Recovery: The Numbers Don't Lie

Real estate in Northern Colorado has come up a long way from bottom and we're beginning to climb out of our not-so-deep hole.  A lot has been made nationally about prices of real estate still being at depressed levels.  While that is the case in some neighborhoods regionally, values have begun climbing.  2011 was a better year than 2010, and 2012 was much better than 2011 -  the numbers don't lie.

In the 3 major Northern Colorado markets, median value increased (with the exception of Ft. Collins attached just being above 0% gain), quite substantially during 2012. Greeley/Evans home values are up over 16%, however, their gains are due mainly to larger losses in 2011 while being hardest hit by foreclosures and short sales. That is not to say that a 16% gain should be negated, by no stretch of the imagination, it is a wonderful gain that reinforces the trend of the greater region.

On top of increased median values, total volume and listings sold exploded in 2012:  more real estate is moving.  'Volume' is a summation of all the sales prices of all the listings that have sold in a given time period.  More listings sold with a higher median sales price means increased volume, another positive trend.

To reinforce the positive trends, days on market, the time it takes from initial exposure to the market through closing is decreasing, meaning its taking sellers less time to sell their homes.  A swifter market is good for both buyers and sellers.

Although we may not see major gains in total volume and listings sold because we have less of a hole to dig out of, we will still see increases in list price.  As new construction ramps up in the summer time, our inventory levels will grow and sales volume will respond accordingly.

Jared Reimer is a real estate expert at Prudential Rocky Mountain Realtors in Northern Colorado.  Real estate is his passion and he always wants to connect with like-minded and savvy real estate fans.  For more information or to get in touch with Jared, please visit his website at www.ReimerRE.com or email him at JaredReimer@ReimerRE.com