While the Boulder area continues to top the country in total appreciation since 1991 (a whopping 371 percent), we have fallen out of the top 10 — to number 19 — nationally in terms of one-year appreciation (10.84 percent according to FHFA). Nevertheless, many structural factors point to increased upward pressure on home values (including low unemployment, strong net migration, and lack of lots to build upon).
| Tweet |
Boulder County Home Sales Soar into Late Summer
Home sales in Boulder-area single-family and attached housing markets rose in August along with the late summer heat index.
Single-family home sales increased 10 percent in August 2018 compared to July with 460 homes sold in Boulder-area markets vs. 418. Sales for condominiums and townhomes climbed 15 percent with 146 units sold vs. 127.
Meanwhile, Denver-metro home sales went in the opposite direction, slowing significantly over the same period, according to the Denver Post.
It’s testament to the state of Boulder Valley real estate market, according to Ken Hotard, senior vice president of public affairs for the Boulder Area Realtor® Association.
“We have our own little market here. While Denver dipped, Boulder Valley showed strong growth in sales, despite ongoing rising prices and inventory squeeze,” says Hotard.
Year-to-date sales also continue to climb steadily. Single-family home sales grew 1.7 percent through August 2018 compared to last year – 3,154 homes sold vs. 3,100. Attached homes followed a similar track, improving 1.6 percent year-to-date – 1,154 sold in 2018 compared with 1,135 in 2017.
Inventory dropped 2.0 percent for single-family homes – 993 units in August 2018 vs. July’s 1,013. But condo/townhomes available for sale grew 11.2 percent with 268 units available in August vs. 241 the previous month.
Hotard attributes the unceasing increase in real estate sales and prices to the area’s strong economy and continued job growth, along with a desirable quality of life. “Significant companies are hiring in Boulder, like Zayo, Google, Twitter – and the natural foods industry is strong,” he adds.
Interest rates are slowly pushing upward, which traditionally results in a slowdown in rising home prices and sales. But Boulder Valley’s housing market may not readily respond to interest rate increases.
“It’s unknown what the tipping point is for interest rates affecting our housing market. And with 35 percent of Boulder County homes bought with cash, rising interest rates may not have a significant effect locally,” says Hotard.
Looking ahead to the final quarter of the year, Hotard expects sales to continue to match those of last year, unless “something unusual happens.”
“We seem to be operating on an upward trend and it’s hard to see what would stop it. The real challenge for Boulder County is providing the housing and transportation infrastructure to support job growth.”
Posted by Tom Kalinski Founder RE/MAX of Boulder on Tuesday, October 2nd, 2018 at 10:46am.
Posted on October 4, 2018 at 10:59 pm
Jay Kalinski
Category: Articles, RE/MAX of Boulder
Tagged #condo, #Denver, #growth, #home, #Housing, #sales, #townhome, #transportation, 2018, attached, attached dwelling, august, bara, boulder, boulder area realtor association, boulder county, boulder valley, condominium, denver post, google, homes, infrastructure, interest rates, inventory, job, july, Kalinski, Kalinski Team, ken hotard, market, markets, natural foods, prices, quarter, re/max, real estate, remax of boulder, single-family, summer, tipping point, tom kalinski, twitter, zayo
Boulder Valley housing holds strong amidst July pullback
Boulder-area housing continues to reach new heights, shrugging off a pullback in July sales.
“Prices in Boulder Valley are at an all-time high in both single-family and attached homes. Also inventory challenges are ongoing. Despite both of those realities, housing demand is absolutely holding,” says Ken Hotard, senior vice president of public affairs for the Boulder Area REALTOR® Association.
The City of Boulder July average sales price reached more than $1.3 million – a 15.4 percent increase for the year. Median price hit $984,648. While Boulder’s prices are the highest, every area in Boulder County saw an increase in average sales price ranging from 3.5 percent in Superior to 17.7 percent in Niwot year-to-date.
However, July sales slowed from the previous month, following the typical late summer pattern of a month-over-month slowdown. Sales declined for single-family and attached homes in July compared to June, 2018. Single-family home sales in the Boulder-area markets dropped 16 percent—418 vs. 498 units—while condominium and townhome sales fell 32.8 percent—127 units vs. 189.
Hotard says this year’s July slowdown is a little more pronounced than last year.
Even so, year-to-date single-family home sales were virtually unchanged with a 1.0 percent increase compared to the prior year with 2,666 homes sold compared to 2,639. Attached home sales over the same period improved 5.8 percent; 914 vs. 864 units sold.
Inventory held its own. There was essentially no change in single-family home inventory levels, which rose .8 percent across Boulder County in July compared to June, 2018 with 1,013 vs. 1,004 homes available for sale. Condo/townhome inventory grew 1.3 percent in July compared to the previous month with 241 units for sale vs. 238.
Hotard notes there is potentially downward pressure on the market with interest rates trending upward and prices rising faster than wages in the area.
“But with demand as it is, we’re just going to keep moving forward,” he says.
Hotard adds that real estate is a “dynamic industry and Realtors are responding to the challenges by continuing to advise their clients on successful strategies for selling and purchasing homes.”
Posted by Tom Kalinski Founder RE/MAX of Boulder on Monday, August 27th, 2018 at 2:45pm.
Posted on August 28, 2018 at 4:28 pm
Jay Kalinski
Category: Articles, RE/MAX of Boulder
Tagged #condo, #home, #Housing, #niwot, #sales, #selling, #Statistics, #superior, #townhome, 2018, attached, bara, boulder, challenges, city, condominium, county, homes, industry, interest rates, inventory, july, june, Kalinski, ken hotard, market, median, pressure, public affairs, purchase, re/max, real estate, reality, Realtor, remax of boulder, single-family, slowdown, stats, strategies, tom kalinski, valley, wages
Boulder valley real estate: Parsing fact from ‘fake news’
In this day and age, one could be forgiven for wondering if facts no longer matter or actions no longer have consequences. Whether one watches the national news or a local city council study session where members declare that they want fewer visitors (both tourists and locals from neighboring cities), it is clear we are living in strange times.
Despite all of the uncertainty, there are still a few facts left out there (at least where real estate is concerned), and from them we can draw some reasonable inferences.
The Facts:
1. Home prices throughout Boulder Valley are reaching all-time highs.
At the top of the list, the average single family home in:
- Boulder now costs over $1,250,000
- The suburban plains now costs almost $850,000
- Louisville and the suburban mountains now cost over $750,000
- Boulder County now costs $767,000
Likewise, the average attached home in:
- Boulder now costs over $540,000
- Louisville now costs over $400,000
- Longmont now costs over $350,000
- There are no places left in Boulder County or Broomfield where the average condo is less than $340,000.
2. Local housing inventory is at historic lows
The inventory of homes throughout Boulder County is at or near historic lows..
At the end of June, there were 858 single family homes on the market in Boulder County. To add some perspective, the inventory of homes on the market at the end of June 2006 was 2,763, more than three times as many homes as there are now. There are many reasons for this, including the fact that people are choosing to stay in place longer, increasing prices/lack of affordable places to move to, strong anti-growth policies, etc. Looking at the economic, political and structural factors at play, it appears that this scarce inventory is going to be the new normal.
3. Despite the high prices and low inventory, demand remains high
We gauge the strength of demand for homes using several indicators, including months’ of inventory, the average time a home spends on the market, and the number of expired listings (homes that failed to sell on the market).
Economists say that a balanced housing market has about six months’ of inventory, with more inventory being a buyer’s market and less being a seller’s market. At the end of June, Boulder County had about 3.3 months’ of inventory, compared to 3.8 at this time last year. In the first half of 2016, the average home spent 65 days on the market (from listing to closing). So far this year, that average is 57 days, 12.3 percent faster. Last year at this time, there were 33 expired listings, compared to only 26 this year, which is a drop of 21 percent.
Taken together, these factors demonstrate that demand is getting stronger, even in the face of rising prices and declining choices. And when you consider net migration to our area and plentiful jobs, it also appears that demand will keep increasing and homes will continue to appreciate until . . . when?
What is it that will cool our market and when will it happen?
There are several issues that have the potential to slow our market. First, interest rates continue to rise and as they do they will drain buyers’ purchasing power. Second, as prices have risen faster than wages over the last decade, there may come a point where home prices have to stall in order to allow buyers’ savings to catch up. Third, a macro-level event, such as a recession, international war, etc., could cool the entire economy and affect our market.
The set of variables is too complex to predict accurately what the precise cause(s) will be or when it will come, but it will come. The good news (if you own real estate here) is that there is no better place to invest in real estate than here — even in a downturn.
Jay Kalinski is broker/owner of Re/Max of Boulder.
Originally posted by BizWest on Wednesday, June 1st, 2018. Original found here.
Posted on July 1, 2018 at 12:02 pm
Jay Kalinski
Category: Articles, BizWest
Tagged #affordability, #broomfield, #demand, #economic, #home, #Housing, #longmont, #louisville, #savings, 2018, affordable, attached dwelling, boulder, boulder valley, city council, cool, county, fact, fake news, for sale, historic, historic lows, hot, inventory, jay kalinski, jobs, Kalinski, live, market, migration, mountains, move, net, normal, policies, political, predict, prices, real estate, recession, scarce, single-family, singly family home, slow, structural, suburban, war
Spring Home Sales Continue to Surge
.jpg)
Spring selling season in Boulder County continues to soar with April’s residential sales keeping pace with last month’s rocketing sales as well as outperforming April last year.
“Demand remains strong and inventory tight, keeping upward pressure on pricing,” says Ken Hotard, senior vice president of public affairs for Boulder Area Realtor® Association.
The 345 single-family homes that sold in April 2018 topped March’s rising sales by one unit or .3 percent; and the 126 condominiums and townhomes sold in April represented an additional 4 sold or 3.3 percent over last month.
Year-over-year Boulder-area single-family home sales climbed 5.4 percent through April 2018 – 1,198 homes sold vs. 1,137 – and condo/townhomes sales increased 5.9 percent with 447 units sold compared to 422.
Inventory also grew, which has proven to be a key factor in maintaining sales.
“While inventory showed solid increases in both single-family and condo/townhomes, we could use three-to-four times that amount to meet demand,” says Hotard.
Countywide single-family inventory increased 18.2 percent in April over March with 770 homes for sale vs. 651. Condo/townhome inventory improved 16.4 percent over the same period – 163 units vs. 140.
Hotard says evidence shows prices may have not yet reached a peak. “This is the first time I recall median prices over $1 million. It’s clear that with the city of Boulder built out on single-family housing stock, it’s putting pressure on prices.”
He notes that many dynamics shape the market. “Clearly affordability is a big issue – it influences who can live here, whether purchasing or renting. As more people can’t afford to live here, it’s a big loss because we are losing high quality people and the marketplace is becoming more exclusionary.”
Noting that buyers are coming from many places including California, Chicago, Texas and Nebraska, Hotard says people look to Colorado because of the entrepreneurial spirit and low unemployment.
Hotard summarizes, “As Boulder is to Colorado, Colorado is to the rest of the country.”
Posted by Tom Kalinski Founder RE/MAX of Boulder on Tuesday, May 29th, 2018 at 11:56am.
Posted on May 30, 2018 at 9:48 pm
Jay Kalinski
Category: Articles, RE/MAX of Boulder
Tagged #affordability, #april, #Boulderarea, #BoulderAreaRealtorAssosciation, #bouldercounty, #buyers, #condo, #demand, #entrepreneurialspirit, #highdemand, #home, #homesales, #lowunemployment, #pricing, #realestate, #residentailsales, #residential, #risingsales, #rocketingsales, #sales, #sellers, #singlefamilyhomes, #spring, #strongmarket, #tightinventory, #townhome, bara, boulder, boulder valley, colorado, for sale, homes, inventory, Kalinski, re/max, real estate, remax of boulder
First Signs of Spring Home Sales Show Promise
.jpg)
‘Home for Sale’ signs are popping up like spring tulips in Boulder County, showing early indications the selling season is likely to emerge strong this year.
Those early positive signs are supported by February’s Boulder Area Realtor® Association sales stats that mark improvement in inventory and sales for single-family and attached dwellings.
“February showed good recovery in sales and inventory from last month’s slow start to the year,” says Ken Hotard, vice president of public affairs for the Boulder Area Realtor® Association. “It sets buyers and sellers up well going into the top home-selling months of March, April, May and June.”
Inventory increased for single-family and attached Boulder County dwellings in February compared to January. Single-family home inventory increased 7.6 percent – 592 units versus 550 – while townhome and condominium inventory improved 2.3 percent – 138 units versus 130 – month-over-month.
Month-over-month sales of single-family homes in the Boulder-area improved 9 percent compared to January – 240 units versus 220. Condominium and townhome sales rose 7.9 percent month-over-month – 95 units versus 88.
Year-to-date, single-family home sales in the Boulder-area increased 12.3 percent through February 2018, with 467 homes sold versus 416. The number of condominiums and townhomes sold also rose, marking a 26.2 percent year-to-date jump with 183 units sold versus 145 units for the same period in 2017.
Hotard says Boulder County’s real estate market hasn’t changed from last year, noting that “given the market we have, there is no denying demand is strong and there continue to be active buyers.”
The one shifting fundamental is increasing interest rates.
“Interest rates are over 4.5 percent now and projected to go higher. The question is just how high they will go,” explains Hotard.
He says it’s too soon to tell if rising interest rates will put a damper on home sales or the area’s ever-rising real estate prices.
All told, not much has changed in Hotard’s view. “We still live in a beautiful place that offers an exceptional quality of life, Colorado job growth continues to be strong, and the areas surrounding Boulder County are experiencing rising real estate prices.”
So bring on the 2018 home selling season, it’s budding with promise.
Posted on April 3, 2018 at 7:34 pm
Jay Kalinski
Category: Articles, RE/MAX of Boulder
Tagged #attacheddwellings, #Boulderarea, #BoulderAreaRealtorAssosciation, #bouldercounty, #buying, #condos, #home, #homesales, #homesellingseason, #interestrates, #jobgrowth, #realestatemarket, #realestateprices, #realestateseason, #sales, #selling, #single-familyhomes, #spring, #townhomes, 2018, boulder, boulder valley, colorado, for sale, homes, inventory, Kalinski, re/max, real estate, remax of boulder
Boulder-area market holding steady, proving strong demand eclipses low inventory
It’s beginning to look a lot like this year’s Boulder County real estate sales performance will outperform last year’s robust close. Year-over-year sales data for 2017 shows slight improvements compared to 2016, even with inventory at persistently low levels.
“It just proves that demand is strong and consistent,” says Ken Hotard, senior vice president of public affairs for the Boulder Area Realtor® Association.
Single-family home sales in the Boulder area improved 2.1 percent year-to-date through November 2017 compared to the prior year – 4,224 homes sold vs. 4,138.
And the sale of 1,377 condominiums and townhomes through November represented a 5.5 percent gain compared to the prior year’s 1,305 units sold.
“We saw year-over-year sales improvements, but the pull-back in November compared to October was more than average,” says Hotard.
He’s referring to the 7.9 percent drop in single-family home sales in November compared to October — 359 vs. 390 homes sold. Attached dwellings sold decreased 2.4 percent month-over-month with 123 units sold vs. 126.
Since the weather was excellent for house hunting, the pullback is likely indicative of more than the typical seasonal slowdown.
“Inventory is probably the culprit in the November pullback this year, which resulted in not only fewer sales, but also a softening of prices,” he says. When it comes to low inventory, there is “no end is in sight for the foreseeable future.”
Hotard believes price-softening is confined to higher end homes where inventories are larger and homes take twice as many days on the market before selling. “Lower priced homes are not affected,” he adds.
While buyer demand is strong, low inventory can’t supply that demand. November’s inventory is telling: Single-family homes for sale in the Boulder-area dropped 22.8 percent in November compared to October with 777 homes for sale vs. 1,006. Condos and townhomes felt the pinch slightly harder with a 24.7 percent drop for the month of November – 146 units vs. 194.
Mortgage interest deductions may diminish in importance as a result of the doubling of the standard deduction as part of recent tax reform legislation. The National Association of Realtors predicts only a small percent of homeowners will take advantage of the mortgage interest deduction in years to come because of that change.
*Photo courtesy of Edwin Andrade on Unsplash.com
Posted by Tom Kalinski Founder RE/MAX of Boulder on Friday, January 5th, 2018 at 10:15am.
Posted on January 16, 2018 at 5:38 pm
Jay Kalinski
Category: RE/MAX of Boulder
Tagged 2017, bara, boulder, boulder area realtor association, boulder county, buyer, future, homeowner, inventory, ken hotard, market, nar, national association of realtors, prices, re/max, real estate, Realtor, seller, tax reform, tom kalinski
Boulder Valley 2018 real estate predictions
The Boulder Valley real estate market has undergone a shift in 2017. While we began the year in a fairly strong seller’s market, it soon became apparent that the indicators we track were pointing to a shift toward a more balanced market.
Making predictions is always a risky business, but here are my top three predictions for 2018 and what they will likely mean for people in the market.
1. Appreciation will continue (but at a slower pace).
For single family homes, Boulder County experienced 5 percent appreciation through the first three quarters of 2017. While this is solid, it pales when compared to the over 15 percent appreciation during the same period of 2016.
In 2018, I predict we will see about 5 percent overall appreciation in Boulder County, with individual cities varying substantially. I predict that the highest appreciation rates will be in Longmont and Erie, and the slowest appreciation will be in the City of Boulder.
For attached homes (townhouses and condos), Boulder County experienced a meager 1.7 percent improvement through the third quarter of 2017. This number is somewhat misleading, as most areas were up by a higher percentage while the City of Boulder was actually down 3.7 percent.
For 2018, I predict that attached homes will appreciate by about 5 percent, with appreciation being higher in every locale except the City of Boulder. In Boulder, it is possible that we will see a continued decline in prices, especially if investment property owners who have not brought their units up to Smartregs compliance decide to sell rather than spend the money to them into compliance.
What this means: For buyers, now is a great time to buy, especially if you are in the market for a condo in the City of Boulder. Waiting will cost you, but not as much as in previous years. For homeowners, if you are considering selling, you have ridden a strong wave of appreciation over the last several years, and you will not likely see the same rate of appreciation by continuing to hold.
2. Inventory will increase in 2018.
Since 2011, the inventory of available homes on the market has generally gone down when compared to the preceding year. That trend finally broke in 2017, with available inventory of both single family and attached homes rising above 2016 numbers. Without getting too deeply into the weeds, a number of indicators that we use to track the market point to a continuation of this trend in 2018. Some of the more telling indicators are (1) a falling sales price to list price ratio, (2) an increase in months of inventory, and (3) more expired listings (homes that did not sell on the market).
In the City of Boulder, on the single family side, I predict that inventory will see the biggest increase in the $1 million+ market as a gap has started to open between sellers’ opinions of their homes’ values and what buyers are willing to pay for them. On the attached side, we will likely see an increase as well, partly due to an influx of non-Smartreg-compliant units as well as condos at the Peloton being converted from apartments.
What this means: For buyers, you will finally have more homes to choose from in your search. For sellers, you will have to be much more careful when pricing your home to avoid being rejected by the market.
3. Interest rates will rise modestly.
For the past several years, numerous experts have predicted mortgage interest rate increases. And for as many years, the rate increases have been non-existent or far more modest than predicted, even after the Fed increased its Fed Funds Rate. Speaking of which, the Fed is expected to raise rates again this month as the economy shows continued signs of recovery. However, the number and size of interest rate increases in 2018 is far from certain because of a change in leadership of the Fed.
Lawrence Yun, the chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, predicts that rates will increase to 4.5 percent by the end of 2018, which is about 0.5 percent higher than current rates. This figure could be affected by tax reform, the country’s economic performance, and other political factors. Nevertheless, for planning purposes, an increase to 4.5 percent in 2018 is likely to be in the ballpark.
What this means: While appreciation rates and inventory are starting to move into buyers’ favor, there will be a cost to waiting to enter the market in terms of affordability. That is, the longer you wait, the more you will likely pay for a home and the more interest you will likely pay for it.
Conclusion: Sellers have been the primary beneficiaries of the real estate market since the recovery of the Great Recession, but 2018 will finally see buyers in a stronger position.
Jay’s monthly article via Boulder Valley 2018 real estate predictions – BizWest
Posted on January 13, 2018 at 2:26 pm
Jay Kalinski
Category: BizWest
Tagged 2018, appreciation, bizwest, boulder, boulder valley, interest rates, inventory, jay, jay kalinski, market, mortgage, real estate
