Schick: Housing remains strong despite ‘normalization of market’

LOVELAND — Northern Colorado’s housing market remains strong, with solid sales and a wave of new developments coming online. But inventories are increasing as prices climb, according to Dennis Schick, broker/owner with Re/Max Alliance.

Schick delivered the Residential Forecast at BizWest’s Northern Colorado Real Estate Summit Tuesday at the Embassy Suites by Hilton in Loveland.

Schick said that 21,209 closings occurred in the Information and Real Estate Services LLC multiple-listing-service region during 2018, down 2.7 percent from the prior year. But smaller communities recorded huge increases in activity, with Severance up 225.2 percent, Firestone up 66.7 percent, Timnath up 60.8 percent, Windsor up 44.2 percent and Lyons up 27.8 percent.

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New listings displayed a similar trend, with Severance, Firestone, Timnath, Nederland and Windsor leading the region.

As the market cools, inventory is increasing, Schick said. Homes on the market totaled 2,983 last year, up 10.9 percent from 2017. Communities such as Louisville, Frederick and Firestone doubled inventory from the prior year, while Superior recorded a 71.4 percent increase in homes on the market.

That higher inventory means that buyers enjoy more choices when it comes to housing.

Schick noted that median home prices continue to climb, up 5.6 percent regionwide in 2018. The greatest gain? Red Feather Lakes, up 22.4 percent, following by Nederland at 19.9 percent, Morgan County at 18.5 percent, Lyons at 17.8 percent and Berthoud at 16.7 percent.

Overall, Schick said, Larimer County median home prices climbed 78 percent from 2010 through 2018, while Weld County’s increased 112 percent.

Helping somewhat with inventory have been national builders joining local home builders, he said.

“We have seen a blast of new builders come in to Northern Colorado,” Schick said, along with “lots of local builders that have found several places in the marketplace where they can be profitable.”

Looking to the future, Schick said Weld County has “a lot of good activity coming on, a lot of it.” He ticked off a wave of projects throughout Northern Colorado, including Greeley, Berthoud, Loveland, Fort Collins and many other communities. That will create additional inventory for agents to sell, giving Schick optimism that years of strong sales will continue.

“The doom and gloom are out there,” Schick said. “The “R” word [Recession] keeps getting attention. Are we heading for a recession? This country is always just heading toward a recession or just coming out of one. I think we are doing fantastic in Northern Colorado. Have we felt a little bit of a blip? It’s a normalization of the market, guys. It is not the end of all ends.

“We are still bringing good buyers and sellers together all over Northern Colorado,” he added.

But builders face many hurdles, including the cost of water, construction costs, land costs and other factors, likely leading to continued price appreciation.