Summit County Colorado Market Report - May/June 2012

Slow and steady signs of improvement from winter to spring.

March and April 2012 drop from 2011.

March 2012 had a total of 66 residential improved transactions, up 5 from February’s 61 and April showed marked improvement with a total of 92 residential transactions. Total residential dollar volume in March was $33.8M and April was $45.5M. February fell in the middle with $37.7M. Dollar volume for all types of property was $37.4M in March, down from $43.1M in February.

Again, April showed improvement with $52.7M in all types of real estate transactions. May 2012 residential sales from our MLS indicate 98 residential properties sold with dollar volume at $48.2 million.

Spring months are showing slow signs of improvement and as we hit late summer, we will be able to see how the market is faring. March’s strongest price points were properties between $200,000-$400,000. April showed strong sales in price points under $600,000, and had 20 transactions between $200,000-$300,000.

Average prices from 2006 to 2011 are as follows; 2012 numbers are year to date averages through April 2012:

Single Family Homes:
2006 - $737,253
2007 - $798,889
2008 - $835,803
2009 - $905,030
2010 - $770,797
2011 - $734,262
2012 - $735,008

Multi Family:
2006 - $333,501
2007 - $406,529
2008 - $463,633
2009 - $398,051
2010 - $425,080
2011 - $367,280
2012 - $361,315

Vacant Land:
2006 - $311,951
2007 - $391,587
2008 - $470,260
2009 - $399,025
2010 - $336,625
2011 - $246,478
2012 - $236,082

As of May 31, 2012, there are 1,387 active residential listings in Summit County. The number continues to increase slowly as we get closer to the high summer selling season. The total dollar value of current inventory is $965 million. As of the same date there are 401 land listings, an increase by around 10% from earlier this year.

With respect to residential listings, average days on the market is 381; median days on the market is 272.

Our MLS is showing 178 residential properties currently Pending with a total dollar volume of $97 million. Pending properties have dropped slightly since earlier this year, but only by about 10 properties. Again, expect to see these numbers increasing as summer progresses.

According to Summit County assessor data there are 25,660 residential properties and 2,564 pieces of vacant land. When looking at inventory for sale, 5.4% of residential properties are for sale and 15.6% of vacant land parcels are for sale. Industry experts say that a healthy market has less than 10% inventory. Industry experts also say that more than 6 months of inventory is a sign of a weak or “buyers” market. With 92 residential properties selling in April and inventory of 1,387, it will take around 15 months to sell the entire residential inventory.

Below are the total dollar amounts of sales in March and April from 2004 to 2012:

March 2004 $69.1M
March 2005 $90.2M
March 2006 $108M
March 2007 $92.6M
March 2008 $95.4M
March 2009 $37.9M
March 2010 $37.4M
March 2011 $44.9M
March 2012 $37.4M (down 17% from 2011)

April 2004 $77.4M
April 2005 $94.4M
April 2006 $111M
April 2007 $133.9M
April 2008 $94.2M
April 2009 $37.8M
April 2010 $40.8M
April 2011 $66.3M
April 2012 $52.8M (down 20% from 2011)

Total Dollar Volume for 2004-2011 is as follows:
2004 $1.12B
2005 $1.47B
2006 $1.63B
2007 $1.63B
2008 $1.06B
2009 $683M
2010 $698.4M
2011 $684.2M

The year 2006 had the most dollar volume totaling $1,637,874,800.

If you would like to see the statistics from Land Title that provides the source for this newsletter, here is a link:
April: http://ltgc.com/files/breckenridge-marketstats/APRIL2012SUMMIT.pdf
March: http://ltgc.com/files/breckenridge-marketstats/MARCH2012SUMMIT.pdf

What does all of this mean to you?

April has shown continued signs of improvement for the Summit County Real Estate market and May MLS data shows another increase. Generally we expect an increase in sales in the summer but spring months showing signs of improvement is a good sign pointing toward a recovering market. Year over year, spring 2012 worsened from spring 2011. With early season activity (both in terms of showings, contracts and buyers), it appears that summer is going to be an improvement since the recession.

If you are interested in buying, we seem to climbing out of the bottom. If you are a seller, you will need to be priced competitively within other inventory because buyers are sophisticated and educated. Denver is showing strong signs of recovery and Summit County tends to lag 12-18 months behind. If this historical trend holds true, you have one year to smartly buy a Summit County property!

Good Deals - Summit County Real Estate April 2012

Here is a link the monthly good deals in real estate located in Summit County Colorado. Each month I feature properties in Summit County that are bank owned, short sales, or owned by motivated sellers.



Amy Nakos, JD, GRI
anakos@yourcastle.org

Summit County Colorado Real Estate Market Conditions - April 2012 Update

First time since pre-recession: dollar volume steady; number of transactions decline showing price stabilization.

Have We Hit the Bottom? Probably

February 2012 had a total of 61 residential improved transactions, down 18 from January’s 79 – a decrease of almost 23%. From December to January, number of tranasactions dropped 31%. Total residential dollar volume in February was $37.7M down $.1M from January’s $37.8M. With 23% less transactions and the same dollar volume, trends indicate that prices are leveling out. If you were one of those people who I told I would warn you when we hit bottom – here is your warning: “It seems we may have hit the bottom.”

Dollar volume for all types of property was $43.1 M in February an increase of 7.4% from January’s $40.1M. Total number of transactions in February for all types of real estate was 79 down 17 from January’s 96 – a decrease of 17.7%%. February 2012 dollar volume was up 12% from February 2011 which posted $38.3M in sales.

The analysis from Land Title, who reports these statistics, is as follows:

Market Analysis % Change showing years 2004-YTD 2012: Monetary Volume in February 2012 is up 12% from February 2011 with 2011=$38,351,800 and 2012=$43,118,700). Transactions in February 2012 were down 11% from February 2011 ( 2011=89 and 2012=79). With the Sales transactions taking a little dip, and volume holding this month indicates that the average prices are stabilizing. This is the strongest showing since pre- recession in 2008. YTD- Gross Volume is up 2% and Transaction Volume is only down 1%.


March 2012 residential sales from our MLS indicate 69 residential properties sold with dollar volume at $37.6 million – No great improvement, but no drop either for a historically slower month.

The price point with the most activity in February 2012 is the $200,000-$300,000 and for the first time I can remember, the $500,000-$600,000 category with 11 sales each. An increase in sales in the $500K-$600K range helps to explain why dollar volume remained steady but number of transactions decreased. In second place is the $300,000 - $400,000 price point with 10 sales and the under $200,000 category, which usually has numerous sales, only has 3.
Average prices from 2006 to 2011 are as follows; 2012 numbers are year to date averages:

Single Family Homes:

2006 - $737,253
2007 - $798,889
2008 - $835,803
2009 - $905,030
2010 - $770,797
2011 - $734,262
2012 - $790,140* ($665,421 – January)

Multi Family:

2006 - $333,501
2007 - $406,529
2008 - $463,633
2009 - $398,051
2010 - $425,080
2011 - $367,280
2012 - $362,211 ($337,853 – January)

Vacant Land:

2006 - $311,951
2007 - $391,587
2008 - $470,260
2009 - $399,025
2010 - $336,625
2011 - $246,478
2012 - $208,020 ($131,500 – January)

*In February the sale of $3.225M new construction home in Shock Hill in Breckenridge is the reason the average single family home price jumped by almost 19%. As the year progresses and more data of sold single family homes are included, I would expect this number to go down.
As of April 4, 2012, there are 1,214 active residential listings in Summit County, up 26 from the beginning of March. The total dollar value of current inventory is $871 million. As of the same date there are 367 land listings, down 3 from March.

With respect to residential listings, average days on the market is 426; median days on the market is 293.

Our MLS is showing 187 residential properties currently Pending, up 30 from March. Total dollar volume of pending properties per list price is $103.8M. Pending properties have increased which means that number of transactions and dollar volume will improve in the next few months.

According to Summit County assessor data there are 25,660 residential properties and 2,564 pieces of vacant land. When looking at inventory for sale, 4.7% of residential properties are for sale and 14.3% of vacant land parcels are for sale. Industry experts say that a healthy market has less than 10% inventory.

Industry experts also say that more than 6 months of inventory is a sign of a weak or “buyers” market. With 61 residential properties selling in February and inventory of 1,214, it will take almost 20 months to sell the entire residential inventory.

Below are the total dollar amounts of sales in February from 2004 to 2011:

February 2004 $62.7M
February 2005 $72.1M
February 2006 $76.6M
February 2007 $88.3M
February 2008 $64.5M
February 2009 $27.2M
February 2010 $36.0M
February 2011 $38.3M
February 2012 $43.1M

Total Dollar Volume for 2004-2011 is as follows:

2004 $1.12B
2005 $1.47B
2006 $1.63B
2007 $1.63B
2008 $1.06B
2009 $683M
2010 $698.4M
2011 $684.2M

The year 2006 had the most dollar volume totaling $1,637,874,800.

What does all of this mean to you?

This month presents a new trend that we haven’t seen since pre-recession 2008 – a decrease in number of transaction, yet an increase in dollar volume. While there was the sale of $3.2M single family home which may have skewed statistics a bit, the number that most surprised me was the increase in sales in the $500-600K range. Given this trend, I peeked into March sales in our MLS where almost half of the residential sales fall between $100,000 and $400,000, showing me that this trend may be an anomaly. However, it could also signal the start of a price recovery in Summit County Real Estate. In any event, this trend along with my personal experience of working with more buyers and witnessing more properties going under contract, does signal to me that we have hit the bottom and are in a state of recovery – even though it may be a slow recovery.

If you are a buyer on the fence, it may be time to get more serious, especially as new listings begin to hit the market and with more buyer competition, the best properties will be swiped up faster than the last few years. If you are a Seller, you still need to be priced right so don’t think this bit of good news is a reason to increase your asking price by 10%.

Summit County Foreclosure Update for February 2012

Summit County Colorado Foreclosure Statistics - Reported April 2012 for the month February 2012.

In February 2012 there have been 60 foreclosure actions; 49 with fee simple (100%) ownership, 10 for timeshares, and one unknown. In February the Summit County Treasurer’s Office issued 11 Public Trustee’s Deeds - 8 for fee simple ownership, and 3 for timeshares.

The breakdown of the type of foreclosure actions for February 2012 is as follows. There have been 39 Notice of Election and Demands which is the first step in the foreclosure process. This starts the foreclosure timeline and is not yet a sale of the property. There have been 0 Certificate of Purchase actions which is where the Public Trustee offers the property at public auction. Any purchaser must pay more than the debt itself owed to the lien holder filing the foreclosure action plus any fees. The purchaser has the duty to research whether there are any other outstanding liens on the property. There have been 21 Public Trustee's Deeds in February 2012. This is the stage of the process where the holder of the Certificate of Purchase obtains ownership of the entity.

In terms of property types, 27 single family homes, 21 multifamily units, 0 parcels of vacant land, 1 developments, 0 commercial properties, 1 unknown actions, and 10 timeshares in Summit County had foreclosure actions filed against them in February 2012. Twenty-four are in Breckenridge, (but note, that all timeshares are in Breckenridge); 5 each in Blue River, Farmer’s Corner and Frisco; and 4 each in Keystone and Silverthorne.

In looking back at foreclosure statistics in Summit County, 2009 had 300 NED’s, and 86 Public Trustee Deeds issued. The year 2010 had 367 NED’s and 148 Public Trustee Deeds issued. 2011 rounds out with 326 NED’s and 227 Public Trustee Deeds.

If you have any questions about short sales, bank-owned properties, or foreclosures in Summit County, Colorado, please email me at anakos@yourcastle.org, or call me at 970-389-8388.

Summit County Real Estate DEALS for March 2012

Bargain hunters - I know you want a good deal. In Summit County real estate, here are the good deals for March 2012.

Click Here for Good Deals

Summit County Colorado Foreclosure Statistics - March 2012 (reporting January 2012 numbers)

Summit County Foreclosure Update for January 2012


In January 2012 there have been 26 foreclosure actions; 18 with fee simple (100%) ownership, and 7 for timeshares. In January the Summit County Treasurer’s Office issued 10 Public Trustee’s Deeds - 5 for fee simple ownership, and 5 for timeshares.

The breakdown of the type of foreclosure actions for January 2012 is as follows. There have been 16 Notice of Election and Demands which is the first step in the foreclosure process. This starts the foreclosure timeline and is not yet a sale of the property. There have been 0 Certificate of Purchase actions which is where the Public Trustee offers the property at public auction. Any purchaser must pay more than the debt itself owed to the lien holder filing the foreclosure action plus any fees. The purchaser has the duty to research whether there are any other outstanding liens on the property. There have been 10 Public Trustee's Deeds in January 2012. This is the stage of the process where the holder of the Certificate of Purchase obtains ownership of the entity.

In terms of property types, 9 single family homes, 9 multifamily units, 0 parcels of vacant land, 0 developments, 0 commercial properties, 1 unknown actions, and 7 timeshares in Summit County had foreclosure actions filed against them in January 2012. Thirteen are in Breckenridge, (but note, that all timeshares are in Breckenridge); and 2 each in Blue River, Dillon Valley, Keystone, Silverthorne and Wildernest.

In looking back at foreclosure statistics in Summit County, 2009 had 300 NED’s, and 86 Public Trustee Deeds issued. The year 2010 had 367 NED’s and 148 Public Trustee Deeds issued. 2011 rounds out with 326 NED’s and 227 Public Trustee Deeds.

If you have any questions about short sales, bank-owned properties, or foreclosures in Summit County, Colorado, please email me at anakos@yourcastle.org, or call me at 970-389-8388.

Summit County Colorado Real Estate Market Conditions - March 2012 Update

Real Estate Statistics

January 2012 numbers down by one-third from December 2011.
Absorption of residential properties at 15 months with median days on the market at 287.

January 2012 had a total of 79 residential improved transactions, down 36 from December’s 115 – a decrease of 31%. Total residential dollar volume in January was $37.8M down $17.1M from December’s $54.9M a decrease of 31%.

Dollar volume for all types of property was $40.1M in January a decrease of 35% from December’s $61.6M. Total number of transactions in January for all types of real estate was 96 down 44 from December’s 140 – a decrease of 31%. January 2012 dollar volume was down 8% from January 2011 which posted $43.5M in sales.

February 2012 residential sales from our MLS indicate 62 residential properties sold with dollar volume at $36.7 million – not showing any dramatic increase from a paltry January.

The price point with the most activity in January 2012 is the $300,000-$400,000 and $400,000-$500,000 with 16 sales each. In second place is the under $200,000 price point with 12 sales and $200,000-$300,000 has 11 sales.

Average prices from 2006 to 2011 are as follows; 2012 numbers are year to date averages:

Single Family Homes:

2006 - $737,253
2007 - $798,889
2008 - $835,803
2009 - $905,030
2010 - $770,797
2011 - $734,262
2012 - $665,421

Multi Family:

2006 - $333,501
2007 - $406,529
2008 - $463,633
2009 - $398,051
2010 - $425,080
2011 - $367,280
2012 - $337,853

Vacant Land:

2006 - $311,951
2007 - $391,587
2008 - $470,260
2009 - $399,025
2010 - $336,625
2011 - $246,478
2012 - $131,500

As of March 1, 2012, there are 1,188 active residential listings in Summit County, up 16 from the beginning of February. The total dollar value of current inventory is $864 million. As of the same date there are 370 land listings, up 15 from February.

With respect to residential listings, average days on the market is 424; median days on the market is 287.

Our MLS is showing 154 residential properties currently Pending, up 20 from February. Total dollar volume of pending properties per list price is $82.4 million. Pending properties increased over last month which will show a slight upward trend in closings in the next 30-60 days.

According to Summit County assessor data there are 25,660 residential properties and 2,564 pieces of vacant land. When looking at inventory for sale, 4.6% of residential properties are for sale and 14.4% of vacant land parcels are for sale. Industry experts say that a healthy market has less than 10% inventory.

Industry experts also say that more than 6 months of inventory is a sign of a weak or “buyers” market. With 79 residential properties selling in January and inventory of 1,188, it will take 15 months to sell the entire residential inventory.

Below are the total dollar amounts of sales in January from 2004 to 2011:

January 2004 $41.8M
January 2005 $80.7M
January 2006 $85.7M
January 2007 $82.9M
January 2008 $85.4M
January 2009 $32.8M
January 2010 $30.0M
January 2011 $43.5M
January 2012 $40.1M

Total Dollar Volume for 2004-2011 is as follows:

2004 $1.12B
2005 $1.47B
2006 $1.63B
2007 $1.63B
2008 $1.06B
2009 $683M
2010 $698.4M
2011 $684.2M

The year 2006 had the most dollar volume totaling $1,637,874,800.

What does all of this mean to you?

January numbers did not impress compared to the previous two years, but the good news is that January 2012 was better than January 2009 and January 2010 at the height of the recession. Property types that are selling the best are multi-family units under the $400,000 price point. Since the recession began, the most attractive properties are of course those that are priced under market and are obvious good values in the marketplace. For Sellers who are aren’t willing to price slightly under market, you will be holding onto your properties for awhile.

As I mentioned last month, I am hearing from my colleagues in Denver that there is a lack of inventory in the market for single family homes under $300,000. In fact, new listings in this sector have multiple offers on them. Primary home owners are looking to buy now. This trend will have a ripple effect and as consumer confidence increases, second home owners will look to Summit County for investment and enjoyment potential. Historically, our market lags around 12 months behind Denver. Expect the market to continue to improve slowly unless we experience some catastrophic event in the economy.