COVID’s abrupt end to the ski season and the prohibitions of nightly rentals took a toll on April’s real estate in Ski Town USA® and its bedroom communities. A total of 34 homes closed in April, a 55 percent decrease from April 2019. At a time when sellers would typically be getting a jump on the spring selling season, we saw increased activity of sellers withdrawing their properties from the market. New listings were down 48 percent, indicative of tactical decision-making as governments assessed and determined the restrictions of the quarantine. Buyers should anticipate the bulk of our market’s summer listing inventory to hit around the first of June. Hopefully, this will correspond with the lifting of nightly rental restrictions and opening of restaurants at the end of May. Pending activity is occurring daily and buyers who may have hit the ‘pause’ button are coming off the sidelines. With current listing inventory at $384 million (compared to $924 million in 2008), average sales prices are at 96.2 percent of list price for single-family and 97.8 percent for multi-family.

The quarantine has demonstrated that many occupations can now be performed location-neutral. In the past century, home has never been more important than it has been for the last eight-plus weeks. If people were not happy with their home prior to COVID, they may be further incentivized by low interest rates to become buyers once again or for the first time. Effects of the pandemic may also cause some people to reassess their priorities on where they want to live and feel safe. A destination location like Steamboat and the Yampa Valley could see activity as a result.

Note: April 2020 statistics provided via the Colorado Association of Realtors, ShowingTime & ReColorado.