March activity back on the rise

Posted on May 16, 2014 by Eric Buck

While the year began with a whimper with sales down 8 % over the first two months, March transactions reversed that trend rising 1% versus the year ago period and 43% from February to 119 sales. Dollar volume was even more impressive rising 30% over last year and more than 50% from the prior month to $60.8 million. That has reduced our year-to-date transaction deficit to 4% while our dollar sales so far this year are up 9% to $153.3 million.
Average selling prices (ASPs)also moved up smartly in the month. Year-to-date, the ASP for single family homes has totaled $844,781, up 11% from this time last year and up 12% for all of 2013. Multi-family ASPs are up 20% YTD compared to the first 3 months of 2013 and 7% from the 2013 full year average. Once again I warn that the ASP numbers can be a little misleading as they often reflect a change in mix as much if not more than actual rising prices.
March definitely was helped by some high end sales in the single family category. That month saw five sales over a million vs eight in the first two months, and two sales in the 2-3 million range where as neither January or February saw a sale at that price point.
Nevertheless, when comparing properties within complexes there does appear to be a definite upward trend in sales price , especially in higher-end neighborhoods.

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Do I need a home inspection?

Posted on March 16, 2014 by Eric Buck

I often get the question from buyers, “Do I need to get an inspection?” My answer is almost always “yes”! Inspection are relatively cheap running $0.10 to $0.15 per square foot. Although these inspections are limited in scope (check your inspection contract for details) and aren’t guaranteed to find everything, they can identify major defects in a property that might not have been apparent when you initially viewed the property. In many cases these are minor items like cracking tiles, drippy faucets or bad weather stripping. In other cases, these inspections can reveal major faults such as aluminum wiring, polybutylene piping or failures in the heating system. These later items can cost thousands or even tens of thousands to repair and can turn a dream home into a nightmare. While the seller typically is not obligated to fix these items, a well written contract will give the buyer the option to demand repairs, receive compensation—i.e. a lower selling price or cancel the deal and receive a full refund of his deposit. Spend the $500 and protect yourself.

If you are a seller, you may also want to consider getting a home inspection done before you list your home. By identifying and correcting potential defects you can enhance the attractiveness of your home and avoid awkward “renogotiations” when problems are found by the buyers’ inspector.

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Large commercial sale saves January

Posted on March 16, 2014 by Eric Buck

On the surface, January real estate sales showed only modest declines from a year ago with total volume dropping 2% to $52.2 million. Transaction volume was down a more substantial 6% to 102 transactions. These numbers, however, are not an accurate depiction of what occurred in the residential market as a large commercial sale ($7.25 million) padded the numbers substantially. Looking at residential sales alone, transaction volume was down 6% but dollar volume dropped nearly 20%.
The primary contributor to the drop was due a dearth of sales at the very high end. Last January there were seven sales over $1.5 million totaling almost $13 million dollars. This year, there was one sale at $1,580,000.
With the lack of high-end sales, the average selling price for single family homes dropped from $974,971 of last January and $751,240 for all of last year to $736,719. In contrast, pricing for multi-family properties rose from $311,640 a year ago and $344,578 all of last year to $347,961.
Land sales were about flat year over year (7 vs 8) but the average selling price did decline to $276,643 below both the January 2013 average of $342,825 and the full year average of $324,137.

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Buyers take a holiday

Posted on February 2, 2014 by Eric Buck

Summit County real estate sales saw a sharp drop both sequentially and year over year as buyers appear to have joined in the year end holidays. Transaction volume in December dropped 29% to 132 sales versus 185 a year ago. That was the worst December performance since 2008. Sales were also down sequentially by 22% from the November period. While historically (pre market crash), December has shown seasonal weakness, three of the previous four years had actually experienced solid gains.
Dollar volume followed a similar pattern falling 20% year over year to $69.7 million and slipping 13% from the November 2013 level.
Even with the weaker December results, 2013 turned in a strong year. Total transactions rose 17% to 1,908. That is still well below the 3,699 seen in 2005 but the best number generated since 2007. Dollar volume was up 15% for the year to $888.8 million. That is half the volume experienced in 2006 but again the best level seen in the last five years.
Even with the higher volumes, the price point mix continues to shift downward. In 2013, 66.1 percent of all residential transactions were for properties under $500,000. In 2012, that number was 63.5%. Conversely, sales of $1 million or more represented 7.8 percent of sales down from 8.1% in 2012.
Average selling prices (ASPs) for residential properties were down only slightly. The ASP for single family homes dropped a little less than 2% to $751,240 and for multi-family properties the ASP dropped just over 2% to $344,578. Raw land prices actually rose about 5% to $324,000 on average.

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The road to Sochi

Posted on January 10, 2014 by Eric Buck

Along with great scenery, invigorating outdoor activities and fine dining and entertainment, Summit County offers the opportunity to rub shoulders with the Olympic stars. In mid December, Breckenridge hosted the Dew Tour, an Olympic qualifying event. The following week, Copper Mountain hosted the Sprint US Grand Prix Halfpipe series, another Sochi qualifier. Due to the lack of snow in Tahoe, and the abundance here in Summit County, Breckenridge will welcome another qualifier January 8-12. Come root for your favorite athlete.

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November activity maintains the momentum

Posted on January 10, 2014 by Eric Buck

November real estate activity in Summit County saw its normal seasonal dip in November but continued to post healthy gains over the previous year period. During the month, there were 170 total transactions, down meaningfully from the 241 of October but still up 10% from 154 a year ago. Dollar volume, at $80.1 million, was also down from the prior month’s $110.8 million but was up an impressive 20% from the 2012 period. In fact, for both the number of transactions and for the total dollar volume, we have to go back to November of 2007 to find higher numbers.
Year to date, transaction volumes are up 23% to 1,439 while dollar sales are up 19% to $819.1 million, their best showings since 2008 and 2007 respectively.
The under $300,000 price point continued to dominate the transaction count accounting for 35.8% of all residential sales. However, the $400-500k price point also showed some strength representing 18.2% of the months sales versus 11.7% for the prior 10 months. There were seven sales in excess of $1 million but none for more than $2 million.
Year to date, average selling prices for single family properties are down about 2% from year end 2012 levels to $748,476. Multi-family housing has seen a similar percentage decline to $343,215 while raw land pricing has actually risen by 6%. Keep in mind ASPs are influenced by both home values and the mix of sales. For given subdivisions, particularly at the high-end, ASPs seem to be rising, albeit, modestly. With volumes rising and inventories falling about 20% in the last two years, prices are bound to be on the rise soon.

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New loan rules coming

Posted on December 6, 2013 by Eric Buck

Starting in January 2014, new rules implemented under the Dodd-Frank legislation will further tighten lending practices. According to a US News & World Report story, it is estimated that loans are already eight times more difficult to obtain than prior to the housing market collapse. These new rules which raise income to debt servicing requirements and require greater documentation of job and credit histories Some have estimated these new rules will impact between 10 and 50% of borrowers, including many with excellent credit scores. Those most likely to feel the impact include retires, first time home buyers and those that have had recent disruption in their job status.

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October is top dollar month this year.

Posted on December 4, 2013 by Eric Buck

October produced the year’s highest monthly dollar volume of real estate transactions in Summit County in what has already been a very strong 2013. Sales of $111 million topped a October 2012 by 6% and were the highest sales of any month since October of 2008. Transaction volume dipped slightly from September to 241 sales versus 244 but was still up 5% from the year ago period and other than the previous month was the highest transaction volume since late 2007.
Although the year-over-year gains in October were well behind the totals for the year—dollars up 19% and transactions up 25% – last October was a particularly tough comparison and thus the smaller gains should not be necessarily interpreted as a slowing in the market.
Once again the sub $400,000 segment dominated the market accounting for 56.9% of all transactions including 39.7% in the $200,000-300,000 range alone. That compares with 54.4% of all sales under $400,000 and 34.9% between $200,000 and $300,000 for the year to date. Higher end properties did put in a respectable showing with 15 sales over $1 million include two in the $2-2.5 million range.
Year-to date average selling prices( ASPs) for single family homes ticked up slightly to $757,052 but are still just under the $764,455 average for all of 2012. Multifamily ASPs were down modestly at $343,802 and still trail the year ago average by about 3%. ASPs for land were about flat with September but are up 6.5% year over year.

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Best September for Summit County real estate in five years.

Posted on November 4, 2013 by Eric Buck

Real estate activity in September saw its best numbers in the last five years. Transaction volume increased 13% from August and 54% from the year ago period to 244 sales. That is the highest transaction volume since November of 2007 with 281 sales.
Dollar volume rose more modestly versus the prior month, up about 1% but was still 21% ahead of September 2012 and at $106.5 million, the highest number since October of 2008.
These gains continue the stronger trend we have seen all year. Year-to-date (YTD) transaction volume is up 29% to 1,365 and dollar volume has risen 22% to $628.3 million.
As the disparity in volume vs transaction percentage gains suggests, demand in the month did shift to the lower end of the market. Sales under $300,000 accounted for 36.5%of the total transactions versus 31.5% in the prior 8 months and there were no sales in excess of $2 million while there had been 11 earlier this year including five sales over $3 million.
As a result of that shift, YTD average selling prices in the single family category dipped to $755,437 from $770,858 at the end of August. That number was also below the average sales price for all of 2012 which was $764,455.
Multi-family pricing faired somewhat better actually rising to $345,573 besting the $342,417 of August but still trailing the $353,339 for all of 2012. Raw land ASPs also fell in the month to $328,417 versus $347,101 in August but are still ahead of the $309,512 of a year ago.

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August sees blowout numbers

Posted on October 8, 2013 by Eric Buck

August produced the highest monthly dollar volume of Summit County real estate sales in nearly 5 years. Sales for the month totaled $105.5 million up 53% from a year ago and last exceeded by $118.2 million in sales in October of 2008. Unit volume was also strong with 216 transactions up 36% from August of 2012. Excepting the unusually strong October of 2012, that is the highest number of sales since December of 2007 which saw 220 transactions.
Year to date, transactions are running 25% ahead of last year and dollar volume is up 22%.
Sales for the month were notably strong in the $1-1.5 million price range with 14 sales or 7.7% of the total transactions for the month. Year to date, that price point has been running around 5.4% of all transactions. However the $1.5-2.5 million range, normally about 2% of sales, failed to register a purchase. Overall, the lower end of the market continues to dominate the volume with 65% of the transactions registering at less than $500,000.
Average selling prices (ASPs) for single family residences are fairly stable at $770,858 year-to-date versus $764,455 for all of last year. Multi-family pricing is down slightly at an average of $342,417 versus $353,339 in 2012. Vacant land ASPs are up for the year at $347,101 vs $309,512 but the sample size remains too low for that number to be particularly significant. For the month, there were 10 land sales, that is about in line with last years rate and up some from the 2009-2011 time frame but still way below the 35-40 monthly transactions we saw in 2006.
Comparing prices across the county, we find the highest price per square foot in Breckenridge at $391. That high number reflects some premium for Breck over other markets but also is influenced by the high number of condo units which typically sell at higher square foot prices. Blue River and Frisco come in with the next highest prices at $317 and $318 respectively. Keystone prices average around $307 a square foot while Silverthorne and the Wildernest area generate just over $250 per square foot. The least expensive pricing is found in Dillon Valley at $186 and Farmer’s Corner at $147.
Foreclosure activity was down

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