How's the Market?

It's funny, whenever I go to parties or get together's I always get this question from people I know and those who have just met me--"how's the market?" Since I am a Realtor people think I should have a ready answer.

Well, here's an answer with a little research plus some of my observations.

Here's a snapshot of Days on Market for homes in this general area-

Boulder 95 DOM
Louisville 88 DOM
Lafayette 110 DOM
Longmont 113 DOM
Erie 116 DOM
Broomfield 102 DOM

Dates are from 1-1-06 thru today, 5-16-06.

Overall, the market is not as strong as it has been the past few years. With interest rates having gone up the entry of first time homebuyers into the market is not like it was two years ago. Plus, we are not seeing many homeowners slotting up--sell a home for $300k and then buy a home for $450k. The inventory availability in Louisville for example of higher priced homes is very low now. A home on Manorwood went on the market last week for $850k and went under contract today.

But, if you look at higher priced homes in the Niwot area specifically Somerset, there are 24 homes for sale from the $800k range to the $4m range. It's a lack of high paying jobs being created in the area. When the market was really hot here in the mid to late 90's it was primarily a result of high paying jobs being created in the high tech field in places like Interlocken, Boulder and Longmont.

Areas which are really struggling now are Erie, parts of Longmont and parts of Broomfield. Why is that? The areas which grew the fastest during the high tech boom are the ones which are having the biggest pullback with the layoffs and downsizing. And in addition to the loss of jobs these three areas still have builders building new homes right now. New construction with a decrease in demand equals foreclosures. I was in Broomfield a few weeks ago showing property with one of my Buyers and we looked at a home in Broomfield which was only a few years old in the one of the newer neighborhoods which was a foreclosure--the home was priced in the $400k range which was surprising to me.

There are still Buyers moving into the area but it's not like it was pre Y2k. Colorado is still a very desirable place to live because of the quality of life, climate, outdoor activities, etc.

More to come later.