The Boulder real estate market has been doing some very interesting things. 


On one end of the market, bidding wars are breaking out for homes. Anecdotally, we’re even seeing buyers from Denver jumping into these bidding wars as they seek to escape lock downs in dense cities like Louisville. On the other end of the market, there is a growing pile-up of luxury homes that are sitting without takers. 


The chart above is a snapshot of the market on May 26, 2020. It shows inventory under contract, by price range, for single family homes in Boulder (excluding Gunbarrel).
Notice how the market is performing above $1.1M. From that point and up, less than 20% of houses are under contract. Under $1.1M, most price ranges show more than 50% of the market under contract. 


Has the excess inventory above $1.1M led to substantial discounting as sellers compete for buyers? The answer will surely disappoint the bench sitters. 


The analysis below shows arms-length single family house sales priced above $1.1M since the beginning of April, throughout Boulder County. 

42 homes sold during this period and sure enough, there have been a few isolated deals where the seller capitulated. Take 415 Cedar Brook (10.6% below asking) and 6897 Marshall (12.3% below asking), for example. At the same time, 19% of sales (nearly 1 in 5) have sold at full asking and 14% have actually sold for a premium.  


Here’s a link to check out all 42 homes in the data set. 


So far, there has been very little capitulation in the market. We’ll see how this plays out in June and July. 


p.s if you liked this analysis, consider signing up for our Fresh Listings newsletter. The latest edition includes a more detailed analysis of the Boulder real estate market by property type and price range, as well as our review of the best listings to hit the Boulder market. 

Osman Parvez  is the Founder and Employing Broker of House Einstein. Originally from the Finger Lakes region of New York, he lives in Boulder with his wife and their Labrador Retriever. He has been a Realtor since 2005.


Osman is the primary author of the House Einstein blog with over 1,200 published articles about Boulder real estate. His work has also appeared in many other blogs about Boulder as well as mainstream newspapers, including the Wall Street Journal and Daily Camera. For more information, click HERE.

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The ideas and strategies described in this blog are the opinion of the writer and subject to business, economic, and competitive uncertainties. House Einstein strongly recommends conducting rigorous due diligence and obtaining professional advice before buying or selling real estate.