Taking a deep dive on the initial sales data reported thus far for the City of Boulder in January 2021. Data provided by IRES – Information Real Estate Systems, primary multiple listing service for Boulder/Northern Colorado.
Monthly Active Listing Snapshot Plummets
Driving around Boulder, do you get the impression there are fewer home For Sale signs? It’s not just a feeling. The number of new listings for sale has dramatically decreased.
This is the big story in national and local real estate. The number of homes for sale is down. Simultaneously, demand is up, interest rates remain phenomenal, coronavirus fears have us seeking more living space at home. But all of this said and done, the #1 January City of Boulder statistic is that year over year, there were 57 fewer detached homes for sale.
Fifty seven fewer homes for sale represents a 40.1% reduction in inventory.
Home Prices Jump In City Of Boulder
No, not jump. More like leap. Think Usain Bolt running at high speed and leaping into a killer long jump. The monthly median home price in January 2020 was $912,500. Not too shabby.
In Twenty Twenty One, Boulder monthly median home prices leaped to a staggering $1,425,000. That’s an increase of 56% year over year.
What the market is saying is, “we need more houses for sale!” For Boulder Home Sellers, this is a fantastic opportunity to sell at the top of the market. Sure prices could go up. They might be going up right this moment. But, prices don’t generally increase by fifty to sixty percent in a year. There are a lot of contributing factors in play right now. If you have been on the fence about selling your house; now is the time to sell.
Monthly Sales Volume Increases
This statistic has to be worrying for Boulder home buyers.
Remember, new listings declined year over year. Prices skyrocketed. And the total volume of sales rose from $30,580,400.00 to $52,197,541.00. Some of that increase is from the more expensive nature of real estate. But a good chunk of it is from existing inventory selling in January as well. With sales outpacing incoming new inventory, it is going to put more pressure on the market. Realestate home buyers should prepare for bidding wars and over full price offers to be more common!
There were, in fact, three more home sales in January of this year versus last year. More sales on less new inventory!
Boulder Homes Average Days On Market Shrinks
Across all price points – from entry level houses to mega-million dollar properties, the average number of days from start to finish shrank by about three weeks.
- Previous ADOM: 86
- Current Average Days on Market (start to Closed!): 62
That’s 24 days less on average. More that three weeks faster. Nearly a month faster. You get the idea – the timeline for getting a Boulder home sold has rapidly expanded.
Local, State, National Real Estate Trend!
What’s occurring is not strictly Boulder real estate news. It is not an outlier event. We are seeing insufficient inventory nationally. Part of the driver for this is everything we need our homes for today. Covid-19 has us creating classrooms, home offices and basement gyms in our residences. Some of these trends are apt to stay once we safely vaccinate the population. Business travel for instance might fall off as part of the recovery because companies have become so adept at remote workforce engagement.
Look at the County level statistics. Go ahead – follow this link. You’ll see this lack of housing inventory, shorter DOM, sales outpacing inbound listings is a county-wide issue. My personal experience has been to show clients entry level homes recently – specifically $425,000 houses in Arvada (right – that’s not Boulder), run into fifteen to twenty four additional offers and have my client bidding $40,000, $50,000 or more over list price. And losing out to a higher bid waiving protections such as the Home Inspection! Um, I’ll call it as I see it: crazy!
Boulder County Home Buyers Seeking Playgrounds!
Check out some of the great neighborhoods to call home around the area.
- Continental View Estates has a great playground/park in the community, excellent views and lots of privacy.
- Similarly, Coal Creek with it’s water features has a hidden gem of a park inside the neighborhood.
- Beacon Hill joins the club with a great community park and popular sledding hill.
About Bob Gordon Boulder Realtor Blogger
Hi. I’ve been blogging on all things Boulder since 2012. Shaking things up this year, I made – and achieved – my goal to blog everyday for the months of January and February. I write about the community, parks and recreation, subdivisions and where to live. But I also touch on dining and things that make the Boulder community special. I look forward to meeting you one day and you can always contact me when you are ready to move from interested to needing a good Realtor!
When I’m not blogging, I enjoy cycling – outdoors on the paths near my house or indoors on my shiny new Peloton bike. What are the hashtags I should be following? Like many of my readers, I moved to Colorado for the winters and have stayed for the gorgeous summers. It used to be somewhat unique to say I like to cook at home, but let’s face it. These days we all cook at home! My #1 favorite dining out treat (well take out these days) is Busaba. If you enjoy good Thai food, this place is special.
Lately, strictly for fun, I’ve been looking at what forty to eighty million buys you for a home in exotic US locations such as Beverly Hills or South Hampton, NY. What’s your dream home fantasy of choice?