One of the many appeals that the Boulder area has for many is that the mountains are so close and accessible. Most are happy to take occasional hikes and day trips to our beautiful mountain backdrop, but others want to be immersed in it every day. For many who live in the close-in mountains going home every day can feel like going on vacation. Boulder mountain real estate is an important segment of our market and today I’ll explain a bit about that market.
The mountain home market does not always move in lockstep with the rest of the Boulder County real estate market. For one, it is more seasonal than the city market. It may seem obvious but the mountains are at a higher elevation than town and therefore the temperatures are lower and they get more snow. Especially on the north side of the canyons, the snow stays on the ground longer and the driveways (sometimes bumpy and steep) get slippery and the ice lingers. For that reason, many sellers wait until later in the spring and summer to sell their homes.
Another reason that the mountain market is different than the rest of the local real estate market is convenience. When you live in the mountains it’s not easy to just pop into the store for some milk or bring the kids over to a friends for a play date. Or when the snow flies, it may be up to you to plow your driveway. Or the well pump may fail and you will need to figure out how to get the water back on.
A third reason that the mountain real estate market doesn’t move in-synch is forest fires. We have had a few fires in our area over the last decade or so that have destroyed homes. When that happens it seems that potential buyers back off for a time and re-evaluate the risks of living in the woods.
Over the last two years the mountain neighborhoods have been quite popular. The nationwide trend of leaving the cities has been manifested in strong sales in our mountains. Here are some comparative statistics showing the strength in the Boulder mountain real estate market. Below I’m comparing the post-pandemic period of June 2020 – October 2021 to the pre-pandemic period of June 2018 – October 2019.
Total Sales of Mountain Homes in Boulder County
- Pre-pandemic – 255 sales
- Post-pandemic – 383 sales (increase of 50%)
Median Price Comparison of Mountain Home Neighborhoods
- Pre-pandemic – $629,500
- Post-pandemic – $850,000 (increase of 35%)
Sales Price to List Price Ratio
- Pre-pandemic – Homes sold on average for 96.95% of listing price.
- Post-pandemic – Homes sold on average for 100.3% of list price.
Current Market Conditions
- There are 66 total listings. 32 of which are already under contract.
- There is an inventory of listings of less than a month. A balanced market is six months. (Strong seller’s market).
I’ve handled many real estate transactions of both homes and vacant land and know all of the neighborhoods including Pine Brook Hills, Boulder Heights, Crestview and Seven Hills to name a few as well as all of the canyons and roads such as Sugarloaf, Left Hand Canyon, Fourmile Canyon, Sunshine Canyon, Coal Creek Canyon, Flagstaff Road, Magnolia Road and the mountain communities such as Nederland, Ward, Gold Hill, Jamestown, Raymond, Allenspark, Rollinsville and others. Please let me know if I can be of assistance to you.
