It’s been a busy year in real estate, said Collette Speidel, of The Wise Team at Keller Williams Realty in Longmont.
“As soon as the six weeks (of quarantine) ended, we have been crazy busy,” Speidel said.
Longmont, as well as other parts of the nation, are experiencing a rise in real estate sales. In October, Longmont single-family home sales increased by 6.5% over the same period last year, said Kurt Finley, chairperson of the Longmont Association of Realtors
Those numbers would be higher if more inventory were available, Finley said.
As of the end of October, Longmont had 207 homes on the market, a decrease of 49% from October 2019, when there were 406 homes on the market. The number of available homes dropped further in November, and the month ended with only 97 homes available, according to Finley.
“The lack of available inventory is, aside from the lifestyle-changing effects of the pandemic itself, the main residential real estate story of 2020. Very close behind those market drivers are historically low mortgage rates,” Finley said.
Speidel said she has heard several reasons people are buying right now, including downsizing, divorce, moving to a larger home or low interest rates, which were 2.5% at one point this year, Speidel said.
Longmont residents Sandy Green and her husband, Perry, bought a new home prior to the pandemic. They became worried about selling their old home in June when so much was unknown about the housing market. To their surprise, their home went under contract within 14 days of being on the market to a “nice family,” Green said.
“We bought a case of Clorox wipes, put it on the market, started showing it and everytime someone would come through we would wipe it all down for the next person,” Green said.
The Greens had several showings and a few offers on their home before it sold, however, they said had they waited a few weeks they would have likely been in a bidding war as the market picked up.
The lack of inventory has caused some buyers to increase their budgets. Speidel said she has had to get creative with additional clauses that let sellers know buyers are willing to increase their budgets.
“It’s definitely a seller's market,” she said.
It being a seller’s market is reflected in an increase of the average cost of homes.
“Through October of this year, the median sale price of a single family home in Longmont was $470,000, up 7.1% over last year. The median selling price for an attached home was $350,000, up 7.7% from last year,” Finley said.
Despite the rise in housing prices, Speidel said she has seen houses in all price ranges sell quickly, going under contract within a day or two of being listed.
The winter months tend to see a dip in home buying with things picking up again in the spring. However, Finley predicts the slowdown may be less pronounced this winter. He said he also believes the market trends of this year will continue in 2021.
“While we will surely see more new listings of available homes in the spring of 2021, demand should easily stay ahead of the increase, especially if mortgage rates remain at historical lows, the economy begins to recover and there is improving news about the pandemic,” Finley said.
