Northern Colorado Economic Snapshot - October '12

As is normal for this time of the year, the Northern Colorado real estate market has begun to settle-in for the fall and winter. Active listings continue to decline with the September/2012 inventory of single family homes being down 5.23% when compared to August/2012 for Northern Colorado. If that trend continues, active single family home listings for Northern Colorado at the close of 2012 will be approximately 1,790 (2011 ended with 1,964 active single family home listings).

Through September/2012 single family home sales for Northern Colorado are UP 13.97% when compared to September/2011 (4,324 vs. 3,794); attached unit sales are UP 17.45% (848 vs. 722); the market is UP 14.52%. For September/2012, the market was UP 18.76% when compared to September/2011.
Below is a brief overview of the activity level for single family homes in a number of the Northern Colorado areas through September/2012, courtesy of IRES, the Northern Colorado MLS.

The Absorption Rate is essentially the length of time it would take for the market to absorb itself, assuming no new inventory enters the market and the rate of sales activity remains the same. Absorption Rates improve as the year progresses. Inventory levels rise and sales activity increases. The Absorption Rate at the end of 2011 was 145 days for Northern Colorado.

As the Presidential election heats-up and the holidays surface look for the Northern Colorado housing market to take a back seat. There will continue to be buyers contracting and closing on homes, and sellers wanting to sell, but the bulk of the sales activity is now in the rear view mirror.

Mortgage interest rates remain at historic lows and banks/mortgage companies are willing to lend to qualified buyers. Home values have stabilized in most price ranges across the Northern Colorado, with entry level homes showing the most improvement. This being driven, to some degree, by production builders once again being a viable part of the housing market. Bank foreclosures and short sales are getting less media coverage these days, but they are still an important aspect of the market.