by neil kearney | May 9, 2007 | Statistics
Sales Lag Again in April
The sales of single family homes in Boulder County were down again for the month of April. During the month there were 277 sales reported in the IRES MLS system. During April of 2006 there were 339 sales and during April of 2004 there were 440 closings during the month. Through the first four months of the year the total number of sales for single family homes in the county is down 16.4% when compared to 2006.
We have seen a bump in activity in many areas and I expect to see a bump in the number of closings during May and June but I’m not sure that it will be enough to boost the cumulative numbers. I will keep you posted. 
by neil kearney | Apr 6, 2007 | Boulder County Housing Trends, Statistics
WHAT IS HOT AND WHAT IS NOT The talk around the water cooler is that the market is spotty. Movin' along in some areas and 
slow as molasses in others. However, it is hard to say what areas are hot and which are cold without some hard facts. Today I'd like to present just that, some facts about the market which compare the relative strength of some market areas. Here are the results:
Single Family Homes
Boulder 21%
Louisville 35%
Longmont 12%
Lafayette 17%
Boulder County 17%
Weld County 10%
Attached Dwellings
Boulder 26%
Louisville 11%
Longmont 9%
Lafayette 16%
Boulder County 19%
Weld County 8%
To accomplish this I compared the number of houses under contract (accepting backups, pending and first right of refusal contracts) to the total number of active listings in a particular market.
I have highlighted the top performing (green) and worst performing (red) area in each category. For single family homes, Louisville has 35% of active homes under contract. Louisville has consistently outperformed the rest of the county over the past few years. I think this has to do with a combination of no new construction and a median price below $300,000, all within 8 miles of Boulder. The slowest markets seem to be Weld County and Longmont with a 10% and 12% ratio respectively.
Attached dwellings show the City of Boulder as the hottest market while Weld County and Longmont again bring up the rear.
Market activity is picking up but it is still a competitive buyers market out there. Homes need to be priced well and show well in order to attract buyers.
by neil kearney | Apr 3, 2007 | Statistics
Sales in March Lower in 2007
The sales of single family homes in Boulder County for March were down 23% when compared to March 2006. This is the continuation of a larger trend that has become more pronounced in the past few months. 
On a more postitive note showing have picked up significantly. For the most recent two weeks 3,504 showings were set up using the IRES showing system. Compare this to 2,919 showings set up during the first two weeks in March. The chart below better represents the larger trends.
by neil kearney | Mar 16, 2007 | Statistics
Listing Inventory Report for Boulder County
Supply and demand is an economic concept for which most people have a fairly good understanding. As there are more products on hand each becomes less valuable and the more time it may take to sell all of them. If there are just a few products available (think X-box 360 or Cabbage Patch Kids on Christmas Eve) the value people place on them increases and they are snatched up in a fury. The same type of supply demand thinking can be used with regard to real estate. Supply is the number of homes on the market at any given time and the demand is the rate in which those houses typically sell.
The supply and demand in real estate can be boiled down to the phrase “how long is it going to sell my house?” The chart below shows the results of my recent investigations by area and price range. The current numbers are compared to September and December of 2006. The average amount of time to sell a house is in the 5.5 month range. As the price of the home goes up, the time on the market goes up. The chart below shows data for all single family homes in Boulder County.
The chart below compares the City of Boulder to Boulder County and Weld County. Weld county has higher inventory rates at almost all price ranges. Above the huge spike at $800,000 there are so few homes for sale the numbers get funny. What about the big spike you may ask? Last year in Weld County 2 houses sold that were priced between $800,000 and $900,000. Currently there are 25 houses on the market in that price range. Hopefully some high net worth buyers want to relocate to Weld County. 
by neil kearney | Mar 5, 2007 | Boulder County Housing Trends, Statistics
National and Local 4th Quarter 2006 House Appreciation Data
Boulder/Longmont ranks 223 in appreciation
The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) released 4th quarter 2006 data last week. Nationally, home prices are 5.9% higher than last year and show a 1.1% increase for the quarter. OFHEO uses data compiled from conventional loans (new purchases and refinances less than $418,000) to compare same house sales over time. I think the statistics are fairly sound but I have one knock with them. In many markets including Boulder, there is a large percentage of homes that sell without using conventional financing. Most of these homes are in higher price ranges and these statistics do not include this sales data. That said, on with the data…
The Boulder/Longmont MSA (Metropolitan Statistical Area) showed a 1 year increase of 1.68% and an increase of .14% for the 4th quarter. The annual appreciation rates us 223rd nationally out of 282 MSA’s. Six months ago we were ranked 218th with an annual appreciation of 3.55 and a quarterly appreciation of 2.6%, obviously the market has slowed since last spring. Hopefully, we will see a jump in the next few months. Colorado is ranked 43rd with a 3.32% annual appreciation rate, but the quarterly rate of .87% ranks 33 nationally. The appreciation rate has decelerated nationally.
The states with the greatest rates of appreciation between 4th quarter 2005 and 4th quarter 2006 were: Utah (17.6%), Wyoming (14.3%), Idaho (14%), Washington (13.7%), and Oregon (13.5%). The states with the lowest appreciation for the same period were: Michigan (-.4%), Massachusetts (.5%), Ohio (1%), Indiana (2.3%), and Minnesota (2.5%).
Some other interesting statistics:
- California saw quarterly appreciation rates that were negative in 21 of the 26 ranked cities on OFHEO’s list.
- Prices in areas affected by Hurricane Katrina showed double digit growth, caused by lack of housing supply.
- Annual rates of appreciation slowed in all nine census division (Pacific, Mountain etc.) relative to the third quarter.
For more data and information please go directly to http://www.ofheo.gov/
by neil kearney | Mar 2, 2007 | Statistics
February 2007 Statistics
Number of Sales Off 22% For The Month
There were 181 sales of single family homes in Boulder County that occurred during February. This is down from 238 a year ago. So far for the year the combined sales are down 14%. As I mentioned a few posts ago, it seems like the market is picking up and there are currently 362 properties under contract. 
Median Price Down From January, Unchanged from 2006
The median price for a single family home in Boulder County was $344,000. Compare this to $377,000 in January and $343,000 during February last year. As you can see from the chart below, there is no statistical pattern for seasonality of price. However, we have seen modest price increases over the past few years county wide.
