Indian Peaks Lafayette Real Estate Market December 2015

The month of December reflected a typical holiday season in real estate with a slight decrease in demand. That being said, the decrease is relative. It’s still very much a Seller’s market!

The inventory has been holding pretty average throughout the year with between 23-26 homes in the market each month (with the exception of August when there were just 19 houses active, under contract or sold). The softening in demand can be seen in the absorption rate, which was about .69 in December. To contract, in June the absorption rate was just .27 which both mean that it would take less than 1 month for the market to absorb all available homes.

So as you can see the difference between .27 and .69 is still less than 1 month so demand is still very strong! However, the difference can be felt by Sellers who are listed in the month of December. Instead of receiving multiple offers over the first weekend of list, they might only see one. That could also explain why the percent of list to sold is at 99% this month (instead of 100% or more).

Considering this Seller’s market it is important to note when pricing a home for sale is not responsible for the Seller to pick the price out of thin air. What I mean is that the Seller still needs to meet the market with a price that is enticing. If the Seller chooses a ‘pie in the sky’ price the market won’t be fooled and will respond rather coldly. This can be seen throughout the community as Sellers price homes at the ceiling of market value during a month with slower demand. Now those homes are sitting waiting for an offer.

When a Seller meets the market the property will sell within a weekend, maybe two. If the house hasn’t sold after 10 showings or 10 days then it’s overpriced. The vast majority of the market has seen the price and did not make a move. Then it is up to the Seller to make a strong move lowering the price to meet the next wave of Buyers in the market. Ideally this should happen with one swift blow with a $10k-$20k price reduction, depending on the value of the home.

By then the home should be priced to sell and it will be very apparent when that value is met. The reason I say this is because my experience in this market shows that if you are at market value, then you will be standing in a virtual hurricane of demand. Once the market knows that there is a value it’s like you stuck your finger in an electrical socket! When this happens it’s likely a Seller will have an offer within days.

However, if the Seller doesn’t make a significant price reduction and rather chooses to do tiny incremental price reductions, this is looked at with suspicion. The longer a home sits and the more price reductions it has the more the market looks with wonder about why the house hasn’t sold. This is especially true in our market. If this happens it’s highly likely that the home will ultimately sell for less than it’s actually worth, which is a tragedy.

For information about what your home value in this market, please contact me. I’m happy to provide you a valuation with no obligation. Even if you aren’t thinking of moving, give me a call. It’s always interesting to see more detail from a professional then just what Zillow has to say.

Call me anytime, I’m here to help. 720-465-7005 / leanne@TrailRidge.CO