Briargate Colorado-Real Estate Market Report-Q2 2018

Briargate is a large master planned Community located on the northeast corner of Colorado Springs, Colorado. The Briargate community has grown at a remarkable rate. This growth is due to a number of factors primarily amenities, shopping and of course schools.

The Briargate area is located within the Academy School District #20 attendance area. The reputation of the school district creates real demand for those that place a priority on education.

Briargate has continued to grow eastward with the addition of new subdivisions like Pine Creek, Cordera and Wolf Ranch. These neighborhoods offer new homes in addition to resale properties.

The trajectory of the Briargate market over the last 10 years has been nothing short of remarkable. The entire North End of El Paso County, Colorado, in general, has seen growth as the Denver Market has become unobtainable for many families. Many of these homebuyers opt to drive a little further south to the north end of Colorado Springs.

Here are the important numbers for the second quarter of 2018 in the Briargate real estate market.

Number of Home Sales

The most notable Trend in the number of home sales is the increase from 2015 through 2018. Much of this growth can be attributed to newer areas like Cordera and Wolf Ranch. Building in these areas has really taken off, this is due primarily to lack of resale inventory in some of the older parts of Briargate like Pine Creek.

As we look at more statistics like average days on Market in conjunction with the list price to sales price ratio, we don't see the building boom in these areas slowing down anytime soon. The main concern becomes affordability as Construction and construction material costs continue to rise.

Average Days on Market

The Days on Market category simply confirms what we already know, Briargate is in a strong seller's market. It's important to note that the seller's market is considered any Market with less than 6 months of inventory available. There were 350 available listings in the second quarter of 2018. This means that essentially we were operating with a two-month inventory of homes. So, this isn't really a seller's market it's more like an extreme seller's market.

If you're in the market is a homebuyer this could be a depressing number but if you have a plan and follow some simple guidelines, Colorado Springs is still a market where home buyers can find relatively affordable housing. We say relatively because compared to markets in the Denver, Boulder areas Colorado Springs is still quite affordable.

Median Home Price

In any Market supply and demand drive price, the Briargate real estate market is no different. $415,000 is the new record for the median home price and Briargate. Much of this can be attributed to the rising cost of construction and construction materials, in addition to what we would consider normal appreciation. Having said that, a high tide raises all boats and the escalating cost of new construction is certainly having an impact on older resale homes in the market as well.

Colorado Springs has traditionally been a more affordable location than Denver. As our medium prices get closer to those of our neighbors to the north, we will keep an eye out on what that does to home sales. Homes in El Paso County over $500,000 generally move at a much slower pace than those in the sub $500,000 range. The danger we see and Briargate is that the area eventually becomes unaffordable. At that point areas like Black Forest and Monument Tri-Lakes become an option for home buyers. these areas offer larger Lots most with trees and some with views.

List Price Per Square Foot

The list price per square foot statistic is interesting because it is generally a measure of the type of home being built in a particular area. The entry point to luxury home construction in El Paso County tends to be at around $150 per square foot. Briargate is currently seeing a $135 per square foot which we would consider at the higher end of Semi-Custom Homes. Based on the quality of homes being built in the Cordera neighborhood and in many cases Wolf Ranch, this seems inline.

As prices rise, it will be interesting to see if the price per square foot continues to rise as well, especially in our current environment a spiraling Construction material costs.

List Price to Sales Price Ratio

List price to sales price ratio is the percent of asking price a seller received for their home. As this graphic shows, Briargate home sellers consistently received a hundred percent of their asking price.

A good portion of this has to do with the new construction element of the Briargate area. By this we mean that home builders, especially in this kind of market don't negotiate, they just take your order and build your house. this means when they report the sale to the MLS, the list price, and the sales price are always the same. On the resale side of the real estate market, the absolute lack of inventory is what's driving the full price offers.

In Conclusion

The only real concerns we have as Realtors, are affordability. The Briargate area has always been comfortably positioned above the median sales price for El Paso County yet well below most of the true luxury neighborhoods in the region Send 2012, has worked its way up into the lower end of the Luxury Market. As is the case with most areas, luxury homes tend to take longer to sell since there are simply fewer buyers in that price range.

We will certainly keep track of what direction the Briargate market moves, if you would like to stay informed on the Colorado Springs Real Estate market as well, you can sign up to receive our Quarterly Market Reports.

We have been compiling statistics both locally and nationally for many years. These reports are a collection of the last few years' worth of our Quarterly Market Reports so you can follow the Colorado Springs Real Estate Market.