Ken and I know a big part of our job is staying attuned to market sentiment. We talk to buyers, sellers, and agents every day and we often ask them how they feel about the market. These days, the reports we hear back are very mixed and if you pay attention to national headlines, right now they put a chilly spin on the market. But what is the market really like? What do the numbers tell us about buyer demand and seller's experience? Since we just passed Q2, we dug into the numbers to find out. Read on below for more. These stats are pulled from the REColorado MLS. Median Closed Price Prices are generally flat. Median Closed Price is Up .9% year-over-year. |
Click on the images to enlarge them. Active Listings Active listings are down 7%. The decrease in the number of active listings makes for a slight improvement for sellers compared to last year. |
Closed Listings The number of closed listings has been nearly identical for a 4th year. This tells us the same number of buyers are transacting each year. |
Median Days in MLS Median Days on Market is the same year-over-year. |
Months of Inventory We see a slight decrease in months of inventory year-over-year. Months of Inventory is now 4.2% which is considered a balanced market. |
Showings Per Listing Showings per listing is slightly up. |
Conclusions So, how do we interpret this data? When we consider the stats above and our own anecdotal experience from the year, this a market where moves are being made, It's neither a hot market, nor a cold one. We are living in a middle ground where neither buyers nor sellers have strong upper hand. For the most part, sellers are finding willing buyers, although they may be selling for a less than they hoped. Multiple offers are less common but still present at times. Buyers have more inventory to look at and aren't feeling extremely rushed to pull the trigger. Mostly, we are seeing small improvements across a number of metrics but the market has been holding steady over the last few years. To us, the numbers seem remarkably, and surprisingly stable. Interest rates are still the big story and this week's news of continued conflict in the Middle East will likely be a significant headwind for any interest rate decreases in the near future. For reference, here are mortgage rates for the past 5 years: |
You can see that mortgage rates have hit and stayed in the 6% - 8% range for the past 4 years and the real estate market has remained largely unchanged during that time. Mortgage rates have been the dominant force in creating the market conditions we've experienced the past four years. Until we see a change in rates, it's unlikely that we'll see a significant shift in market conditions. What's your take on the market? How are things in your neck of the woods? We'd love to hear from you. Until next time! Allison and Ken |
