In the middle of the year as summer heats up, the Northern Colorado real estate market follows suit. Every June and July, we expect increased activity - more homes for sale and more sales as a result. In 2017, however; what we saw in June was pretty important. In Fort Collins we saw a 35% increase in active listings over 2016 figures. In fact, this is the highest number of homes for sale in June since 2013. Loveland saw a 49% increase in active listings in June, which is the highest active listings in June since 2011. Sellers are selling again! To prove just how different the segments of our broader market can be, Greeley/Evans saw an 11% decrease in active listings from 2016 with just 328 homes for sale in June. So the big question is, is inventory returning?

While it may still be too difficult to tell if inventory is returning for the long term, it is a positive sign that more homes are hitting the market in Loveland/Berthoud and the Fort Collins Area. This influx of homes will help alleviate buyer competition, and as a result - I'd expect home prices to settle down in the upcoming months. With such a spike in homes available, it stands to reason that the buyer pool will be a bit more diluted and those listings that could have seen multiple offers just a couple months ago, might linger on the market a bit. This is all very welcome news for buyers.

So what's the cause of this spike in available inventory? One would think that new construction would be coming online in the warmer months. That doesn't appear to be the case. In all of 2017, about 16% of sales were new construction. If you isolate June 2017, only 12% of homes were new construction. So, there hasn't been anywhere near an influx of new construction. So what does that tell us? My theory is that resale sellers have finally, after several years of waiting and getting advice to sell, decided that 2017 is their year. I think that homeowners are taking the advice of many real estate professionals (myself included) and they're taking advantage of one of the best move up markets in history. They're taking the equity they have and turning that into a healthy downpayment on their next home, one they can stick in for the long haul - and they'll be happy they did. It'll be interesting to see what the rest of the year looks like if more and more sellers are following suit. While inventory spikes up, I'll predict prices to level out and correct a bit. Let's see what happens!

As mentioned previously, the NoCo real estate market is always changing: expanding, contracting, or leveling off. Keeping on top of the market will ensure you are prepared when it's time to make a move, a shift in the market might be subtle and I'm here to help you navigate. I'd love it if you told your friends, family and co-workers about the interesting and important information I'm always working on - educated homebuyers and sellers are empowered, and I love working with smart and intelligent folks. Let's get to work.