Sales:

Home sales declined in Fort Collins CO during September 2023. There were 176 homes sold, down 17.3% from 213 sales in August 2023, and down 17.2% from the 212 sold in September 2022. Of these 176 homes, 130, or 73.9%, were priced over $500K. 2023 year-to-date sales of 1,597 homes were down 14.4% from 2022’s 1,827 sales for the same period.

Prices:

Home prices rose a bit in September 2023. The median price gained 3.5% to $618K from $595K in August 2023, while the average price held steady at $675. Please keep in mind that this number reports the specific sales during the last month and is subject to random market variations as well as specific market driven causes – it therefore needs to be considered in a broader time period context.

Inventory:

Home inventory rose in Fort Collins CO in September 2023. There were 438 homes for sale at the end of the month, uo from 425 for sale at the end of August 2023. The month’s supply of inventory rose to 2.5 months, as sales fell while inventory rose.

Sales Price vs. List Price:

In July 2023, homes in Fort Collins CO sold for 99.5% of asking price, a slight gain from the 99.4% from the previous month.

Summary:

September’s results appear quite typical for this time of year – we generally see the market cool down as we head into winter and the upcoming holiday season, and expect slower sales, not much price movement and higher inventories.

And while we know that economic and political events are also having an effect, most of that will be obscured somewhat from what we could determine in a more active season. But there are clues that indicate that the market has softened.

One of those involves home prices. We’re seeing a significant number of price changes on available homes, to the extent that during September, Northern Colorado real estate markets saw between 40% - 50% of available homes post price decreases to attract buyers. We should see this activity reflected in moderate downward price movement in the next couple of months, as these homes close.

Another factor is the narrowing of our markets toward the upper price ranges – our buyer pool remains smaller than optimal.

So, generally the market is slowing due to seasonal influences, structural price corrections, and buyer and seller uncertainty about the state of the economy and the future.

We expect the market to continue at something like this pace until springtime, when we should be able to get better comparisons as activity is expected to pick up. Of course, we’ll be watching carefully as we go, and we’ll keep you posted on what’s going on. And we’re always here to answer any questions you might have or to just chat about the markets.