This month in Indian Peaks we have had an interesting start to the season. Inventory is definitely back up with 16 single family homes available to purchase, and only one that was sold in the month of April. Last month there were only 8 homes so inventory has almost doubled with the coming of spring.

Of the homes that are actively available on the market there are only two that come in below a $600,000 list price. That means that of the 16 homes available 80% of the homes will require a jumbo loan (or a large down payment) from the Buyer to purchase. This requirement narrows the number of qualified Buyers to purchase the property.

There are 7 homes available for Buyers to choose from that are listed between $600,000-$900,000 make up about 43% of the market. Of these homes, 3 of them have been on the market for over a month and 4 are new as of April.

April brought a 3 new million dollar plus homes to the market for a total of 6 custom homes available for Buyers to choose from. Its great to see the confidence of Sellers who now feel that the market has returned for their luxury homes. It’s easy to see why their confidence is growing with 3 homes under contract and 3 sold in this category through April, with an average price of $1,200,000. However, inventory has doubled in this category since February giving more choices for the Buyers in this segment.

It will be interesting to see how the Buyers respond to the choices and if price adjustments will be made to accommodate for the extra inventory. It would seem that these homes need to be very careful with the price per square foot so that they can be competitive in the market and entice the Buyers. Nine of these homes are currently listed for more than $200 per square foot with six of them over $210 for total square foot. There are four homes that are perched above $220 per square foot, which might be a bit high considering the inventory.

Because there is such a large inventory of premium homes which require specialty jumbo loans, my advice to Sellers would be to go through your home with a fine toothed comb. Bring in the contractors and handymen to refine things in your home. For starters, make sure that the wood floors are puttied and don’t have cracks, check the paint to make sure that there aren’t scruffs and that it looks fresh, consider replacing the carpet and deep clean everything (including windows! In the premium market the Buyer doesn’t want to feel like they need to move in and do updates. It’s my bet that the prettiest houses will win by obtaining Buyers first.

For information about how to prep your home for sale so that you can obtain the best return in with the shortest time on the market, please contact me directly. I have an 18 plan that I can share with you to give you ideas for refining your home and getting it ready for sale.

Leanne Goff 720-465-7005 leanne@trailridge.co