The Boulder real estate market is back in full swing. The best indication of the great activity that is happening is that 35% of the homes on the market in Boulder County were under contract at the beginning of the month. This is a huge number! As you look at the graph below, you will see that 35% is far and away the highest percentage of homes under contract over the last four years. Buyers are having a hard time finding exactly what they are looking for and when a really good house comes on the market it is not uncommon to have multiple offers coming to the seller in short order. 
The numbers for the market are all positive but what is most important to me is how the market feels. To me, this market feels much different than it has since the 2005 – 2006 market. There is a buzz out there and the people who I run into are echoing the increase in confidence and activity. It feels like we have made an important turn in the market! Year-to-date sales are up 10%. I expect this to increase throughout the spring. Inventory continues to lag and this is contributing to the feeling of scarcity that buyers are feeling. The graph below compares the number of listings that have come on the market on a weekly basis over the past three years. Even though the market is moving in a very positive direction the number of new listings is lower than 2011 and 2010. 
The short slideshow below shows the rest of the pertinent sales statistics for the Boulder County real estate market. I have annotated the slides so the rest of the story is contained below.
