Housing Slump in Fort Collins area (Denver, Colorado Springs: sales, real estate, foreclosures)

[Woodenspoke]

I just read an article that Greeley has one of the highest in the nation forclosure rates. How is the market in the Fort Collins and surrounding towns like Loveland. Are home prices steady or falling and is thera glut of homes on the market.

I have been looking at that area for almost a year now and I have a home to sell here in the Northeast first where the market is very slow.

GB

[ncrea]

Weld County, where Greeley is located, has the highest foreclosure rate in Colorado. Several factors - greedy lenders, escalating adjustable rate loans, people buying homes that had no business buying. Greeley has less expensive housing than Loveland or Ft. Collins, but the town and school district face a lot of challenges.

Larimer County (Loveland, Fort Collins areas), while not immune to foreclosures, has seen their share. Housing in general is more expensive, but the cities and school districts are further ahead. We are probably seeing a conservative 2-3% appreciation rate, which has held steady for 2-3 years now.

Through January and February of this year, sales in Larimer County are slightly ahead of last years numbers. Experts in the area are predicting the market to turn the end of the summer or early fall. Commercial is hot right now, with retail and medical fields leading the way.

Best of luck selling your home.

[Woodenspoke]

Sounds like your to saying everything is just dandy? Market speak is not what I am really looking for but an honest assessment of the housing market today.

How long is it taking to sell a house and what is the back log, 3 months 6 months a year? I am still looking to move, I just want to know what to expect as a buyer. I assume homes are not selling over the asking price even though you say prices are rising.

I'm selling my house in an upscale neighborhood in central NJ and the market is very slow here but we are not having a foreclosure issue just a glut. Property taxes are the main reason people are leaving NJ.

I just cant believe one city's fall is not having an effect through out the area. I hear Denver is slowing down and Boulder is cooling.

So whats the real story?????

GB

[ncrea]

Fort Collins

1st Qtr stats:

Average price of a residential home $268,000
Median price of a residential home $232,500

2nd Qtr stats:

Average price of a residential home $279,138
Median price of a residential home $250,000

DOM is averaging around 4 months or more, just depends on the product.

Depending on the price range, inventory is anywhere from from 4 1/2 months to over a year. Some great homes that are priced right will sell in a month or less. The sellers who are in love with their house and have it priced too high, may see it sit for a year.

A few homes have sold over list price, either because the buyer asked for closing costs to be included or there were multiple offers.

Most homes are selling under list price, from less than 1% to 5% or more. Just depends on the motivation of the seller.

Foreclosures are an issue in Weld county, not so much so in Larimer County where Ft. Collins is located. Call it demographics. Don't get me wrong, depending on the price range usually the high $100s to mid $200s, the foreclosures are having an impact on resale.

Many areas in Colorado are out of sync with one another. Northern Colorado has been in a 2-3% appreciation rate for the past 2-3 years. Denver is just now hitting it.

Need more?

[tfox]

Originally Posted by Woodenspoke

I just cant believe one city's fall is not having an effect through out the area. I hear Denver is slowing down and Boulder is cooling.

So whats the real story?????

Of course it's having an impact. Parts of Weld (like Windsor, for example) are only about 3-4 miles east of FC city limits. Larimer County will be feeling the direct impacts of Weld County's foreclosure and overbuilding woes more than anyone.

Weld County's rapid growth in general has been having a negative impact on Larimer County property values for years, and expect that to continue. The reason why Weld has so many foreclosures is a complex one and I'm not going to try to tackle it here, but don't expect it to go away anytime soon. Much of the state's new growth of housing units in the coming years will be in Weld County. This will hurt everyone else's property values in two ways: by increasing housing supply, and also by hurting your quality of life (using your resources, gobbling up open-space and views creating awful traffic on I-25).

However, you can't go too far -- there's a lot of "chicken littles" out there that are talking about massive price drops in housing. That I don't see happening, mainly because the population influx will in itself generate demand for more housing.

However, if you're looking to buy property in Northern Colorado I think you have to be prepared for the possibility of a few percentage points drop in the short-term due to a variety of factors. Hope that doesn't happen, but it certainly could.

[rya700]

I'm not the expert, but I recall hearing that Larimer county was 9th highest in the state for foreclosures, and the population growth is close to stagnant, compared to what it was in the early '90's. As far as the job market, nothing to brag about. It seems there are many more $9-10/hr positions than there are 'high paying' jobs.

[Woodenspoke]

Thats more like it.

I am I guess looking at the higher end of the market rather than median. Not looking to spend more than $400K on a home but hope to spend as little as possible. 3000sf is my goal plus I would like some space; which from what I have seen on my last trip to FC, is a rarity. Loveland looks like a better choice but I have yet to investigate the offerings; other than listings on the web.

I know some of you are suffering because of the housing mess, I am a seller too and have similar issues except they were caused by the state, and not the job market. Amagine paying a property tax bill thats 5x's what you pay now in CO. Some of the new homes here in my area have taxes in $25K a year range.

But as a I buyer I need to know what the conditions are there because I would like get the best deal I can; as you would if you were the buyer. Knowing current market conditions certainly helps. Most agents will not tell you too much because it always the positive change they look for or will talk about openly. If it's going down they read off predictions of future sales. Of course buyers and sellers dont live in the future and have to make due with what conditions exist. If I was a realestate speculator than future predictions would help be today. Maybe they just dont want to scare off any buyer if the housing maket crashes there. I personaly dont see that happining any time soon.

By just reading the few posts here I get several different views of the same situation. My gut feeling is everyone is hurting in the NE part of Colorado, especially property values and job growth.

GB

[rya700]

It does seem that real estate agents tend to try to sway the market in favor of the sellers via the media.....but in Northern CO it is pretty obvious that it is a buyers market.

[smp200]

What about Denver Colorado?

[Vision67]

Originally Posted by Woodenspoke

Thats more like it.

I am I guess looking at the higher end of the market rather than median. Not looking to spend more than $400K on a home but hope to spend as little as possible. 3000sf is my goal plus I would like some space; which from what I have seen on my last trip to FC, is a rarity. Loveland looks like a better choice but I have yet to investigate the offerings; other than listings on the web.

I know some of you are suffering because of the housing mess, I am a seller too and have similar issues except they were caused by the state, and not the job market. Amagine paying a property tax bill thats 5x's what you pay now in CO. Some of the new homes here in my area have taxes in $25K a year range.

But as a I buyer I need to know what the conditions are there because I would like get the best deal I can; as you would if you were the buyer. Knowing current market conditions certainly helps. Most agents will not tell you too much because it always the positive change they look for or will talk about openly. If it's going down they read off predictions of future sales. Of course buyers and sellers dont live in the future and have to make due with what conditions exist. If I was a realestate speculator than future predictions would help be today. Maybe they just dont want to scare off any buyer if the housing maket crashes there. I personaly dont see that happining any time soon.

By just reading the few posts here I get several different views of the same situation. My gut feeling is everyone is hurting in the NE part of Colorado, especially property values and job growth.

GB

Some stats in Colorado Springs: House on 0.5 acre lot, 4700 sq ft, worth about $425K, property tax is $2.2k

Sure beats NJ!