Boulder Real Estate: Are We There Yet?

Boulder Real Estate: Are we there yet?  If you've ever traveled with children, you've probably heard the "Are we there yet?" question more than once.  It's their sense of anticipation and lack of patience that tends to make them ask it over and over . . . and over.  A lot of home buyers in Boulder Valley seem to be asking a similar question these days, albeit in a slightly different way.  Their underlying question boils down to this: Is it the right time to buy a home in the Boulder real estate market?  For a lot of reasons, we think the short answer is, "Yes".  Let's look at some residential re-sale statistics from IRES for the City of Boulder over the last 12 months.  The first chart reflects the median price of a sold listing and of homes listed for sale; the second reflects the number of units over the same time period:

We have to remember that these are broad residential re-sale statistics and that results can vary if we break these numbers down by price range, but what these overall 2010 results reflect is that Boulder home prices have increased slightly over the past year, with the median price of a sold listing up about 2.5% to $549,450 in December.  It's also very interesting that the median price of active listings has decreased by almost 5% over the year, as sellers have tempered their asking prices.  So if median sale prices are up and asking prices are down, are buyers and sellers in Boulder getting closer together?  The data suggests that they may be - and that's a good sign.

In addition, the number of units sold over the period was up about 10%, but the number of units for sale - or the inventory number - increased by 29%.  It's easy to spot the seasonality that is built into our local market here in Boulder, but the increase in the number of Boulder homes for sale also contributed to the modest decrease in overall list prices.

In general, home prices tend to be a lagging indicator, meaning that they tend to react after sales volume - both up and down.  When we see increases in both prices and the number of homes sold (volume), it can be an indicator that it's a good time to buy.  When you couple this with the historically low interest rates we have right now, the indication becomes even stronger.

If you're considering buying or selling a Boulder home, contact us and we'll be glad to dig a little deeper into specific area(s) and price range(s) that you're most interested in and come up with a plan that is right for you.  Feel free to browse the Boulder MLS and read more about Boulder, CO at www.BoulderHomeResource.com.