Region’s residential sales top $5 billion for year to date

Local residential home sales in the four-county BizWest area held steady in August, recording a 5 percent increase over last year with a total of 2,002 homes sold. This compares to sales of 2,157 in July. For the year to date, sales are up 6.6 percent to a total of 13,845 homes sold.

The median selling price finally hit $300,000 for the year to date, the first time this figure has been recorded on a year-to-date basis. The total volume for 2015 to date exceeds $5 billion, which is up 18.9 percent from last year. This is far and away the highest recorded total for the first eight months of the year, and we are on an annual pace for more than 20,000 home sales at a median price of $304,000 for a total market of $7.4 billion. This would be a 6.7 percent increase in home sales, a 14.7 percent increase in the median price and a whopping 18.5 percent increase in total volume, all figures setting new records.

By areas, Weld County sales lead the way, up 11.1 percent for the year, and Larimer County’s median selling price is tops at an increase of 17.6 percent compared to last year.

New construction accounts for 13.3 percent of total sales, up slightly from 12.9 percent last year but still way off the pace required to fulfill demand.

The net active inventory of homes for sale was 3,258 at the end of August, up 14.3 percent from a couple of months ago. With a predicted slowdown in sales over the next four months, this inventory is equivalent to a two-month supply, up from a 1.5-month supply at the end of June.

All told, it’s a very good market for sellers and remains very competitive for buyers. We find it remarkable that with the low inventory of homes for sale coupled with the slow pace of new construction and double-digit increases in selling prices that we have somehow managed a substantial 6.6 percent increase in sales for the year to date.

Bottom line, it looks like this is the new normal!

Dave Pettigrew is a real estate broker at Ascent Real Estate Professionals, 2700 S. College Ave., Fort Collins. Contact him at FCRealtor@msn.com or 970-282-9305.

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