Despite a nearly 30 percent increase in new single-family and townhome/condominium listings from January to February 2017, Colorado’s housing market continues to battle record low inventory, according to the latest statewide housing report from the Colorado Association of REALTORS® (CAR).
The addition of 7,099 single-family listings and 2,228 new townhome/condominium listings, of which more than half were in the Denver-metro region, was matched by consistent statewide sales resulting in an 8 percent dip in the total inventory of active listings from January to February 2017. El Paso County has just a 1.1 month supply of available single family homes, pushing the average home price up over $25,000 to over $302,000. Local townhome prices have jumped an average of $23,000 to $192,199.
Colorado Real Estate Market
Millennials Lead Local Housing Boom
Local rents have soared 10.4% this year, making Colorado Springs the top city in the U.S. for rent increases in 2016 in terms of matching the Alpharetta Georgia lifestyle. The soaring cost of rental housing is contributing to the home buying rush among Millennials. Young adults are buying homes at a faster pace than any other market segment across the country. The Millennial generation is now the largest in the nation, outgrowing the Baby Boomers this year, according to the U.S. Census. And our area has a greater number of young adults than the majority of U.S. cities. The median age in Colorado Springs is 34.4 compared to the national average of 37.4.
As we predicted last November, the 2016 Colorado Springs housing market is in record territory, and there’s plenty of mo’ in the market heading into November. Single family home sales skyrocketed 14.4% in October over 2015, and the average home is now worth 11.5% or $30,000 more. The latest stats, released today by the Pikes Peak Association of REALTORS, show home prices and sales both hit all-time highs for the month of October. October 2016 Home Sales Report
The market trend suggests that home sales will fall off only slightly December, which should be welcome news to home sellers and anyone who is planning to list their home before the end of the year.
By contrast, October sales in Denver took an 11.43% nosedive year over year, and plunged almost 17% from September as home buyers are struggling with rising prices and record low inventory. Even rents have been pushed downward by the frenzy of new apartment construction. Denver Metro Market Report
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The Record-Breaking 2016 Colorado Springs Real Estate Market
Colorado Springs Real Estate Market
If the torrid pace of local home sales continues, 2016 will blast through all previous records for Colorado Springs home sales. For 5 consecutive months, home sales and prices have hit all-time records. The winter lull…well it never happened. December felt like June with over 1,100 homes sold, and the total for the first 3 months of 2016 of nearly 2,900 sales is an all time record. Real estate experts, like us, think we’re on track for more of the same. There are a lot of reasons, including a much-improved local economy providing thousands of higher paying jobs, our growing population, silly-low mortgage interest rates, and a growing group of young home buyers entering the home market for the first time.
What is it like to be a seller in 2016? Well, the timing has never been better. And while the task may seem easier than ever, it’s never been more important to have a skilled real estate professional at your side to keep a steady hand on the transaction. The feeding frenzy in certain price ranges can create a mind-numbing variety of multiple offer scenarios. Is the highest offer the best one? Not if the buyer gets cold feet and quits the deal at the last minute. It’s a challenge for even the most experienced agents to negotiate, not only the highest possible price in today’s market, but also a deal that will get to closing – without any legal nightmares after the fact.
What’s it like to be a Pikes Peak area home buyer in 2016? It can be an all-consuming and stressful process to find the right property in the right price range, and be the successful bidder when there are competing offers. A skilled buyer’s agent has the tools to help buyers win, keep a cool head, and be smart about their biggest financial investment.
