The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.

Once Upon a Time in the West, before COVID-19, the Routt County real estate market was almost a balanced market with 6.7 months’ supply- a pretty equal playing field for both Buyers & Sellers. The tide has changed with only 1.4 months’ supply and I think to myself- what would Clint Eastwood say?

Now, I know what you’re thinking- what a difference a year makes! As we rang in 2021, low interest rates, “the Good” continue to be a driving force in real estate. Low inventory, “the Bad” remains a problem and although new listings were up in single-family (26 vs. 13), multi-family listings were less (35 vs. 37) than a year before. Active listings were at 48 for single-family & 48 for multi-family- down 74.2% and 69.8% respectively from December 2019. This creates for Buyers “the Ugly”  multiple-offer situations.  But as they say, beauty is in the eyes of the beholder and this multiple-offer situation is a beautiful thing to Sellers!

In this market, there’s two kinds of Buyers; those that have cash and those that finance- the Buyers that have a “fistful of dollars” make up 50% of our transactions. Our buyers are 50% local; the other 50% is comprised of 25% Front-Range and the balance out-of-state.  January realized 24 single-family sales with a median sales price of $850,000 (four sales above $1.95M) and 36 multi-family sales with a median sales price of $620,000 and average sales price of $721,983.

We can expect to see more inventory come on the spring market. Sellers who short-term rent their condo typically wait until after the ski season to list their property when the rental season is quieter. Buyers hope that Buyer’s Agents will make their day and a good broker will instruct their clients that if you want to play the game, you’d better know the rules. A Buyer may feel like they are in the line of fire, but a good Buyer always knows their limitations.

Note: January 2021 statistics provided via the Colorado Association of Realtors, ShowingTime & ReColorado.