Market Update
The last real estate sales for October closed on Friday. When the data is fully recorded next week, we’ll post an update with October’s market conditions.  In the meantime, here’s a sneak peak:

The first half of October saw about 10% greater sales volume in Boulder County, year over year, for detached and attached property, combined. In Denver County, sales volume was about 3% lower for the first half of October compared to last year. This is interesting, given that pending sales were down 9% last month in Boulder and up 15% for Denver, respectively. How will the second half of the month shape up?  We’ll tell you as soon as the data analysis is complete. 

Business Update
For years, 2.8% has been the defacto standard for buy-side commissions in real estate transactions. Now, with the forced public disclosure of commissions, we’re starting to see a lot more variability. About a third of listings seem to have dropped to 2.5%, while many continue to offer the normal 2.8%. We’re also occasionally seeing 3% offers. 

From a business perspective, we welcome full disclosure and transparency in the real estate industry. A lot of buyers and sellers have been paying for very little service from their Realtors. Forced disclosure of commissions is a good thing. Our response is to competition: increase the value of our services. This year already brought a massive upgrade to the work we do for both sellers and buyers, including high-end videography for listings and extreme competitive tactics for buyers in bidding wars. We are planning to even more for next year. 

Give us a call and we’ll be happy to show you how we work harder and smarter for our clients than our competitors.