Fort Collins Real Estate Through a Looking Glass
With the New Year just around the corner, everyone is speculating the future of the real estate market. 2013 has been a great year for both commercial and private real estate across the country. Some regions have experienced soaring resurgence such as Colorado, while other states have been slow in their recovery.
According to recent research published in Forbes magazine, the real estate housing market has recovered 67% this year along with 40% increase in newly constructed housing. Fort Collins Colorado has enjoyed an ideal year as the trend in increasing housing prices and sales continues.
Demand & Supply: The Two Pivotal Market Drivers
According to the real estate experts, real estate markets are primarily driven by the forces of demand and supply. Currently, buyers are impatient – unyielding to any logic; because the demand for houses is at an all-time high. Sellers are favored more in the market, as their houses are being simultaneously pursued by more than one buyer.
In Fort Collins, the average listing price for a house is $396,793 which is a 1.8% increase from last week itself. The median sales price has increased by 5.5% and now settles at $248,000 while the average price per square foot is $167 which is a 5.7% increase from last year’s price. The total number of sales made this year in Fort Collins is 645.
More so, buyers want to buy new houses. Although the demand for old and refurbished houses also persists; but the newly constructed houses remain favorites amongst buyers.
A lot of new construction is being planned and under pipelines for the Fort Collins area, however, instant supply of houses especially during the holiday season may be a difficult challenge to meet by the construction companies. Real estate pundits fear the emergence of another bubble that is further accelerated by the growth in jobs and population.
Entry of real estate investors is also a factor that has contributed to the revival of the Fort Collins market that continues to grow with buyers constantly demanding houses for their accommodation.
Fort Collins Market Facts – unfolded
There is no denying the fact that the number of properties on the market has shrunk. With the existing supply not being able to meet the growing demand, the prices have continued to rise. Currently, Loveland-Fort Collins ranks at number 9 among 303 markets across the country for the federal index of home price growth.
The table below illustrates a quarter by quarter comparison of average prices and homes for 2012 and 2013:
|
Fort Collins |
2012 |
2013 |
% Increase |
|||
| Homes | Avg. Price | Homes | Avg. Price | Homes | Price | |
| 1st Quarter | 573 | $251,447 | 742 | $268,180 | 29.0% | 6.7% |
| 2nd Quarter | 1,080 | $256,539 | 1,195 | $272,456 | 10.6% | 6.2% |
| 3rd Quarter | 1,088 | $259,755 | 1,228 | $282,324 | 12.9% | 8.7% |
| November | 267 | $259,851 | 250 | $283,839 | -6.4% | 9.2% |
| YTD | 3,287 | $257,770 | 3,722 | $276,410 | 13.2% | 7.2% |
The most interesting fact about the growing interest of buyers is that homes are currently being sold even before making it to any listings. This action of buyers ensures sellers to demand and get an asking price that is more than the actual price of a house.
Currently, new-home builders have started to take active interest in acquiring land so that they can plan new housing developments. Home starts and closings have both increased by 50% since last year with a prediction of 50% growth in new-home building and sales for the coming year.
There are about 3,500 new houses slated to enter the Northern Colorado market in the next 12-24 months.
What’s interesting to see is that homes over the $400,000 range are in oversupply; hinting at a dual market in the area. This poses an ideal opportunity for sellers of lower-priced homes to sell their houses at a better price and then move to a more expensive home that is probably going to be sold to them at a very reasonable price.
Conclusion:
In all fairness, sellers are enjoying the current wave of market revival. Especially the sellers owning houses priced lower than the $400,000 mark are in an extremely good spot.
According to the real estate experts, things look extremely rosy for Northern Colorado in the coming year with a prediction of 10% increase in home sale transactions in Loveland and a 5% increase in prices. Fort Collins also remains strong and steady with a 12% transaction increase and a 6% increase in prices from last year.
The demand for new homes in Fort Collins will also continue to increase which will benefit the contractors and builders who are busy in development of new houses. Overall, things look good for the real estate market for the coming year – so if you have been planning to purchase a new home, the time to act is now.
Guest post courtesy of Alfie Ethan. Alfie enjoys writing and predicting the Fort Collins Real Estate Market and trends.