Boulder High-End Stagnates | 2Q & 3Q Market Update

What’s New?

Autumn is here, and the first snows have fallen in the mountains. The real estate market has been in mayhem since August, when the changes that resulted from settlement of the NAR lawsuit took effect.

Initial Impact:

• Buyers agents are now required to have a signed compensation agreement with their buyer before showing homes, forcing many to justify their value for the first time.
• The new rules are written poorly, leading to confusion. Anecdotal stories include those of agents who have refused to show homes to unrepresented buyers literally at the doorstep of the property. In Colorado, our state regulator is at odds with the requirements.
• Open houses, once a relic of the industry, are now back in force. We’ve been holding them regularly on our listings.
• Many agents have left or are leaving the industry. Strong, well established players in the industry are getting stronger.
• Some buyers are choosing to go it alone, resulting in less due diligence, market manipulation around commissions by unethical agents, and occasionally much higher compensation to the listing agent as they “double-end” the deal. This is a particularly risky environment for inexperienced buyers and sellers.

How’s The Market?

In this newsletter, we take a deep dive into the 2nd and 3rd quarter data specifically for the City of Boulder. The market for single family, detached dwellings was sliced into four price tranches and analyzed separately. Key findings are below. A more detailed research note is linked at the bottom.

September 2024 (Year over Year)

• Months of supply increased 21% to 25% from a year ago.
• Pending sales increased for sub $2M properties but decreased materially at higher price points.
• Active inventory is up across the board, with much higher increases (as a percentage) at higher price points.
• New listings are down across the board.2Q24 and 3Q24 (Year over Year)
• New listings were up 11% in the $1M to $2M tranche, but down elsewhere.
• Active inventory increased massively below $2M and above $3M.
• The $1M to $2M segment of the market appeared most stable. It’s also the largest segment.
• The $3M+ segment now has nearly 11 months of inventory. This is well into buyer’s market territory.Key Takeaways
• It’s still a seller’s market below $2M. Options are limited, and the most desirable and well marketed properties sell the quickest.
• The market is essentially balanced between $2M and $3M.
• It’s a strong buyer’s market above $3M. Buyers have ample selection and leverage to negotiate significant discounts in 4Q24 and early 1Q25.
• The detailed analysis is available HERE.

House Einstein Update

For over a decade, House Einstein has been making investments in our services for sellers, most notably improving our videography. This has been paying off with a large increase in the number of listings and many thousands of views across our footprint on social media. That’s thousands of views per listing. We are deeply grateful for our clients’ continued trust.

Here are a few notes from our team:

Sophie Kloor has had a busy fall helping buyers and sellers across the Denver and Boulder areas. She’s excited for her upcoming listings in the spring within some great Denver and Boulder neighborhoods! One neighborhood she’s been working in is Wash Park. Check out her neighborhood video.

Ian Steinmo is on a tear and on track for his most successful year yet, with record closings on both the buy and sell side. Watch this space for an upcoming fantastic South Boulder listing in the spring.

After a busy summer and fall, Osman has been working with several sellers getting their homes ready for sale early next year. Expect to see a new Uptown Broadway live/work condo in coming soon status right after the election.

Hamish Crabb has continued to develop his creative skillset and provide the team with support across all parts of this industry. He recently returned from a family trip out east with a renewed interest in the creative space. He’s excited to see what we bring to the table in the coming years.

Looking for more local real estate content?  Check out the House Einstein podcast. You’ll find it on Apple Podcasts, YouTube Music, and Spotify.  If you really want to see our smiling faces, you can even watch us on YouTube. Like this content? Check out Fresh Listings. It’s our review of the most compelling new listings to hit the Boulder and Denver real estate market | Subscribe