Yeah, Midterms are over, we can now get back to our daily lives.
We continue to see some Chicken Little predictions and headlines for the real estate market on a national basis, but Boulder County continues to move along very similar to 2017.
Affordability certainly is coming into play and the exponential appreciation rates have cooled to more sustainable numbers of 4% to 8%. Markets, such as the city of Boulder have slowed a bit more than some of the other cities such as Longmont, Louisville, Erie, and Lafayette where homes are more affordable.
Price point seems to be the largest driver of current market activity. In 2018 we saw over 25% of the sales in the city of Boulder are over a million dollars and Louisville is quickly on Boulder’s heels with 23 homes selling for a million dollars or more representing 16% of the sales. In 2017 only 6.7% of the homes sold for a million or more in Louisville.
The biggest driver of the market continues to be our low unemployment rates combined with low inventory: Longmont at 2.4%, Boulder County at 2.1%, and the City of Boulder at 1.9%. Boulder County still continues to win accolades as one the best tech, natural foods, and outdoor industry hubs in the country, so we do not see job growth slowing in the near future.
A new contributor to the low inventory cycle will be the increased interests rates. If you own your current home with a 3.75% fixed rate you are less likely to consider selling to move into that new home. We are seeing sellers instead choosing to keep their current home as a rental to buy that new home. Not a bad idea when you consider the benefits of a rental property.
If this sounds like you, and you are deciding if moving makes sense, give me a call I would be happy to discuss the current rental market and the process involved.
Community Food Share supports over 40 local non-profits and distributes over 10 million pounds of food a year. I’m supporting this charity this year and if you’d like to donate please go to http://bit.ly/RMACommFoodShare to make a donation. $1 equals 3 meals so every bit helps. I’m also collecting non-perishable foods at all four of our office locations through November 30th.
Thanks in advance for your support. Have a Happy Thanksgiving.
Bringing Home Results!
