Sales:

Loveland home sales rose sharply in March 2017 to 195 sales from 99 in February 2017, a gain of 97%, and from 178 sales in March 2016, a gain of 9.6%. While we expected to see activity rise as we move into spring, we weren’t expecting an increase of this size. But we also note that February’s decline was also not what we were expecting. We’ll need a couple more months of data to get a feel for whether this is merely an anomaly, or if there is some significance here.

Prices:

The price of sold homes, however, fell, with the median price dropping 5.6% in March 2017 to $355K, down from $375K in January 2017. Average price also fell, down 6.5% to $394K from $420K in January 2016. We’re reasonably certain there isn’t much significance here other than month-to-month variations in the homes that actually sold. And the long-term trend line continues to suggest increasing home values.

Inventory:

Inventory, after 2 months of unexpected gains, fell in March 2017 to 311 homes for sale at the end of the month, a decline of 8.7% from February 2017. And the Month’s Supply of Inventory (MSI) dropped to 1.6 months in response to the increase in sales and drop in inventory. Inventory levels are clearly not currently sufficient to meet strong buyer demand, and will continue to put upward pressure on prices.

Summary:

The Loveland CO real estate market was full of surprises in March, with our key market indicators moving independently in unexpected directions. We anticipated a gradual rise in both sales and inventory as we move into spring, and some price increases due to the imbalance between supply and demand. We didn’t get any of that. It may be that March was just an anomalous month, with trends correcting as we move forward, or there may be other factors at work that will take some additional time to fully manifest themselves. For now, we’re going with the anomaly explanation, since March may just be a correction of unexpected results in the two previous months. We are, however, certain that inventory will be a key factor in determining the nature of the market going forward - demand is likely to remain strong, and the market’s ability to satisfy that will be critical.

If you would like to browse the current inventory, check out Loveland CO Homes for Sale. When you see a home you'd like a closer look at, please give us a call - we would love to schedule a showing for you at your convenience.