Estes Park Real Estate is showing continuing signs of improvement. Single Family homes are selling very well in the lower price ranges. We actually sold 5 more homes in July of this year than we did in July of last year and this is the 4th straight month of increased home sales. All categories have also seen decreases in inventory which is very good for the market as a whole. Lets keep our fingers crossed for less and less inventory and more and more sales!
One of the big things we are seeing is a severe lack in demand in the luxury home market and a gluttony of homes remaining on the market while new ones are coming on the market for sale all of the time. So far this year (since 1/1/09), we have only had 6 properties sell over $700,000. One property is currently under contract and there are a total of 74 homes on the market over $700,000. Those numbers alone will tell you that prices should fall a bit before we see increased activity…theoretically.
However, Estes Park is unique in the fact that the vast majority of homeowners in Estes Park are very financially stable. History has shown that the homeowners in Estes Park are willing to wait longer to “get their price”. As a result, prices have been fairly stable in Estes Park for quite some time while the rest of the nation has decreased significantly. Of the homes that have sold this year over $700,000, the sold for an avereage of 6% off the list price. Also of note, the higher priced listings over $1,000,000 that have sold in the last 2 years are selling at an average 9% off the list price. Because of our extremely low numbers of sales to work with, it is extremely difficult to project exactly how much prices will fall or rise over a given time period. The other “wild card” factor is the fact that each of the million Dollar homes in the area (both active and that have sold) are extremely unique. Buying one of these homes is more similar to buying Art than it is to buying a home. Each home is so different, price isn’t so much of a factor as whether you like what you are looking at or not.
In summary, I would say its a phenomenal time to be buying a luxury home in Estes Park, but a horrible time to be selling one. I would anticipate that in the next 3-7 years, prices and demand will meet somewhere in the middle and become much more stable.
In the meantime, we shall wait and see how the rest of the year plays out in the Estes Park Real Estate market.
If you would like to see a more graphical representation of how the market is doing, check out my Estes Park Real Estate Statistics page on my web site. Also, I would be happy to generate a more focused statistical analysis on the types of property you are interested in. There are a number of ways to contact me here.
Single Family Homes
222 – Active on the market (7 less than last month)
16 – Sold in July (3 more than last month and 5 more than July 2008)
15 – Currently Pending (same as last month)
$349,000 – Median Price of trailing 12 months of sales
$675,000 – Most expensive home sold in July
$135,000 – Least expensive home sold in July
Condominiums and Townhouses
129 – Active on the market (4 less than a month ago)
4 – Sold in July (5 less than last month and 2 less than July 2008)
16 – Currently Pending (9 more than last month)
$240,000 – Median Price of trailing 12 months of sales
$312,000 – Most expensive condo sold in July
$215,000 – Least expensive condo sold in July
Vacant Land
103 – Active on the market (2 less than a month ago)
0 – Sold in July (same as last month and 2 less than July 2008)
2 – Currently Pending (Same as a month ago)
$154,450 – Median Price of trailing 12 months of sales
$0 – Most expensive Lot sold in July
$0 – Least expensive Lot sold in July
