PAUL'S REAL ESTATE NEWSLETTER – JANUARY 2015

• Home prices at a record high!  The average sales price for single family detached homes increased 8.3% to $360,335

       

• Inventory at record a low!
  • The year ended with 5,352 active listings on the market, the lowest number since 1985 when data was first collected
  • Only 6-week supply of unsold homes (six month supply is the benchmark for a balanced buyer/seller market)

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• Homes averaged 35 days on the market, 13 days less than 2013
• The number of homes sold was 41,363, down 6.6% from 2013.  Sales would have been higher if there had been more homes to sell.
• Foreclosures and short sales accounted for only 4.8% of distressed sales in 2014.  In 2011, distressed sales made up nearly one-third of all sales.

        

• The luxury home market showed continued strength:
  • 801 luxury homes sold, an increase of 10.3% from 2013
  • Sales volume increased 9.3% in 2014, to $1.2 billion

• A majority of homeowners ended the year with positive equity in their home.  Sellers who had been forced onto the sideline during the housing downturn were finally able to reenter the market with positive equity.
• The investor buying frenzy has all but disappeared due to fewer distressed sales and increase property values, giving the first time homebuyer the upper hand.
• Sales of homes, in the price range from $300,001 to $500,000, increased 15.9%

     

     

• Castle Pines
• Centennial
• Castle Rock
• Denver
• Highlands Ranch
• Littleton
• Lone Tree
• Parker

• Home prices to rise 4%
• The number of homes for sale will increase as more homeowners have positive equity in their home, and can sell their home with out taking a loss
• Buyer demand will remain strong as mortgage rates hover at historically low levels
• Millennials and first-time home buyers will return to the market as overly stringent lender standards begin to loosen 

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• FHA mortgage insurance premiums were recently reduced, benefitting Millennial and first-time home buyers
• Denver’s housing will remain strong as a result of the strength of our economy.  Unemployment rates are at pre-recession lows and employee wages and salaries are growing, both good indicators for a strong real estate market in the upcoming year.