WELCOME 2021! A New Year and a new day has dawned. A little housekeeping to clear up the final month of 2020 and on to 2021 trends, conditions, and predictions!
December 2020, The Colorado front range area saw 3790 new listings available on the market. Within an average of 33 Days on Market, 6345 sold and closed. The average sales price for December 2020 was $543,900. These numbers defy the fact that we were 9 months into a pandemic, with anemic inventory and limping toward the end of a very challenging year.
Compared to December 2019 statistics of 5608 sold and closed after an average of 49 Days on Market, at an average sales price of $472,990 you would hardly guess there were barriers to sales in December 2020 to be overcome, but only the increasing buyer demand for homeownership!
Trends and conditions from the fourth quarter of 2020 support that as we move into the first quarter of 2021. New applications for home loans increased over 26% from November to December, even as mortgage interest rates continued to dip lower. Home prices marched steadily upwards as demand swelled. Pending status was gained within days if not hours of hitting the market; most homes selling in less than 30 days across the Front Range.
Two factors have greatly influenced the real estate trends and our predictions. Employment formats moving to permanent work-from-home style, allowing greater savings opportunities, and the ever lower interest rates.
Downsizing of corporate and commercial space use has negatively impacted our commercial sector, however, those same conditions are causing a tsunami wave of buyers flooding the residential market.
Another huge shift, also instigated by work-from-home options, is that people are turning greater attention away from city dwelling. With commute concerns minimized, online home searches indicate that interest in locations outside large metropolitan areas has skyrocketed as potential buyers look to relocate to more affordable suburban areas allowing greater space and privacy.
Covid related restrictions produced more modest price gains than originally predicted for 2020, but December 2020 increases appear indicative of demand playing catch-up, as sales shift from urban to suburban markets, and those markets see price surges with the winter thaw.
New home construction is accelerating even as the broader economy slows. New home building permits are up almost 9% over this same time period in 2019 and are increasing monthly. That bodes well for the 2021 housing market overall, as a supply increase will help to balance the market and moderate future home price spikes.
RE/MAX Alliance Associates are responding to the changes and demand increases, utilizing the latest technology to market homes for sale, as well as keeping buyer clients almost instantly informed of desired property availability and market shifts.