007 working and planning toward another successful year helping buyers and sellers, it is very helpful to look back on 2006 to see where we are and where we may be headed.
Before I present some of the stats I have compiled, I’d like to share with you some of the thoughts I have regarding the market that are not necessarily easy to see in the numbers. Here is what I noticed in 2006:
- There were a ton of vacant houses and condos for sale. This is a result of the softer than normal rental market. Many landlords have decided that selling was a better idea than trying to get a tenant only to find that it was a pretty tough year to find a buyer. Especially when the property was not in pristine shape.
Many houses did not sell and were withdrawn from the market after many months of trying. Only well priced homes are selling quickly. Buyers have many homes to see and it is very hard to fool “the market”.
Once a buyer for a house was found the negotiation tended to favor the buyer on inspection issues. There were many new roofs, furnaces, hot water heaters etc. paid for by the seller this year. Many had the attitude of “just let me be done with it”.
Although the statistics show at least some appreciation, many areas have been losing value. This year I represented a Buyer in buying a house for $11,000 less than the Sellers had purchased for 5 years ago!
One of the statistics I love for comparison purposes is “months of inventory”. This statistic relates houses currently on the market to the number sold during the last 12 months. The chart below shows the amount of inventory in months for the different sub-areas in Boulder County. The inventory is derived by dividing the number of current listings by the average number of sales per month during the preceding 12 months. It answers the question, “how long would it take to sell the homes currently on the market?”. The inventory is the greatest in the mountain areas and the lowest in Louisville. Both Erie and the mountain areas showed improvement from December 2005.
Although the figures for the County are similar, in general the inventory is higher for attached dwellings. 
I will continue highlighting year end statistics in the coming days. Stay tuned!
by neil kearney | Jan 2, 2007 | Uncategorized
Happy New Year!
I’d like to wish everyone a very happy and successful 2007! I’m looking forward to it and spring into the year with loads of energy and enthusiasm. I will be compiling my year end statistics during the next week and will be posting those results.
Our area was “discovered” long ago and has been growing ever since. The allure of Boulder has been written about since the 70’s. Remember when Time magazine touted Boulder as the place where the “Hip meet to trip”? I can imagine that the Chamber of Commerce didn’t especially like that tag line. Well, the press has improved and here are the latest accolations from the media about Boulder. This list was taken straight from the Boulder Chamber of Commerce website http://www.BoulderColoradoUSA.com
2006
Top 10 Places to Retire – Bottom Line Retirement, January 2006
Place You Dream of Living – Backpacker Magazine, February 2006
Best City for Cycling – Bicycling Magazine, March 2006
Best of the Best – Men’s Journal, April 2006
Top 10 Greenest Cities – Homestore.com, April 2006
Best Place to Retire for Outdoor Addicts – Fortune Magazine, June 2006
#10 in “Top 25 Small Cities & Towns for Art” – AmericanStyle Magazine, June 2006
#3 in “Top 10 Brainiest Small Cities” – Bizjournals.com, June 2006
Best City for Singles – Forbes.com, July 2006
#1 in “20 Dream Towns” – Outside Magazine, August 2006
Top 12 Best Veg-Friendly Places to Live – VegNews, August 2006
#4 Heart-Healthiest City – Men’s Journal, August 2006
#9 Best City for Green Meetings – Meetings and Conventions, August 2006
2005
#1 Best Place to Live – Men’s Journal, March 2005
#1 Best Place to Live – Successful Meetings, 2005
Colorado’s Best Workplaces for Commuters – United States EPA, April, 2004 #6 in “The 100 Best Art Towns in America” by John Villani#7 Best Running Cities in America – Runner’s World Magazine, August 2005 #7 in Top 10 Cities for Masters athletes – GeezerJock Magazine, September 2005#18 in the Top 25 Art Cities – American Style Magazine, June 2005 50 Fabulous Gay-Friendly Places to Live – book by Gregory A. Kompes, November 2005
Top 20 Greenest Spots in the Country – Vegetarian Times, July/August 2005
The Best Cities for Relocating Families (Boulder/Longmont) – Worldwide ERC and Primacy Relocation, 2005
2004#1 of Top 20 Boom Towns – Business 2.0, March 2004Top 10 cities for Animal Wellness in North American – Animal Wellness Magazine, March 2004Colorado’s Best Workplaces for Commuters – United States EPA, April, 2004 Five Impressive Cities; Making a Difference in the Environment -Delicious Living Magazine, April 2004 Bicycle Friendly Community – League of American Bicyclists, April 2004Nation’s Reigning Bike Friendly Community – The League of American Bicyclists, June 2004Best Place in the Country for Singles (Denver-Boulder) – Forbes.com, June 2004The Best Small Cities – Men’s Journal, June 2004The Best Cities for Relocating Families (Boulder/Longmont) – Worldwide ERC and Primacy Relocation, Sept. 2004
by neil kearney | Dec 18, 2006 | Boulder County Housing Trends
It happens every year. People get the idea that they would like to move during the last quarter of the year but decide to defer action until after the holidays. This time of year is a self-fulfilling prophecy of sorts, people think that it is a slow time of year for sales so they avoid buying or selling, thus making it even slower. In truth, there are sales happening every day and this time of year most of the action is from people who have a burning reason to move. The people who have a desire to move, not the NEED to move usually wait for the new year. Anyway, my point is that there is usually a big surge in new listings in the first few weeks of January. Along with the new listings will be a new batch of buyers to find the left over deals from 2006. So, if you are trolling around waiting for that next price reduction on that house you have been watching, now might be a good time to make that offer. There may be more competition in the coming weeks. 
by neil kearney | Dec 12, 2006 | Statistics
The median price for single family homes in Boulder County is up 4.8% from last year. The statistics are compiled through November 30th from IRES – the Northern Colorado MLS. The chart below shows median price by month. Looking at the chart we can see that there is no “best” time to sell. Although the highest median prices were recorded this year during the summer it is not a significant difference over time. 
The number of sales per month is more seasonal. As you would expect the busiest months for real estate transactions are May – August. Overall, this year the number of sales is down roughly 8% from last year. The months where we saw the most dropoff were April and July. Both of those months saw decreases over 14% year over year. The chart below shows the number of sales in Boulder County by month. Keep in mind that the figures track closings, closings usually take place 30 -45 days after the house is placed under contract. So when it says that January is the slowest month it actually means that December and November have fewer buyers.
