“What do you think the market will do this spring?” I’m asked that every day. The only thing I can do is to point out the facts. Inventory is down. Prices are up. And the supply of homes has dropped to one month and three days. Just as a reference, in 2010, the supply of homes on the market was six months which is a balanced market--sellers and buyers have equal standing. When you have our market, houses go quickly. People keep telling me it’s gonna change—that it must. No, it doesn’t At …
Home Prices
Northern Colorado RE Stays Strong–for How Long?
The northern Colorado real estate market continues to be one of the strongest in the country. Demand for homes, fueled by job growth, continues to outpace supply. Regional job growth in 2017, a leading indicator of the real estate market, was one of the strongest in the last 10 years. Despite more construction, supply has not kept up with demand. The northern Colorado market continues to have less than 3 months of housing supply when 6 months is considered a balanced market. Some thoughts about …
Getting It Right–Zillow vs. Agent
We all use Zillow and, depending on what it says, we either love it or hate it. ‘Zestimates’ are based on an algorithm that identifies a home’s unique value by comparing it to other homes that may or may not be similar. The critical component missing is “boots on the ground,” a live human being who has been in that home, and has been in other homes that would be comparable. Computer codes aren’t people. Humans VS. Technology Zillow gets market data from the same resources as real estate …
Protest Your Tax Assessment (maybe)
I’m up to 22 as of this morning. I wish it were 22 running miles but my wrecked knee precludes that. I have 22 requests to help clients protest their tax assessment in Larimer County. I expect that to double as the month progresses. People are asking if it’s worth it and my answer depends on the difference between their 2015 assessment and 2017’s. It seems as if the 2015 assessments were reasonable and I didn’t have many clients asking for help. Most of us shrugged our shoulders and accepted …
Envisioning a Different Housing Market
“Weld County is the fourth most unaffordable county in the U.S. when taking into account median home prices and the average earning of wages, according to a new report by ATTOM Data Solutions.” http://www.greeleytribune.com/news/business/report-four-counties-in-colorado-including-weld-top-the-list-of-home-unaffordability/ Yikes! Weld County’s median price for a home, $280,000 as of today, may be almost $100,000 cheaper than Larimer County’s, but it’s a median price increase of 12% from last …
Dueling Real Estate Forecasts
Real estate forecasts are a tricky thing. No one knows that more than real estate agents who are asked ten times a day what they think will happen with interest rates, housing appreciation, population growth, new construction and what is the next trendy color to paint the living room. I’m not kidding on that last one. And, yes, I have ideas about that. Falling Prices? According to an article in the Denver Post, “Location Inc., a geographic research and real estate data firm, warns that years of …
