Sales:

Sales of homes in Fort Collins CO declined in September 2022. There were 212 homes sold, down 9.9% from the 233 sold in August 2022, but down 25.0% from the 265 sold in September 2021. Year-to-date, there have been 1,827 homes sold, down 28.8% from 2021's 2,354 homes sold in the same period. Homes sold for an average of 98.9% of listing price during August.

Prices:

Home prices were up slightly in September 2022. The median price of homes sold during the month rose to $585K from $575K in August, gaining 1.7%, while the average price rose to $647K, up 1.4% from $6638K. Imbalances between supply and demand are no longer the main driving force in the market, and upward price pressure has been moderated by market uncertainty.

Inventory:

The availability of homes for sale in Fort Collins CO was unchanged in September 2022, with 339 homes on the market at the end of the month, the same as at the end of August 2022. The Month's Supply of Inventory (MSI) rose to 1.6 months.

Sales Price vs. List Price:

After peaking in April 2022 with homes selling for 105.5% of list price, this indicator continues to decline, now returning to the more normal level of 98.9, as economic uncertainty, inventory gains and seasonal effects have countered the factors at work last spring.

Summary:

While it's tempting to say that the market has returned to normality, we doubt it's as simple as that. It's true that the current set of numbers would fit within the boundaries of what we would consider "normal", and are certainly better overall than last spring's frenzy, but the economic and social conditions that have brought us here are yet to really play out.

The factors at work in last spring's market were effectively shut down by the arrival of inflation, higher interest rates, and the fear of recession. Market uncertainty prevails as we have yet to identify how these will play out and be dealt with, and as we pointed out last month, we're still looking at more downside in the immediate future.

So as we move into the slower winter season, we believe that the real estate market will have little of substance to react to regarding these issues. It's likely to continue as it has during the last couple of months, needing considerably more clarity about the future before establishing a definite direction. And it's likely that direction will be dependent on how well our responses to the economic challenges we're facing are working.

As always, we'll keep you up to date here, but if you have questions or just want to talk about the real estate market, please don't hesitate to give us a call.