Thursday, January 13, 2011

Denver Real Estate Market Update January 2011

So, How’s the Market, January 2011

The State of the Market in General described as “Choppy and Confused”!

Anyone who bought or sold a home in 2010 can tell you that it was a challenging year for Real Estate! Looking ahead, however, there are a couple of wild cards out there that could make the real estate market in 2011 look very different. First, if the job market improves, we will see an immediate improvement in the residential market which is good news for Sellers! Second, we would point out that the health of the Real Estate market is at least somewhat in the hands of the Media. The more that’s written about how terrible the housing market is, the more apt people are to sit back and do nothing.

A true recovery in home sales will not begin until the Government involvement in the housing market subsides and the private sector employment growth increases!!! Has the housing market hit bottom? Will we have to wait until sometime in 2011 or 2012 to see a bona fide recovery? While unemployment is the biggest drag on the Real Estate market, among major metro areas Denver is one of four that have seen supply and demand move back into some balance and also seen general economic conditions improve. The others include Boston, Central New Jersey and Dallas/Fort Worth.

A flurry of year-end buying in some price ranges caused home resales in Metro Denver to increase in December 2010

• The number of houses sold increased in December 2010 compared to December 2009, but the average sold price dipped.
• 2,422 Single family homes closed in December 2010 vs 2,328 in December 2009 a 4.0% increase.
• The average Sold Price was $274,625 in December 2010 vs $281,756 in December 2009 a 2.5% decrease.
• The December 2010 average days on the market was 111 vs 88 days in December 2009 a 26.1% increase.
• 602 Condos closed in December 2010 vs 631 in December 2009 down 4.6%
• The average Condo Sold Price was $166,841 in December 2010 vs $160,399 in the same month 2009 a 4.0% increase.
• The December 2010 Condo average days on the market was 132 vs 93 in December 2009 up 41.9%.

2010 Activity and a balance of Supply vs Demand shows some good signs for 2011 Market!

• Denver Metro Single family home sales totaled 30,777 in 2010, down 7 percent from the prior year.
• Condo sales also declined, with 8,041 properties sold in 2010, a drop of 10.2 percent from 2009.
• Current Active listings on the market began 2011 at 13,941 homes and 4,316 Condos up 13.7% and 2.9% respectively.
• Supply of inventory decreased to 4-8 months across most price ranges in Metro Denver, even up to $750,000, a welcome change
• The Luxury market improved late in the year, and when the upper end is moving, all price ranges generally benefit!

Advice for Buyers!

Of course anyone in this market with so many mixed signals is nervous about buying, but our advice would be not to wait! If there is one thing we’ve learned about this real estate market, it usually takes a long time to unwind but once it decides to turn around it is like someone turning on a light switch. Prices will move up very quickly, and you will be just like every other buyer bidding on the same house. Now is a great time to take advantage of low interest rates and better buying power. Just 5 years ago rates were closer to 8%, and now they are near 4.75%. That is a phenomenal savings and smart buyers will realize that now!

Advice for Sellers!

Sellers should consider a couple of things: First, they should be thinking about pricing their home for exactly what it’s worth. The strategy of pricing a home high and letting buyers make a lower offer can backfire! In today’s market, it could take several bids from buyers to get one acceptable price. So you want to price it right when you first enter the market, so buyers will be willing to make a bid and create competition between buyers. The second piece of advice for Sellers is to realize you are in competition with your neighbors. They are competing with you to sell their house, so we have to make sure that ours is prettier than theirs. Make the inexpensive improvements that buy you some fashion sense, and even consider staging the home if necessary. Do the little things and, “Win the Beauty Contest”!

Real Estate markets can recover much faster than they can fall. Let’s hope 2011 is the year that proves that theory again.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Michael Kozlowski Moves Up to #2 Ranked RE/MAX Agent in Colorado as of November 2010 & #28 in the United States

Michael Kozlowski - Team Koz RE/MAX Professionals moves up the rankings to #2 Ranked RE/MAX agent Year to Date 2010 in the State of Colorado.

As of November 2010 Michael Kozlowski was Ranked #28 out of over 56,000 RE/MAX Agents in the entire United States.