MAY REAL ESTATE MARKET UPDATE
SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL (SFR)
The April real estate market continued the interesting trend we have seen the last several months. Compared to a year ago the average sold price and price per square foot are up considerably in all the communities surveyed. However, compared to March sales the average price received was lower in Erie, Longmont and Louisville. This correlated with the price per square foot also being less than in March. However, the price of homes in both Boulder and Lafayette increased this past month. Boulder has the most normal inventory of all the communities. But it only has a one month’s supply of homes for sale. A three month’s inventory indicates a normal market.
BOULDER COUNTY
Boulder County continues to be a popular place to live. With the influx of tech companies, the beautiful weather and the easy access to hiking, biking and skiing, people continue to pour into our county. The seventy percent increase in the average price of a single family home compared to April 2020 shows how much people want to live here. And, the average sold price rose $140 thousand in just one month. WOW!
BOULDER
As usual, Boulder led the way with the largest average price increase of sixty-eight percent from a year ago. With an average price per square foot of $551 and an increase of $64 per square foot in a month, SFR homes in Boulder increased in value approximately twelve percent. Not a bad investment!
ERIE
The average price of a home in Erie rose thirty-four percent in a year, but declined $35 thousand compared to March. This corresponded to decrease of approximately 6 percent of a home’s value in Erie in a month.
LAFAYETTE
The average sales price of Lafayette homes increased significantly (24 percent) since last year, and gained an average two percent in value over the past month.
LONGMONT
With an average sales price of $691,385 Longmont continued the trend of higher prices compared to last year. However, the decline in the average price per square foot of $36 from March to April greatly impacted the value of homes in Longmont. (Momentarily. The market in Longmont is currently extremely competitive with multiple offers and bids between $60,000 and $90,000 over ask being the norm.)
LOUISVILLE
The average sold price in Louisville rose twenty-three percent in a year, but declined $76,000 since March. This corresponds to a decrease of $3 per square foot between March and April 2021.
ANALYSIS
We are approaching the typical busy selling season for real estate. With the limited inventory of homes on the market I forecast more bidding wars and higher prices throughout the county in the months to come. Interest rates continue to be very low giving buyers the ability to purchase more expensive homes, and, bid the purchase price of homes up even higher. With cash in hand they have the ability to pay more than a home’s appraised value, which is a risky proposition. A solution to this problem is to get more people to sell their homes. But, as has been the case
for a while, people are reluctant to sell as they are concerned they won’t be able to find a replacement home.
