Contrary Indicators
by Osman Parvez ---- I've been a little too busy lately to blog as much as I'd like, but every once in a while some information pops on my radar screen and screams for attention. You've probably heard about the collapsed Bear Stearns subprime hedge funds (subprime lending is largely made up of loans made to people poor credit histories, essentially riskier loans made a higher rates). There's widespread concern (arguably overblown) that the problems in the subprime sector and in its many derivative products, including credit default swaps, will spread widely. Some investors are worried that this will be [...]
Denver’s Commercial Recovery
by Osman Parvez The Wall Street Journal is reporting on the health of Denver's commercial market. The article notes that it's driven by job growth and strength in energy, finance, and professional service sectors. Office rents have increased as have prices for apartments downtown. The article also touches upon a how the tide of foreclosures are increasing demand for rental units. Second Quarter 2006 vs 2005, according to the article... Office vacancy has dropped from 19.2% to 17.6% Retail vacancy has dropped from 18.0% to 16.1% Apartment vacancy has dropped from 10.6% to 8.6% Median home prices are up from [...]
October Market Updates Available
by Osman Parvez It's hard to believe that October is already a third gone. How time flies. Are you ready for my usual monthly market updates? Has Boulder real estate shaken off the summer's slump? What about local inventory levels and sales? How are Days on Market? This month I thought I'd try something different. I posted a link to the report in our research archive at realtyunique.com. This is the same report I send to my investor clients, friends and colleagues. In that file you'll find summary tables of local real estate conditions, showing both year/year and year to [...]
Broomfield Update
by Osman Parvez I've been spending a little more time in Broomfield the last few weeks as I help a client find a home. Seems like a good time to do an update on local market conditions. The following market analysis covers home sales in Broomfield, Colorado through August, 2006. As you'll see in the graphs below, more people have listed their homes for sale this year but demand (as measured by sales volume) is essentially unchanged. Meanwhile days to offer is running lower. Home Sales Volume in Broomfield 35 homes sold in Broomfield in August, equal to August last [...]
NAR 2nd Quarter Report : Boulder up 7.8%
by Osman Parvez The National Association of Realtors has just released its 2nd Quarter results for existing home sales, showing a mixed market nationwide. According to the press release, The association’s second-quarter metro area single-family home price report, covering changes in 151 metropolitan statistical areas, shows 37 areas with double-digit annual increases and 26 metros experiencing generally minor price declines. – Many of the areas with declines are showing weakness in the local labor market. The strongest gains were in Baton Rouge, LA and Ocala, FL. The strongest declines were in the midwest markets in Illinois, Michigan, and Ohio. In [...]
Total Existing Home Sales (NAR)
by Osman Parvez A few days ago I posted our local real estate market updates (see sidebar). Today the National Association of Realtors (NAR) published their report on existing home sales. Total existing-home sales – including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – declined 1.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.62 million units in June from an upwardly revised level of 6.71 million May. Last month’s sales were 8.9 percent below the 7.27 million-unit pace in June 2005. As expected, sales are cooling across the country and many markets are seeing a return to a more normal state. [...]
May, 2006 – Boulder Sales Analysis (Preliminary)
by Osman Parvez It's been a few days since I last blogged. Real estate activity with clients and terrific weather have kept me from the task. For those of you unfamiliar with Boulder in the summer, there's always something happening outdoors (today's adventure) So what's happening in the market? Here's a sneak peak at Boulder's sales numbers for May and how current inventory is shaping up as we move into the peak summer selling season. The good news is that the sluggishness of April and March seems to have dissipated. The market in May was very similar to May of [...]
April 2006 Market Update
by Osman Parvez The data for April, 2006's data is now available. Over the next few days, I'll post April's market analysis for Boulder (homes), Boulder (attached dwellings), Broomfield, Erie, Lafayette, Longmont, Louisville, and Superior. Stay tuned.... ---- Like this analysis? Subscribe to our client research report. Want to get blog updates via email? Click HERE. Ready to buy or sell? Schedule an appointment or call 303.746.6896. You can also like our Facebook page or follow us on Twitter.As always, your referrals are deeply appreciated. -- The ideas and strategies described in this [...]
Boulder Inventory of Homes Available
by Osman Parvez To help a prospective client, we recently did a detailed market analysis within his specified investment criteria. Along the way, we updated our full market statistics through the month of February for all local areas. The chart below is Boulder's inventory of single family homes. As you can see, inventory levels are typically seasonal here in Boulder. And for the first two months of 2006, the inventory of available properties looks to be on par with last year, a sharp contrast to areas experiencing a downturn. ---- Like this analysis? Subscribe to our client research report. [...]
$1MM+ Sales in Colorado rise 27%
by Osman Parvez According to the Denver Business Journal, a new report by Cendent's Coldwell Banker (CD) places Colorado at No. 12 in its list of states with the largest volume of luxury home sales The report claims 27 percent growth in the sales volume of luxury homes, with the sales volume rising to $678 million from $535 million. California ranked No. 1 for both years, with $30.7 billion in luxury homes sold, a 19 percent increase from 2004. ---- Like this analysis? Subscribe to our client research report. Want to get blog updates via email? Click [...]
Boulder Condo & Townhome Days on Market
by Osman Parvez What about Days on Market (DOM) for Condos and Townhomes? In this segment, we see an interesting potential trend shift. Median DOM decreased while overall sales and the average DOM increased. There are several possible explanations. One is that slow moving properties create an outlyer effect. They aren't sold a few days after the typical property, they are sold at after a substantially longer period of time. Even in a slowly warming market outlying properties will continue to skew the average. Meanwhile, the drivers for attached dwelling sales are likely going to continue to increase. The first [...]
Boulder Homes Days on Market in 4Q
by Osman Parvez This morning, we're digging further into the numbers on Boulder's market. The chart below depicts the number of homes sold (still preliminary for 4Q05) relative to the days on market (DOM) for the same period. This analysis is for single family home sales, no condos or townhomes relative to average and median DOM. Why both average and median? To illustrate the consistent skew caused by outlying sales. In plain English, there are a certain number of homes that sit on the market for very long periods of time. If you only look at average numbers, these slow [...]
Boulder Real Estate: A Tale of Two Markets
by Osman Parvez Based on preliminary estimates, Boulder real estate in the 4th quarter of 2005 was a tale of two markets. As the chart below indicates, there was a split between the high and low end of the market. 4Q sales to current inventory was fairly high below $700K, with the highest ratio between $600 and 700K. Meanwhile between $700K and 1.2MM, the ratio was noticeably lower. What is sales to current inventory? Take the number of homes sold and divide by the current number of homes in inventory. This gives you a rough approximation of the relative performance [...]
Boulder 4Q Sales (preliminary)
by Osman Parvez It's still early to tell, but it looks like Boulder's market may have painted a mixed picture for the 4th quarter of 2005. Current results indicate the number of homes sold dropped a little more than 6% compared to the same period a year earlier while Condo/Townhome sales increased nearly 12% (see chart below). The number of homes sold in the 4th quarter was still 16.2% more than in 2002. Keep in mind these numbers are preliminary and are based on a small sample size (208 homes sold, 150 condo/townhomes). Statistics are dependent on brokers correctly entering [...]
Denver Metro Existing Home Sales
by Osman Parvez There's an article from the Rocky Mountain News regarding Denver's existing home sales in 2004. Existing Home Sales: $14.9BN, 4% greater than '04. Average Price: $281,188 up 5.8% ~1,000 fewer homes were sold in '05 than in '04, a decrease of about 1.9%. Current Inventory: ~13% greater than the same time in '04. DOM: Homes sold an average of 90 days on market. An increase of 5.9% from '04 Appreciation rates this year were in the 4 to 6% range (the norm since 2002). In contrast, California and Florida posted bubble-like appreciation rates of more than 20% [...]
