Sales:

Loveland CO home sales declined in September 2023. There were 126 homes sold, down 17.1% from the 152 sold in August 2023, and down 17.2% from the 153 homes sold in September 2022. 77 of these homes, or 61.1% of the total sold, were priced over $500K. 2023 year-to-date sales of 1,202 homes were down 18.7% from 2022’s 1,477 sales for the same period.

Prices:

Home prices were mixed in September 2023. The median price fell 3.9% to $553K from $575K in August 2023, while the average price gained 3.4% to $650K from $628K. 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:

Inventory rose in Loveland CO in September 2023, with 305 homes for sale at the end of the month, up 6.6% from 286 at the end of August 2023. The month’s supply of inventory rose to 2.4 months from 1.9 months in August 2023, as sales fell and inventory grew.

Sales Price vs. List Price:

In August 2023, homes in Loveland sold for an average of 97.0% of list price, down from 98.8% for 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.