Sales:

1,797 homes were sold in Loveland CO during 2022. That represents a drop of 24.9% from the 2,394 homes sold during 2021, and with the exception of January 2022, sales declined from the previous year in each month.

Prices:

Home prices rose in 2022. The median price started the year at $534K and ended at $549K, an increase of 2.8%, but reached a high of $593K in April and July of last year. The average price rose a bit more strongly, beginning the year at $555K, rising to a high of $688K, and finishing the year at $650K, an annual gain of 17.1%.

Inventory:

Loveland CO home inventory started 2022 with only 74 homes available for sale, dropped to a low of 65 in February 2022, and then began to rise, ending the year with 191 homes on the market.

Sales Price vs. List Price:

In January 2022, homes in Loveland were selling for an average of 100.5% of list price. That peaked in May 2022 at 103.9%, and ended the year at a more normal rate of 98.7%.

Summary:

2022 was a wild ride for the housing market. The clearest picture probably comes from the comparison of sale prices to listing prices. We began the year with homes selling at a low of around 100% of asking price, saw that rise to a high of 105.5%, and ended at around 98%.

Beginning with high housing demand and inventories of available homes at historically low levels, the ensuing strong seller’s market led to rapidly rising home prices as buyers competed for the few available homes.

At the same time that increasing prices incentivized more homeowners to put their homes up for sale, demand began cooling. This was partly fueled by the difficulties faced by potential buyers attempting to negotiate a very competitive market, as well as concerns about the economy and rising interest rates. By mid-summer, the market had made a U-turn, with inventories more than sufficient to meet diminished interest from buyers.

And by the end of the year, the market had gone from a wild ride to a slow one. Fears of recession, continuing rises in the interest rate, and the usual seasonal slowing at this time of the year have lowered activity considerably, as the graphs above show.

So now, as we look forward to a new year, we find a continuing unease about the state of the economy. Will there be a strong recession? Will interest rates continue to rise? What will happen to the jobs market? These and other concerns have significant impacts on what may happen. Currently, there just isn’t enough information to make predictions. Looking at the immediate preceding months isn’t much help – seasonal slowing effects cloud the picture. And while it appears that there are more interest rate increases in store, and a strengthening of recession effects, the economy itself has been stronger than expected.

Hopefully, we’ll get a better feel for the direction of the market as we get more information from the coming month’s real estate activity as well as the financial impacts from coming economic decisions. We’ll do our best to keep you informed.