Market steady, but could see an early fall

July’s real estate statistics for the Boulder area didn’t stray far from the path cut in June. Sales remained flat compared with the previous month, prices increased and inventory continued to fall.

The 491 single-family homes that sold in the Boulder-area market in July was a 16 percent increase compared with July 2012’s 422 sales, but relatively unchanged from the 485 homes that sold in June.

The condominium/townhome market also saw a nearly 17 percent increase in sales in July compared with a year ago, with 174 units selling in July versus 149 in July 2012, but only one more unit sold in July compared with June.

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Ken Hotard, senior vice president for public affairs for the Boulder Area Realtor Association, said the statistics show “nothing of great note except month-over-month has flattened out, signaling the end-of-summer/fall slowdown. It does appear to be coming a bit early; it was sort of looking that way and this sort of confirms that projection.”

Inventory remains a concern, as the availability of detached homes for sale in July – 1,582 units – dropped 16.4 percent compared with July 2012 – 1,892 units. The month-to-month inventory of detached homes for sale in July – 1,582 units – fell 1.1 percent compared with June – 1,599 units.

The 377 condos/townhomes on the market in July was a 30.9 percent reduction compared with the 546 on the market in July 2012, while a 12.5 percent drop compared with the 431 units available in June.

“Inventory continues the trends we have seen this year with larger year-over-year reductions compared with month-over-month,” Hotard said.

The tight inventory is directly related to the fact that both average and median home prices increased in virtually every Boulder-area community for single-family homes and most communities for condos/townhomes.

“I think it’s clear it’s having an impact on average and median sales prices,” Hotard said, noting that prices are “very strong to the point of being consistent with our peak years of 2005-2006.

“It’s clear that inventory is affecting sales volume while at the same time it’s producing price stability and strength. That’s kind of the yin and yang of low inventory at the time you have strong buyer demand.”

But Hotard also noted that the market isn’t favoring sellers as much now as it did during the first six months of 2013.

“We’ve absorbed a good deal of the buyer demand,” he explained. “While it’s still strong, it’s less than it was the first half of the year.”

Yet part of the solution to the low inventory issue will appear over the next several months as attached and detached units under construction are completed and become available for rent or sale, Hotard said. The rest will make an appearance later in the year or in 2014.

Louisville is increasing single-family housing availability with more than 80 single-family homes being built in the second phase of the North End neighborhood and 250 single-family and patio homes are moving well in the Steel Ranch development.

“Those markets have been selling at a positive pace,” Hotard said.    

Tom Kalinski, broker/owner of Re/Max of Boulder, can be reached at 303-441-5620 or tomkalinski@mindspring.com