About the areaBuyer TipsInvestmentReal EstateSeller Tips January 27, 2017

2017 Real Estate Market-Where Are We Going?

About the areaBuyer TipsInvestmentReal EstateSeller Tips January 23, 2017

What’s Happening In The 2017 Real Estate Market?

I want to thank everyone who came out to the Windermere Forecast last week, it was great to see so many people there interested in the real estate market and where we are headed in the future. I wanted to make sure that even if you did not make it, you are familiar with some of the big takeaways from the presentation.

The big story of course is the ongoing low inventory in Northern Colorado. We are at a quarter of where we were back just 6 years ago in 2011, just check out the graph below. This will continue to drive a fast moving market through 2017, although potentially not at the same pace we saw in 2016. That cooling off will be a product of increasing interest rates as the year progresses. While it is certainly great to be a seller in this market, there are still great ways for buyers to get more home than they could have afforded in the past because of where interest rates are currently.

What that low inventory has driven is an above average appreciation rate for the Fort Collins/Loveland areas (as well as the rest of Northern Colorado). As you can see below, we are above the long term 5% appreciation average, so again that will probably slow down just a little bit in to 2017, although we will still be appreciating!

One of the other big questions I get is from my investors, and that is “why should I buy an investment property with these increased prices?”. The answer lies in two things. The first is low interest rates, and the second is with massively increased rents. Even when a 3 bedroom 2 bath home near the CSU campus was $100,000 less than it was today, we are STILL cash flowing about 60% more than we were back when prices were lower. As you can see below, we have seen an increase in rents, along with a decrease in vacancy (especially if you look at a longer 10 year term).

If you have any questions about this info, or want to talk more about buying, selling, or investing in real estate, I’d love to take you to coffee to discuss it!