Can Homebuyers Still Get Sellers to Pay Closing Costs?

I read an article recently stating home sellers are less willing to pay the buyers' concessions (closing costs), as the market swings around to a seller's market.

That makes sense to me, and I'm sure it will prove to be true over time.  But I'm not sure it's quite true in my market, between Denver and Boulder, quite yet.

So I checked out the sales over the past six months in Arvada, Broomfield, Westminster and Wheat Ridge.  Historically,the entry-level sales have more commonly included seller-paid closing costs, so I limited my search to home sales below $300,000.  For the sake of expediency I limited my research to single-family homes, and also eliminated short sales and foreclosures because those have other factors bearing on them.

• My discoveries:

Arvada had exactly the same percentage of home sales that included seller-paid concessions in the past six months as they had one year ago.

Broomfield saw a slight drop in the percentage of home sales that included seller-paid closing costs.  But what's more interesting to me, is why such a smaller percentage of Broomfield sales include seller-paid concessions. I don't know the answer to that question!

Westminster has seen a slight drop in the percentage of home sales that included seller-paid concessions, but only down to the same level where Arvada has been for the past year.

Wheat Ridge has seen a 10% drop in percentage of home sales that included seller-paid concessions.  But at the lower rate, Wheat Ridge has come into line with the percentage for Arvada and Westminster.

It will be interesting to keep an eye on this trend, as the market heats up.  Another interesting fact to watch would be whether the amount of seller-paid concessions is dropping, but that's the subject for another post!

• Arvada:  566 home sales in the past six months, 304 included seller-paid concessions (54%).

One year ago there were 369 Arvada homes sold in the same six-month period.  Out of those, 200 included seller-paid concessions (54%)

• Broomfield:  274 home sales in the past six months, 97 included seller-paid concessions (35%)

One year ago there were 245 Broomfield homes sold in the same six-month period. Out of those, 91 home sales included seller-paid concessions (37%).

• Westminster:  424 home sales in the past six months, 239 included seller-paid concessions (56%).

One year ago there were 295 Westminster homes sold in the same six-month period.  Out of those, 184 home sales included seller-paid concessions (62%).

• Wheat Ridge: 120 home sales in the past six months, 65 included seller-paid concessions (54%).

One year ago there were 88 Wheat Ridge homes sold in the same six-month period.  Out of those, 56 home sales included seller-paid concessions (64%).

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Arvada is a historic town about midway between Denver and Boulder in Jefferson County, Colorado. There are many different neighborhood styles and homes prices, all served by well-loved schools. Call me to talk about the kind of neighborhood you dream of living in. 

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I write posts on real estate issues and local events in the Denver metro area, especially those communities between Denver and Boulder, as a public service. My hope is to give people an idea of the ‘flavor’ of our community, in case they’re new or moving to the Denver area.

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Copyright © 2013 Joetta Fort, The DiGiorgio Group

Based on information from Metrolist, Inc. on February 12, 2013.

Note: This representation is based in whole or in part on content supplied by Metrolist, Inc. Metrolist does not guarantee nor is in any way responsible for its accuracy. Data maintained by Metrolist may not reflect all real estate activity in the market content.