National Association of Realtors: Boulder 7th most expensive market for homes

WASHINGTON — The Boulder metropolitan area, which includes all of Boulder County, was the seventh most expensive metro for homes in the nation during the fourth quarter of 2020, and families in the Boulder area needed to make at least $100,000 to be able to afford to a buy a home, according to the recently released the National Association of Realtors Q4 quarterly report. 

Median sales prices in the Boulder area were $661,300 for the quarter, up nearly 5% year-over-year.

Despite Boulder’s strikingly high median sales price, the growth rate was far below the national average and also trailed the Fort Collins/Loveland metropolitan area.

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Median home prices in the Fort Collins area were $456,700 in Q4. The year-over-year growth rate was 10.7%, according to NAR. In the Denver metropolitan area, which includes Broomfield County, the median price was $512,500, up 11.9% year-over-year.

Nationwide, the median existing single-family home price rose 14.9% year-over-year, to $315,900 in Q4. 

Every metro area included in the NAR study saw home price growth in Q4.

“The fourth quarter of 2020 presented circumstances ripe for home price increases,” NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun said in a prepared statement. “Mortgage rates reached record lows, thereby driving up the demand,” he continued. “At the same time, inventory levels also reached record lows, leading to grim inventory conditions of insufficient supply in the fourth quarter.”

Local data compiled by Loveland-based Information and Real Estate Services LLC backs up NAR’s assertion about record-low inventories. 

Earlier this week, BizWest reported that many Boulder Valley and Northern Colorado markets had fewer than 100 homes being actively listed last month. Because fewer homes than is typical are listed, there are fewer sales, resulting in the potential for a few large deals to significantly boost median monthly prices. 

According to NAR, the most expensive metropolitan areas for homebuyers are:

• San Jose, California ($1.40 million)
• San Francisco ($1.14 million)
• Anaheim, California ($935,000)
• Honolulu ($902,500)
• San Diego ($740,000)
• Los Angeles ($688,700) 
• Boulder ($661,300)
• Seattle ($614,700)
• Nassau, New York ($591,600)
• Boston ($579,100)

All of the top 10 metros, with the exception of Boulder, saw double-digit price increases in Q4. 

Eventually, these price increases are expected to start impacting buyers’ abilities to access the homeownership class.

“The average, working family is struggling to contend with home prices that are rising much faster than income,” Yun’s statement said. “This sidelines a consumer from becoming an actual buyer, causing them to miss out on accumulating wealth from homeownership.”

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