Colorado’s housing market saw a surge in inventory in February, outpacing sales and giving buyers more options and negotiating power.
Mid-6% interest rates and affordability concerns continue to moderate sales activity.
Statewide, new single-family listings were up 3.6% to 6,937 from January to February and 8.3% from a year ago, according to the latest Market Trends Housing Report from the Colorado Association of Realtors.
New condo and townhome listings were up 3.8% to 2,489 month over month and increased nearly 13% compared to a year ago.
The $575,000 median price of a single-family home in Colorado rose by just less than 1% between January and February and is up 3.6% from a year ago. The $409,000 median price of a condo or townhome dropped 1.9% month-over-month and is down 4.2% from February 2024.
Although the conditions suggest that there’s been an uptick in activity, buyers are approaching the market with caution, forcing sellers to adjust their strategies and pricing in an effort to attract interest and complete sales, said Kelly Moye, a Realtor with Compass in the Boulder/Broomfield area.
“As the market continues to evolve, it remains to be seen when buyer confidence will fully return,” Moye said.
The real estate market varies throughout the state.
In the Colorado Springs area, the inventory increased 32.5% year-over-year to 2,425 homes on the market in February, despite a 3.5% drop compared to January. While there is an abundance of inventory, buyers are paralyzed be fear stemming from uncertainty over the economy and the job market.
“What we don’t have is consumer confidence,” said Jay Gupta, a broker associate and partner at Berkshire Hathaway Rocky Mountain Realtors in Colorado Springs.
Home sales in Colorado Springs increased 4.9% to 730 in February compared to the previous month but declined 7.8% compared to a year ago.
“Buyers are sitting on the fence, and until three or four months ago, the biggest reason was affordable living — how do I make the payment,” Gupta said. “The challenge has been for people, since the election, is the fear. People don’t know if they’ll have a job next week, next month — when you don’t know the future, you’re hesitant to make a decision.”
Vail’s available inventory also has increased dramatically, rising 15.6% between January and February to reach the highest supply since the pandemic. But transactions are down significantly, plunging 48.4% compared to February 2024.
Mike Budd, a Realtor in Berkshire Hathaway’s Edwards office, said the market has evolved from homes priced at less than $1 million accounting for just 30% of the market, down from 60% before the pandemic.
Homes priced at more than $5 million now account for up to 12% of the market, up from 4% pre-COVID. Budd notes that the higher-priced homes skew prices for the rest of the market.
“That’s why we’re seeing a much more dramatic decline in transactions than in dollars,” Budd said. “Our market is the cash buyer clientele, which has been reasonably stable.”
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