How's the Market in Boulder Colorado?

This is a really good question.  It's easy to talk in vague terms like; "it's going pretty well" or "inventory is down but sales are about the same"; but when you are looking to buy or sell a home in the Boulder area it is nice to have more detailed information.  If that sounds interesting to you here is the information you are looking for.

The slideshow below (which can be found here) has seven charts.  Each showing a different facet of the market.  I will explain the charts below in order.

1. This chart shows the number of sales which have happened on a weekly basis in Boulder County over the first 13 weeks of the year.  The blue line shows the activity in 2010 and the red line shows the activity so far this year.  Each point on the graph shows one weeks worth of activity.  So far this year there have been 60 fewer sales or a decrease of 8%.  This is not unexpected since last year the early year numbers were enhanced by the tax credit.
2. The second chart shows the number of properties that have gone under contract on a weekly basis.  It compares last year to this year, again for the first 13 weeks.  This one is very interesting.  The number of contracts written and accepted is down 23%.  It will be interesting to see how the sales come out over the next few months.
3. The number of new listings follows the same pattern as last year (interesting!) but we are seeing fewer homes hit the market.  There is a noticeable decline in homes on the market. 
4. The next chart shows the percentage of homes that are under contract in the main areas of our local market.  It compares March 2011 to three dates last year.  One in May, one in September and the last in December.  The higher the number of homes under contract the better and we are a bit behind last May in most areas but ahead of September and December.  Keep in mind that the percentage looks better when there are fewer homes on the market, like there are right now.
5. The next chart shows the percentage of properties that are under contract classified by price.  I love this graphic because it really shows the price gradation in our market.  The higher the price, the tougher it is to sell.
6. Inventory is a measure of how many months it would take to sell all of the current listings in any given area or price range.  This chart shows the inventory for different areas around the county.  It is interesting that things haven't changed much over time.  Louisville still has the shortest inventory and the mountains still have the longest inventory.
7. The last graph shows the inventory by price range.  There is a definite trend here.  As price increases the expected time to sell, or the flow in the market decreases.

In general, showing activity has been very strong but buyers tend to be very selective and are looking at many homes before writing an offer.  It is common that buyers put in a low offer to give themselves the best chance to negotiate the best deal.  Needless to say this is not too popular with sellers.

If you are looking for professional representation give me a call, I'd love to be of service.