Boulder Housing Sales Seem Unstoppable

Boulder County housing sales in May rolled strong once again, demonstrated by sharp growth in the single-family home market and solid performance for attached dwellings.

“Gains in single-family home sales topped 40 percent – a really strong increase that was backed by inventory growth,” says Ken Hotard, senior vice president of public affairs for the Boulder Area Realtor® Association.

In fact, all categories of single-family homes surged, according to May 2018 statistics. Sales of single-family homes grew 41.2 percent in May 2018 compared to April, with 487 homes sold vs. 345. Year-to-date single-family home sales increased 5.6 percent year-to-date through May 2018 compared to the prior year – 1,708 vs. 1,618. And inventory countywide increased 19.1 percent month-over-month with 918 units for sale in May vs. 770 the prior month.

Condominium and townhome sales grew a solid 14.3 percent in May compared to April, represented by 144 units sold vs. 126. Year to date, growth was 23 percent – 594 units vs. 481. Inventory increased 27 percent in May compared to April, putting 208 dwellings in the May marketplace compared to 163 in April.

Hotard says prices moderated slightly in May. Single-family average and median sales prices dropped compared to the previous month. “The median in April was over $1 million, now it’s down to $985,000; and townhome/condos were in the $500,000’s last month and are now in the $450,000’s,” he adds.

The steadily increasing housing market is a sign of strong fundamentals – demand is strong, inventory tight and jobs plentiful. Currently, Boulder is the third largest job center in the state. “But with housing prices too high for the average worker and no new building in sight, we can expect to see jobs that would have located in Boulder County opt instead to land somewhere along I-25,” explains Hotard.

Looking forward, he says June data seems to be tracking solidly along with May.

“We should see a shift in the market as we get to the end of July. I expect it to slow down a bit, but we can expect much of the same.”

He adds that the number of days a home is on the market is short. “Any buyer in this market has to walk into house-hunting ready to buy with a knowledgeable realtor and financing lined up.”

Originally posted here by Tom Kalinski Founder RE/MAX of Boulder on Wednesday, June 27th, 2018 at 11:03am.