A Real Estate Slow Down – But don’t freak out!

The absorption rate is a strong indicator of the health of the real estate market. It’s measured in month of inventory and how long it takes for real estate to sell.

A healthy real estate market has 5-7 months worth of inventory.  But Steamboat Springs has such diverse properties that we have to look closer. I broke it down by price-points and Single Family | Townhome | Condo.  This is only properties within the city limits. Yes, we’re seeing a bit of a slow down. But it’s also mud season and a slow time for real estate – so don’t read too much into this.

Single Family Homes
Single Family Homes

 

Townhomes
Townhomes

Condo
Condo
March was a good month for Routt County real estate transactions with $41.8M in gross sales and 109 transactions. Compared to March 2014, this was up 4.8% in total gross volume and up 17% in transactions.

> 74% of March transaction volume was under $500,000 (40% in February)
> 16% of March transaction volume was between $500,001 – $1,000,000 (38% in February)
> 10% of March transaction volume was over $1M – $3M (22% in February)
>  0% of March transaction volume was over $3M (0% in February)
 5 bank sales
> 49% of transactions were financed / 51% were cash

The buyer abstract for the month of March matches what we have seen over the years; 40% of Steamboat’s real estate buyers are locals, 20% are from the front range and 40% are from out of state.

March 2015 Routt County Real Estate Analysis

 

National Real Estate Market

The S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index for February 2015 show that home prices continued to rise across the country over the past 12 months. The 20-City Composite gained +5.0% year-over-year, compared to a +4.5% increase in January. The 10-City Composite gained +4.8% year-over-year while the national index, which covers all 9 census divisions, recorded a +4.2% annual gain in February 2015 which was weaker than January’s +4.5% gain.

“Home prices continue to rise and outpace both inflation and wage gains,” said David M. Blitzer, Managing Director and Chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices. “The S&P/Case-Shiller National Index has seen 34 consecutive months with positive year-over-year gains; all 20 cities have shown year-over-year gains every month since the end of 2012.”

Denver reported the highest year-over-year gain with a +10% home price increase, its first double digit increase since August 2013. Denver and Dallas are the only two cities to have surpassed their housing boom peaks set in July 2006, while nationally home prices are still about -10% below those peaks.

“If a complete recovery means new highs all around,” Blitzer went on the say, “we are not there yet.”

Case Shiller
Case Shiller

For questions about Steamboat’s real estate market and the Steamboat lifestyle, please ask me. I am passionate about my community and real estate. Search all Steamboat homes, townhomes and condos by clicking this link.

Regards,
Charlie

Want to learn more about me?

Charlie Dresen
Real Estate Associate Broker |Sotheby’s
Change Your Experience
970-846-6435 | SteamboatsMyHome.com
Charlie@SteamboatsMyHome.com