Louisville, CO

The average home price in Metro Denver increased +2% in the full year 2005 to the full year 2006, from $309,000 to $317,000. Comparing 2006 to 2007, the average home price across the metro dropped 2%, from $311,000. The average price of a foreclosure or short sale dropped in that time period -3% to $188,000. The average price of a non-distress sale increased 5% to $370,000. Sales volume over the last twelve months is off -4% for DSF/ASF. Foreclosure and short sale volume is up +31%; non-distress seller volume is off 20%. If you handle a lot of listing and the market seems slow, this is likely the reason why.

Some areas did better than others. The attached chart shows different neighborhoods in Jefferson County (email me to get a detailed map that is bigger at lonwelsh@yourcastle.org). Each region has the neighborhood's name and the percentage of sales in the last twelve months that were either short sales or bank-owned properties. The second line has the price change the twelve months from 2006 vs. 2007. Next, you'll see the average home price in the last twelve months and the number of homes that were sold.

There had to be at least twenty sales in the last year for an area to be included. The numbers are more reliable in areas where there were more sales. For example, Friendly Hills had 157 sales -the numbers are likely to be very reliable. In Meadow Creek, with only 32 sales, the numbers are more likely directional. You'll see some areas had dramatic price changes but didn't have a lot of foreclosures. If there isn't much volume, it's probably due to the mix of the homes in that little area.

Less expensive areas generally didn't do as well. For example, Villa Park (average home price $108K) saw a 18% drop in prices. More expensive areas generally did better. For example, Green Mountain (average home price $316,000) was up 7%. 80% of the sales in Villa Park area were related to foreclosures, where in Green Mountain, 15% were foreclosures. There's a relationship; where home prices are less expensive, there is more of a foreclosure problem, and that tends to drag down the prices.


Source: Your Castle Real Estate analysis, MLS data

(c) Copyright 2007 Your Castle Real Estate

Recap of Denver Fourth Quarter 2007 Home Price Performance
The average home price in Metro Denver increased +2% in the full year 2005 to the full year 2006, from $309,000 to $317,000.

Comparing 2006 to 2007, the average home price across the metro dropped 2%, from $311,000. The average price of a foreclosure or short sale dropped in that time period -3% to $188,000. The average price of a non-distress sale increased 5% to $370,000. Sales volume over the last twelve months is off -4% for DSF/ASF. Foreclosure and short sale volume is up +31%; non-distress seller volume is off 20%. If you handle a lot of listing and the market seems slow, this is likely the reason why.
Some areas did better than others. The attached chart shows different neighborhoods in Denver County (email me for a larger version). Each region has the neighborhood's name and the percentage of sales in the last twelve months that were either short sales or bank-owned properties. The second line has the price change the twelve months from 2006 vs. 2007. Next, you'll see the average home price in the last twelve months and the number of homes that were sold.

There had to be at least fifteen sales in the last year for an area to be included. The numbers are more reliable in areas where there were more sales. For example, Wash Park West had 196 sales -the numbers are likely to be very reliable. In Lincoln Park, with only 41 sales, the numbers are more likely directional.

Less expensive areas generally didn't do as well. For example, Westwood (average home price $100K) saw a 20% drop in prices. More expensive areas generally did better. For example, Hilltop (average home price $961,000) was up 15%. 81% of the sales in the Westwood area were related to foreclosures, where in Hilltop, only 11% were foreclosures (up from 9% last quarter). There's a pretty strong relationship; where home prices are less expensive, there is more of a foreclosure problem, and that tends to drag down the prices. Another factor driving home price appreciation in some upscale neighborhoods are re-sales of recently scraped properties, where a small, run down $300,000 home is replaced with a new home at $1,000,000.
Source: Your Castle Real Estate analysis, MLS data

(c) Copyright Your Castle Real Estate, 2007

Broomfield, Westminster, and Northglenn Colorado - Real Estate Trends 4Q 2007
By Charles Roberts and Lon Welsh, Your Castle Real Estate.

The average home price in Metro Denver increased +2% in the full year 2005 to the full year 2006, from $309,000 to $317,000. Comparing 2006 to 2007, the average home price across the metro dropped 2%, from $311,000. The average price of a foreclosure or short sale dropped in that time period -3% to $188,000. The average price of a non-distress sale increased 5% to $370,000. Sales volume over the last twelve months is off -4% for DSF/ASF. Foreclosure and short sale volume is up +31%; non-distress seller volume is off 20%.

Some areas did better than others. The attached chart shows different neighborhoods in North Metro Denver (email me for a bigger map at lonwelsh@yourcastle.org). Each region has the neighborhood's name and the percentage of sales in the last twelve months that were either short sales or bank-owned properties. The second line has the price change the twelve months from 2006 vs. 2007. Next, you'll see the average home price in the last twelve months and the number of homes that were sold.

There had to be at least twenty sales in the last year for an area to be included. The numbers are more reliable in areas where there were more sales. In some neighborhoods you'll see dramatic price declines, largely due to the influence of a lot of bank foreclosures. This mainly occurs in less expensive neighborhoods, where the average home price is under $200K. In more expensive areas, a change in the mix of the types of homes sold can dramatically change the price increase or decrease. Also be aware that there are often multiple builders and/or subdivisions in a given "neighborhood". These stats are a lot more interesting than reporting on the average of the entire metro, but you still have to take some care in how they are interpreted!

Source: Your Castle Real Estate analysis, MLS data

(c) Copyright 2007, Your Castle Real Estate

Take a look at the first page, for AUN (Aurora North). Note these positive market trends this year:
- number of active listings steadily declining
- average list price pretty stable (finally!)
- U/C up dramatically
- Number of sales / month up (partially seasonality)
- DOM dropping
- Stability in average sold prices and sold price as % of list
- Sold price as % original price UP a lot - banks are getting better at pricing
- Number of expired listings down

Every indicator is improving this year in AUN. You will see the same trends in DSW (southwest Denver County), but not as marked an improvement as AUN.

By contrast look at DSE (southeast Denver County).
- listings are up (they should be - seasonality)
- Note the average list price ($758,000) is a lot higher than the average sold price ($418,000). Lots of expensive listings brining up the average ask price, but apparently they are not selling
- DOM (Days on Market) declining as it normally would due to seasonality
- Average price declining rather rapidly. Probably a mix issue - smaller, cheaper homes are probably selling better.

Since these homes in DSE are pricier, it has more of an effect on the "average" sales price on metro Denver. Oddly, we could see improvement led by the cheapo neighborhoods, with the lux neighborhoods falling behind for a while. It will be interesting to watch.

(C) Copyright 2008 Your Castle Real Estate

The big message has not changed since last quarter - it's still a great time to be a buyer in the condo market. Prices are at a three year low in many areas, and interest rates on mortgages are still historically low.

The average condo price in Metro Denver declined 4% between 2006 and 2007: from $187K to $180K. Homes dropped 3% in that time period. Looking just at the first nine months of 2008 vs. the same time period in 2007, the price dropped 6%: from $181K to $172K. Homes dropped 11% in that time period. From their peak prices in 2006, condos have dropped around 9.5% while homes have dropped 12%. These numbers will be slightly different than Metrolist, as they are just Denver Metro and don't include outlying areas like Fort Collins, Colorado Springs, or Boulder.

Some areas did better than others. The attached chart shows different neighborhoods in our region. Each region has the neighborhood's name and the percentage of sales in the last twelve months that were either short sales or bank-owned properties. The second line has the price change the twelve months from October 2007 to September 2008 vs. the twelve months immediately preceding. Next, you'll see the average condo price in the last twelve months and the average days on market (DOM) in the last twelve months. There had to be at least twenty sales in the last year for an area to be included. The numbers are more reliable in areas where there were more sales.

Last quarter, we reported that days on market (DOM) had been declining for condos, which should be a leading indicator that we are due for price increases soon. That still seems to be the case.