Market Reports

Homes priced between $300,000 and $499,999 have greatest buyer demand in Metro Denver. The price segments for which homebuyers have gained more negotiating power are condos priced between $750,000 and $999,999 and the single-family homes priced over $1 million.

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September ended with 2.04 months of single-family home inventory and 2.12 months of condos for sale. According to DMAR, housing inventory under five months is considered a seller’s market.

“In the Denver area, the real estate season is usually busiest from March through September,” said Jill Schafer, Chair of the DMAR Market Trends Committee and Metro Denver REALTOR®. “This year, you could say we’ve been turning from an extremely fast-paced market to a slower moving, healthier one. There have been changes, but we have not shifted to a buyer’s market. Let me repeat that. We have not shifted to a buyer’s market. Sellers still hold the upper hand.”

Schafer adds, “Don’t get me wrong, we have been seeing changes. The number of price reductions has gone up. The spread between the list price and the sold price has widened. And the average days on market went up.”

The rate of housing price appreciation has slowed, but it has not reversed. Overall, while it decreased month over month, the average sold price of a home in September was still up 6.06 percent year over year and 2.52 percent year to date, $483,734 and $487,814 respectively. Year to date, the close-price to list-price ratio was at 99.31 percent in September, whereas it has been slightly over 100 percent since 2015. Furthermore, the days on market has increased 25 percent year to date from 24 days last year to 30 days.SEARCH FOR HOMES

Schafer notes that there are two segments of the housing market for which homebuyers have “a little more buying power”: condos priced between $750,000 and $999,999 and the single-family homes priced over $1 million.

On the other hand, homes priced between $300,000 and $499,999 have greatest buyer demand in Metro Denver. Andrew Abrams, DMAR Market Trends Committee member and Metro Denver REALTOR®, shares: “Months of inventory for homes priced between $300,000 and $499,999 were an astonishing 1.33 for single-family homes and 1.97 for condos. This means that if no houses hit the market in this price range, there would not be any more single-family homes to sell in 5-6 weeks and only two months for condos. This price range has the lowest months of inventory compared to all other segments of the housing market.”

Looking at the numbers, the record-high housing inventory for the month of September was in 2006 with 31,450 active listings, and 2015 represented the record low with 7,516. For comparison, September 2019 ended with 9,286 active listings.

Our monthly report also includes statistics and analyses in its supplemental “Luxury Market Report” (properties sold for $1 million or greater), “Signature Market Report” (properties sold between $750,000 and $999,999), “Premier Market Report” (properties sold between $500,000 and $749,999), and “Classic Market” (properties sold between $300,000 and $499,999). In September 2019, 177 homes sold and closed for $1 million or greater – down 23.38 percent from August and up 39.37 percent year over year. The closed dollar volume in the luxury segment year to date was $2.88 billion, up 10.73 percent from last year.

The highest-priced single-family home that sold in September was $7,200,000 representing three bedrooms, five bathrooms and 5,075 above ground square feet in Boulder. The highest-priced condo sale was $2,800,000 representing two bedrooms, three bathrooms and 3,042 above ground square feet in Denver.

“Like the sizzling hot temperatures, we had in September, the Luxury Market was hot too,” stated Brigette Modglin, DMAR Market Trends Committee member and Metro Denver REALTOR®.

Sales of single-family homes were up 32.48 percent and condo sales were up 120 percent from one year ago. Modglin adds, “Even with the extremely warm temperatures we still welcomed the fall season, which is when we start to see things slow down.”

Month over month, single-family homes in the Luxury Market had price depreciations with homes selling 96.49 percent from list-price to close-price, down 0.88 percent month over month and 0.42 percent from one year ago. Slowing down too was the single-family sales volume that fell 16.47 percent month over month but was still up year over year with an increase of 45.09 percent.

“Don’t slow down too much though,” comments Modglin. “If buyers are wanting to buy a single-family luxury home, now may be the time. With over six months of inventory for homes priced $1 million plus, we’ve moved from a balanced market slightly into a buyer’s market, and home sellers may be willing to give a little more than they did a month ago and even a year ago.”

The luxury condo market was in demand with condos selling 98.11 percent close-price to list-price, up 1.12 percent month over month and up 6.56 percent year over year. Luxury condo sales were ‘scorching hot’ according to Modglin with, year over year, 12 more condos that sold over $1 million and luxury condo sales volume up 135.07 percent.

Like a hot commodity, luxury condos weren’t taking as long to sell with only 37 average days on market, which was down 28.85 percent month over month and down 57.95 percent from one year ago when it averaged 88 days to sell. Luxury condo buyers are paying $191 more per square foot this year than last year with the price-per-square foot up 52.04 percent at $558.

Thank you to our partners at the Denver Metro Association of Realtors for compiling and providing this information.

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It might be in the 80s along the Front Range this week, but peak fall colors are getting closer and closer in the mountains.

While patchy fall colors have been spotted across the higher terrain over the last few days, “near peak” conditions are expected this weekend, based on a new and detailed fall foliage prediction website’s forecast.

The website SmokyMountains.com’s hyper-local fall color map shows Colorado’s peak mountain colors arriving over the next two weekends, with peak colors perhaps likeliest around the weekend of Oct. 5. The website uses 40,000 visual data points based on past weather and official government-issued weather forecasts to produce the foliage maps.

“Although the scientific concept of how leaves change colors is fairly simple, predicting the precise moment the event will occur is extremely challenging,” SmokyMountains.com data scientist and CTO Wes Melton said. “The major factors impacting peak fall are sunlight, precipitation, soil moisture and temperature. Although we cannot control Mother Nature and ensure 100 percent accuracy, our data sources are top-tier and each year we refine our algorithmic model achieving higher accuracy over time.”

The same website predicts eastern Colorado’s peak colors to bloom between Oct. 19 and 26.

If recent weather is anything to go off of, then this year’s fall color show could be an especially bright one. Cool nights and warm days, coupled with a wet growing season and dry end to summer make extra colorful fall leaves more likely. In general, Colorado has experienced all of those weather criteria, helping fuel extra anticipation for this season’s fall foliage show.

It’ll also feel a bit more fall-like this weekend, with temperatures statewide expected to cool to more typical late September levels behind a cold front later this week.

The Know put together this great list of the best places to see the colorful trees while they last:

U.S. 285 over Kenosha Pass

This is one of Colorado’s favorite road trips for aspen-viewing, although it can be difficult to score a parking spot on the pass. In fact, “It gets kind of ugly up there,” U.S. Forest Service district ranger Josh Voorhis says. If you do find a parking spot, there are trails to hike through spectacular aspen stands. For a more extended trip, continue driving west from the pass on 285 to Como, then take the gravel Boreas Pass Road over to Breckenridge. You can return to Denver by way of Interstate 70.

Peak to Peak Highway

Otherwise known as Colorado Highway 72, the stretch between Nederland on the south and Allenspark on the north is a great place for aspen-gazing by car or bike ride. You might want to consider a side trip to Brainard Lake, too, which you’ll find at a turnoff to the west about halfway between Nederland and Allenspark.

Endovalley in Rocky Mountain National Park

You’ll find this by taking U.S. 34 (also known as Fall River Road) west from Estes Park. About 2.5 miles past the Fall River Visitor Center, turn right (west) at Endovalley Road. About two miles up Endovalley Road, there is a loop with a picnic area. You can take this loop and then head east back to U.S. 34 or continue west on the Old Fall River Road. This is a gravel road that is one-way westbound until it dead-ends at the Alpine Visitor Center high on Trail Ridge Road. From there, you can take Trail Ridge to the park’s Grand Lake Entrance to view the Kawunechee Valley (see below) or return to Estes Park via Trail Ridge.

Kawunechee Valley in Rocky Mountain National Park

This valley on the west side of the park runs north and south along U.S. 34 (Trail Ridge Road), paralleling the upper reaches of the Colorado River.

Poudre Canyon/Laramie River valley

Take Colorado Highway 14 west from Fort Collins into Poudre Canyon to see colorful cottonwoods. About 50 miles up the canyon, turn north at County Road 103 and head into the Laramie River valley for gorgeous aspens and willows.

Poudre River Trail in Fort Collins

Here you will find cottonwoods turning yellow, which can turn a simple evening stroll in town into a special autumn treat.

Vail/Eagle area

There are great aspen stands all over this area, including slopes that rise above Interstate 70 east of Vail Village. One great option is to drive south on U.S. 24 from Minturn to Leadville over Tennessee Pass. Another goes north from Vail on Red Sandstone Road to Forest Service roads 700 and 701, terminating at Piney Lake, which is simply one of the most beautiful spots in Colorado. Here, rugged peaks of the Gore Range serve as a stunning backdrop for an idyllic lake where you can see their reflections — along with changing aspens, too. “Oh my goodness, it’s gorgeous up there,” said Marcia Gilles, deputy district ranger for the Eagle-Holy Cross Ranger District. Yet another good drive goes west from Vail Pass over Shrine Pass to Red Cliff via Forest Road 709.

Flat Tops Trail Scenic Byway

Get away from the crowds and experience this beautiful 82-mile drive between Yampa and Meeker, much of which traverses open rangeland and about half of which is paved. It traverses the White River Plateau to the north of the Flat Tops Wilderness Area. Dunckley Pass (9,763 feet) and Ripple Creek Pass (10,343) offer panoramic views. Visitors are advised to check their fuel gauges before making the drive because there are no gas stations between Yampa and Meeker.

La Veta Pass

This drive on U.S. 160 west of Walsenburg crosses the Sangre de Cristo Range between the eastern plains and the San Luis Valley. At the pass (9,413 feet), there is a panoramic vista overlooking an open bowl.

Crested Butte area

There are very scenic routes out of Crested Butte, but most are out-and-back dirt roads with slow speed limits, and they can be crowded in leaf-peeping season. One great drive that might prove less challenging heads up and over Kebler Pass, through one of the most renowned aspen stands in the state, and continues another 25 miles to Colorado Highway 133 at Paonia State Park. From there, you can go north to McClure Pass and Carbondale or west to Grand Mesa. Both are great for aspen-viewing.

Grand Mesa

The world’s largest flat-top mountain,15 miles east of Grand Junction, is a great destination for fall colors. Cross the mesa on the Grand Mesa Scenic Byway, a 50-mile drive from the town of Mesa on the north to Cedaredge on the south, and you’ll see fall colors pretty much the whole way. Stop at the Grand Mesa Visitor Center at the top of the mesa for more information. There are many beautiful lakes on the top of the mesa, and don’t miss the Lands End Overlook, about 10 miles west of the scenic byway via Lands End Road on the western rim of the mesa, which offers soaring views of the Grand Valley.

A view of Mount Sneffels

Finally, here’s one from a reader: “About 6 miles west of Ridgway on Highway 62, there is a pull-off where photographers assemble to photograph Mount Sneffels with magnificent color. A great panorama photograph.” Mount Sneffels is a beautiful fourteener.

Related Links:

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There are so many ways to enjoy Fall in the Mile High, from pumpkin picking to leaf-peeking…and of course dozens of Octoberfest celebrations! They are kicking off this weekend, so mark your calendars and join the fun!

Punkin Chunkin Colorado | September 21–22
More than 25 teams will compete at the highly anticipated pumpkin-smashing bash to see whose cannons, catapults, and contraptions can launch a gourd to world-record lengths. Beyond the joys of watching pumpkins fly overhead, spectators can also count on a pumpkin patch, car show, carving contest, beer garden, and much more to round out the celebrations. New this year is a carved pumpkin display, in which hundreds of pumpkins will be brought together to form one gigantic work of harvest art. Arapahoe Park Racetrack, 26000 E. Quincy Ave., Aurora. Tickets are $5 for single entry, $15 for a family of four and can be purchased in advance online

Water Lantern Festival | September 21
Send off summer and welcome the start of fall with this floating spectacle of light. Write a personal message of hope or reflection on one of the provided lanterns and send it off with hundreds of others as the sun sets over Boyd Lake, and watch as the lanterns illuminate the Colorado landscape. The Water Lantern Festival provides 100 percent eco-friendly lanterns made of wood and rice paper that are collected from the water after the festivities conclude. Festival-goers can also count on food, games, music, and more to accompany the main event. 4–9:30 p.m., 3720 N. County Rd. 1C, Loveland. Tickets are $35 until September 20, and $40 the day of the event

See more events.

In other news…

+ Find out where to watchother NFL teams besides the Broncos in + around Denver!

+ These are 5 essential questionsto ask your mortgage lender before refinancing your home.

+ Home building activityhas risen 12%. 

+ Heads up:6 miles of I-70 is going to be closed this weekend

+  1842 new listingshit the market this week, less new inventory than we have seen hit the market in the last few weeks.

Let me know if you have questions about anything home or Real Estate related, if you’d like to get out and see some of the homes that are for sale, or if you are wondering what your home might be worth today. Lara@westandmainhomes.com (720) 436-1123.

https://www.recolorado.com/agents/name-Lara_Conrad/

From donating water filters + hot meals, to opening up your airbnb or home, every little bit helps!

More than a week after Hurricane Dorian devastated the Bahamas, thousands of people are without shelter and food.

 2,500 are still missing, and Bahamas prime minister says he expects the death toll of 50 to “significantly increase.”

Some 15,000 people are still in need of shelter or food, according to the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency.

Officials also note that the list of 2,500 missinghasn’t been checked against records of evacuees or the thousands of people staying in shelters, making it difficult to draw up casualty lists.

Thousands are scattered across the islands, with more than 5,000 people ending up on New Providence, the island where Nassau, the capital, is located. Authorities plan to put up tent cities in Nassau and as well as on Abaco, one of the hardest hitislands, where shelter for some 4,000 is planned.

Hurricane Dorian struck parts of the archipelago with 185 mph winds on Sept. 1, then settled in for almost two days of death and destruction before moving back into the Atlantic. 

As the country tries to emerge from the devastating storm, limited commercial flights have resumed on Abaco, but the electrical infrastructure around Marsh Harbour, the island’s largest city, has been destroyed.

Wondering what you might be able to do to assist in recovery efforts? Here are three ways that you can help.

+ Here are 8 essential itemsthat will spruce up every entryway

+ This new grant programencourages Denver homeowners to plant more trees

+ These are the fastest shrinking markets in the United States

+  2091 new listingshit the market this week, significantly more new inventory than we have been seeing hit the market each week lately.

Let me know if you have questions about anything home or Real Estate related, if you’d like to get out and see some of the homes that are for sale, or if you are wondering what your home might be worth today.

Join me for an Open House in Golden, Colorado this Sunday from 1-3pm!

Not sure which season ski pass to buy? Here are 10 questions to help guide your decision.

Resort operators punish poor planners with staggering walk-up ticket prices. But there’s no reason to get burned in Colorado, ground zero for the ski-pass war.

It’s the time of year to ponder passes. 

Season ski pass prices start climbing around Labor Day and today’s resort operators offer discounts for skiers who commit early. Remember: resorts punish poor planners with exorbitant prices for day lift tickets. 

Here’s a guide for the 2019-20 ski season in Colorado, which is ground zero for the raging resort industry battle pitting behemoth Vail Resorts against Alterra Mountain Co. in the Epic vs. Ikon fight for skier loyalty. 

The season-pass war has spread coast-to-coast and across the world, with each company gathering more and more resorts into their fold as they entice season-pass buyers. The clash has trickled down to even the smallest resorts that have slashed prices for season passes in an attempt to compete in the new dynamic. 

Peruse these 10 queries to help decide on your best pass options. 

(These are pretty much focused on Front Rangers who drive to skiing. If you live in a ski town, you don’t likely need help choosing a pass, right?)

1. Do you have a favorite hill you want to ski all season?

Check the resort rosters for the Epic Pass ($939 for adults) and the Ikon Pass ($1,049 for adults) and pick the one that has your hill. Take advantage of all the access to other resorts, if you want. The Epic offers access to more than 50 ski areas and the Ikon has 41 destinations on its roster. 

Or buy an individual resort pass. Some of the Ikon-operated resorts are offering their own, less-expensive passes and Ikon partner resorts often have access-sharing deals with other ski areas. Independent resorts have all kinds of deals for pass shoppers looking beyond the Epic and Ikon shelves. More on that below…

2. Do you plan to ski a lot? 

Don’t even think about day tickets. Just buy a pass. If you buy a pass at Loveland ($439) or Monarch ($479), they are part of the Powder Alliancethat delivers three, holiday-restricted access at 19 other independent resorts.

3. Do you ski only now and then? 

Then maybe you don’t really need a season pass. There are many good alternatives. 

The Epic Day Pass has whittled day tickets down to as low as $106 if you don’t ski on holidays.  

Colorado Ski Country’s $30 Gems Card offers two-for-one passes and lift-ticket discounts at 11 of the trade-group’s smaller member resorts.

Pick packages from two to five days at Arapahoe Basin for $139 to $229. A transferable A-Basin four-pack is $239.

The $71 Loveland Pass card offers lift tickets for $63 to $71 with one free lift ticket and a free ticket every fifth day. A Loveland four-pack is $169. 

4. Planning a vacation week at a destination resort in addition to weekend skiing?

It’s often cheaper to buy a pass to your vacation spot than pay daily rates. Here is which pass you should buy based on your destination:

• Telluride? Epic.
• Aspen? Ikon.
• Sun Valley? Snowbasin? Epic.
• Alta-Snowbird? Big Sky? Ikon.
• Canada? Epic has Canada’s Fernie and Kicking Horse. Ikon has Revelstoke and SkiBig3.
• Japan? Epic has Hakuba Valley. Ikon has Niseko United.
• Europe? Epic has deals with 19 resorts in France, Italy and Switzerland. Ikon just landed Zermatt, Switzerland, its first European resort partner.

5. Want to ski all season but not drop $1,000? 

The Epic Local ($699) and Ikon Base ($749) are somewhat more affordable, with unrestricted access to some of the state’s top resorts and more restricted access to crown jewel resorts, including like Vail and Steamboat. 

6. Are you willing to avoid skiing holidays like Thanksgiving, Christmas-New Year’s, MLK Day and President’s Day? 

The Epic’s Summit Value Pass is $569 and good for holiday-restricted access at Breckenridge and Keystone. The Keystone Plus Pass is $369 for access outside holidays. 

7. Saving money and only skiing weekdays? (Which is pretty smart.)

A midweek pass to Loveland is $329, midweek to Arapahoe Basin is $349and midweek access at Eldora is $399.

8. Budget-minded with kids? 

The Epic’s Keystone, Crested Butte four-pack is $249. 

Colorado Ski Country’s 5th and 6th Grade Passport Program gives each Colorado fifth grader three free days at the trade group’s 22 member resorts. Sixth graders get four days for $125.

Eldora Mountain Resort is selling a family pass for two adults and two kids for $1,199. 

Purgatory’s Power Pass is free for kids 10 and under.

Ski Cooper charges only $159 for a pass for kids 6 to 14. (Adults are $389)

Monarch’s pass for kids ages 7 to 12 is $209.

The free Epic Schoolkids Pack gives Colorado students from kindergarten through fifth grade four, holiday-restricted days of skiing at Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone and Crested Butte, plus one free first-timer lesson and equipment rental. Students must sign-up for the pass at local Epic Mountain Gear stores. 

9. Love the indies and want to avoid the all-Epic and all-Ikon crowds?

The resorts in the shadow of the Epic vs. Ikon throwdown are getting creative with a host of affordable deals. 

The independents may be partnering with the big boys for limited access, but they are hoping the pass-toting crowds at the major resorts will turn more skiers toward their own less-expensive passes.

Copper Mountain’s adult pass is $549, $409 for college students and teens, and $269 for kids. Copper offers $399 and $499 add-ons for skiers who want to skip lines, load up early, park close to the lifts for free and hang in the Copper Athletic Club. 

Arapahoe Basin’s unrestricted pass is $449; $309 for ages 15-18; $99-$199 ages 6-14. It includes three days at Taos and three days at Monarch. A “Double Down” pass for Arapahoe Basin’s 2019-20 and 2020-21 season is $798. 

Loveland Pass has unrestricted access for $439; $309 for ages 15-22; and $189 for ages 6-14, The pass also provides three days at Purgatory, Monarch, Powderhorn, Ski Cooper, Sunlight and Ski Granby.

Silverton Mountain is the most shrewd of the indies maneuvering under the clash-of-titans pass war. The ski area this summer cut its season pass price to $199 from $499, offering unlimited skiing during the expanded, five-day-a-week unguided season from March 18 April 19. The early-season pricing also includes a “private mountain day” on March 16, before the unguided season starts; a $39 heliskiing run if booked early; $89 stand-by access during the guided season; and a discount on Silverton Mountain Guides heli-skiing in Alaska. Silverton Mountain also offers 27 free days at nine partner resorts across the country. 

Purgatory’s Power Pass, with prices ranging from $129 for Super Seniors (age 80 and up) to $699 for ages 37 to 64, provides unlimited access to Purgatory and Hesperus; Snowbowl in Arizona;  Sipapu and Pajarito in New Mexico; and Utah’s Nordic Valley. The Power Pass includes three free days at 18 resorts around the world, including Copper, Loveland, Eldora, Sunlight, Powderhorn, Monarch and Ski Cooper. 

10. Only want to chase powder and ski top resorts on their best days without spending $1,000 on a pass? 

The Mountain Collective ($489 and $199 for ages 12 and under) is still around and offers two unrestricted days each and 50% off additional days at Arapahoe Basin, Aspen Snowmass and 16 other destinations, including Alta and Snowbird in Utah; Montana’s Big Sky; Wyoming’s Jackson Hole; Taos in New Mexico; and Squaw-Alpine and Mammoth in California. 

For more info, go to the Colorado Sun.

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Colorado Real Estate Market Report – August 2019

September 6, 2019

While Denver-area homebuyers have a number of market conditions in their favor, home sales were down overall last month

Download the report

In August, new listings, homes under contract, and days on market were up for Denver-area’s entire residential market. The number of homes sold, average and median sold prices, and sales volume were down, as were interest rates.

“In 2019, homebuyers and sellers are not having the same experience their neighbors did last year,” said Jill Schafer, Chair of the DMAR Market Trends Committee and Metro Denver REALTOR®. “In the first half of 2018, home sellers were taking offers over the weekend and selecting the best one in the stack on Monday. This year, sellers are making price adjustments as they try and find the right price point to entice buyers to make an offer.”

Furthermore, median days on market has jumped up 27.27 percent from July to August and up a significant 57.14 percent year to date. While the percentage is significant, it reflects an increase of seven days to 11 year over year. 

According to Schafer, buyers have appreciated this slightly slower paced real estate market. They have an option to compare a number of homes on the same day, instead of one home at a time as they trickle onto the market throughout the month. Homebuyers have even been able to do some negotiating as the close-to-list-price ratio dropped to 99.36 percent year to date compared to above 100 percent at this point in the past few years. The lower interest rates also improved their buying power allowing some to move up in price.

While homebuyers have a number of market conditions in their favor, the number of homes sold in August was down 10.91 percent month over month and 0.72 percent year to date compared to last year.

Schafer comments, “Sellers should still be skipping happily on the real estate playground. Even though they aren’t selling their homes as quickly, they are still getting more money than they would have last year.” Average and median sold prices dropped a bit month over month but were up 2.22 percent and 1.45 percent respectively year to date compared to 2018.

Our monthly report also includes statistics and analyses in its supplemental “Luxury Market Report” (properties sold for $1 million or greater), “Signature Market Report” (properties sold between $750,000 and $999,999), “Premier Market Report” (properties sold between $500,000 and $749,999), and “Classic Market” (properties sold between $300,000 and $499,999). In August 2019, 222 homes sold and closed for $1 million or greater – down 11.20 percent from July and up 5.71 percent year over year. The closed dollar volume in the luxury segment year to date was $2.578 billion, up 28.80 percent from last year.

The highest-priced single-family home that sold in August was $7,200,000 representing five bedrooms, six bathrooms and 7,295 above ground square feet in Niwot, just outside of Boulder. The highest-priced condo sale was $5,525,000 representing three bedrooms, four bathrooms and 5,092 above ground square feet in Denver. The listing and selling Realtors® for the condo transaction are DMAR members.

The luxury segment continues to grow with 1,671 sold homes thus far in 2019, which is significantly up from 1,231 in 2017 and 773 in 2015. Notably, while the number of sold homes priced $1 million and up has continued to grow, the average price has held strong at around $1.5 million since 2015. However, the single-family segment is showing a slight decline with 194 homes sold in August versus 225 in July, but it is still on track with stats from this time last year.

Average days on market in the luxury segment remain strong at 59 days, up just one day from July’s 58 average days on market and down four days from 62 at this time last year. 

“The Luxury Market has been holding strong this year,” states Libby Levinson, DMAR Market Trends Committee member and Metro Denver Realtor®. “While sales in the luxury segment of the market remain steady, home sellers are rejoicing because close-price-to-list price is at 97.4 percent versus 97.01 this time last year.”

According to Levinson, the luxury condo market is “buzzing” with 28 sold properties in August, which is a noticeable jump from 13 this time last year, resulting in 189 total units sold year to date in 2019. This is a big jump from 127 units sold at this time in 2018 and just 58 units in 2015. Due to the number of sales coupled with increasing prices, the sales volume in August almost doubled year over year with over $45.4 million.

Thank you to our partners at the Denver Metro Association of Realtors for compiling this information. Download the report

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The 2020 Farmers’ Almanac is predicting this winter “will be filled with so many ups and downs on the thermometer, it may remind you of a ‘Polar Coaster.'”

“Our extended forecast is calling for yet another freezing, frigid, and frosty winter for two-thirds of the country,” said Farmers’ Almanac editor Peter Geiger.

The guide also calls for above-normal winter precipitation over much of the United States including the Great Plains. 

The 2020 edition of the Farmers’ Almanac suggests “a memorable storm producing hefty snows for the Great Plains during the third week of January.”

The coldest stretch of the winter season should arrive during the final week of January and last through the beginning of February, according to the Farmers’ Almanac, and the worst of the cold winter conditions “will affect areas east of the Rockies all the way to the Appalachians.”

Find out more.

+ New Denver law changes restrictions on e-scooters – basically, act like you’re on a bike.

+ Is now the perfect time to buy in Denver? Here’s what one West + Main Agent has to say on ABC World News Tonight earlier this week!

+ Everything you need to know about CRUSH: RiNo Art District’s street art celebration.

+  Only 1655 new listingshit the market this week. Last week that number was 5467. We’re blaming Labor Day.

Let me know if you have questions about anything home or Real Estate related, if you’d like to get out and see some of the homes that are for sale, or if you are wondering what your home might be worth today.

Find out where to celebrate everything from peaches to potatoes!

Copyright © 2019 West and Main Homes, All rights reserved.

Our mailing address is:
2010 Youngfield St. Lakewood, CO. 80215

Lara Conrad Real Estate (720) 436-1123

If you are thinking about making a move, investing or refinancing, now might be a good time!

Escalating tensions over a trade war with China sent investors rushing to the relative safety of the bond market late last week.

That pushed the yield on the 10-year Treasury, which mortgage rates loosely follow, down sharply.

The average rate on the popular 30-year fixed mortgage hit 3.70% last Friday, the lowest since November 2016. That rate will likely dip even lower Monday, as bond yields continue to fall.

The drop last week meant that 8.2 million 30-year mortgage holders could likely qualify for a refinance and save at least 0.75% off of their current interest rate by doing so.

The size of that population, however, is still very sensitive to even the slightest rate moves, since so many borrowers have already refinanced to very low rates. Just a one-eighth of a point move lower could add another 1.5 million borrowers to the eligible refinance pool, and the same move in the other direction would knock 1.3 million out.

Lower rates have also increased the buying powerfor prospective homebuyers looking to purchase the average-priced home by the equivalent of 15%, meaning that they could effectively buy $45,000 ‘more house’ while still keeping their payments the same as they would have been last fall.

As affordability pressures have eased, it also appears to be putting the brakes on the home price deceleration that has been tracking since February 2018.

Rates are now incredibly favorable for both

+ What do homebuyers with kids look for when searching for a new home?

+ Give your home a mini-makeover.

+ Slow down! And watch for lower speed limits on many Denver streets.

+ Cryptocurrency, stocks, or real estate – where are investors putting their cash?

+ 2146 new listings hit the market this week – significantly fewer than last week.

Let me know if you have questions about anything home or Real Estate related, if you’d like to get out and see some of the homes that are for sale, or if you are wondering what your home might be worth today.

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See some beautiful homes across the Front Range this weekend!

https://www.westandmain.co/blog/category/Listings

Posted by West + Main Homes on Friday, July 26th, 2019 at 7:51am.

According to the latest data released Thursday by Freddie Mac, the 30-year fixed-rate average fell to 3.75 percent with an average 0.5 point. (Points are fees paid to a lender equal to 1 percent of the loan amount and are in addition to the interest rate.) It was 3.81 percent a week ago and 4.54 percent a year ago.

The 15-year fixed-rate average declined to 3.18 percent with an average 0.5 point. It was 3.23 percent a week ago and 4.02 percent a year ago. The five-year adjustable rate average dropped to 3.47 percent with an average 0.4 point. It was 3.48 percent a week ago and 3.87 percent a year ago.

“This is good news for buyers, particularly when you compare rates to a year ago,” said Danielle Hale, chief economist for Realtor.com. “Based on a typical listing of $316,000 with a 20 percent down payment, buyers today would pay $112 less for their principal and interest than they did a year ago.”

However, she said, that doesn’t account for rising home prices.

“If you factor in the higher price that buyers are paying this year compared to a year ago, you’re still looking at a savings of $48 per month compared to what buyers would have paid for the average house at this time last year,” Hale said.

On the other hand, she said, falling mortgage rates can be an indication of a weaker economy, which could have a negative impact on the housing market going forward.

However, Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist, said in a statement that he expects the lower mortgage rates to positively impact the housing market soon.

“Mortgage rates continued to hover near three-year lows and purchase application demand has responded, rising steadily over the last two months to the highest year-over-year change since the fall of 2017,” he said. “While the improvement has yet to impact home sales, there’s a clear firming of purchase demand that should translate into higher home sales in the second half of this year.

Analysts are also watching to see whether a potential move by the Federal Reserve next week to lower the benchmark interest rate to 2.1 percent from 2.35 percent would impact mortgage rates. Michael Borodinsky, vice president of Caliber Home Loans in Edison, N.J., said if that happens, mortgage rates wouldn’t necessarily drop as well.

“The Federal Open Market Committee monetary policy only directly impacts short-term interest rates,” Borodinsky said. “Mortgage rates are directly impacted by the direction of longer-term fixed-income instruments such as Treasury bonds and mortgage backed securities.”

Bonds are traded daily, he said, and rise or fall based on current economic data and, more importantly, in anticipation of what traders believe will be the likely move by the Federal Reserve.

[Just because it’s a sellers’ market doesn’t mean you should overprice your home]

“For example, traders have pushed bond yields and mortgage rates lower over the past few months on anticipation that the Fed will lower rates at the upcoming meeting next week,” Borodinsky said. “So the likely rate reduction is already factored into current mortgage rates. Not only that, the markets believe that there will be further rate cuts over the coming months.”

For potential borrowers who want to know what to expect from mortgage rates, the answer is uncertain.

“Traders will be looking at not only the Fed rate move but guidance as to what will influence their future actions,” Borodinsky said. “For example, does the Fed see an upcoming slowdown in economic data pointing to a future recession? That will likely mean deeper cuts in current short term rates and bond yields and mortgage rates would likely follow suit. On the other hand, if the Fed announces that they believe that the upcoming rate cut will be sufficient to sustain current economic strength, traders may be disappointed and trade bonds in the opposite direction and as a result, we would see mortgage rates reverse their downward trend and move higher.”

Meanwhile, mortgage applications declined. According to the latest data from the Mortgage Bankers Association, the market composite index — a measure of total loan application volume — dropped 1.9 percent from a week earlier. The refinance index decreased 2 percent from the previous week, while the purchase index fell 1 percent.

The refinance share of mortgage activity accounted for about half of all applications.

“Mortgage applications were down last week, even as rates moved lower across the board,” Joel Kan, MBA’s associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting, said in a statement.

“Refinance activity was lower, but we did see government refinance applications increase, driven solely by a 12 percent rise in FHA applications,” he added. “Mortgage rates right now are comparable to the average rate of 4.10 percent for June, but refinances last week were 7 percent lower than last month. This is an indication that as we see rates lower for longer, borrowers need more of a drop in rates to consider refinancing.”

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