Multi Room Virtual Tour Here!LONGMONT — Despite numbers that are down compared with a year ago, local real estate agents say they’re pleased with the way 2011 is shaping up in terms of residential home sales. In fact, they say, after years of turmoil the market seems to be getting back to a pre-recession normal.
Year-to-date through the end of June, 421 single-family homes had been sold in Longmont, a nearly 23 percent drop from a year ago. But last year was unusual because of the federal homebuyer tax credit that was put in effect in late 2009 and extended into the second quarter of 2010.
Dave Wagner, president of the Longmont Association of Realtors, said the tax credit skewed the numbers for the first part of last year and feels like the market is returning to a more normal cycle of buying and selling.
Wagner said he’s predicting that by the end of 2011, sales figures for Longmont will be off by about 3 percent when compared with 2010.
“The stimulus may have added 10 percent to our business and we’re only down 3 percent?” said Wagner, a sales associate with ERA Tradewind Real Estate in Longmont. Then I’d say we’re in a recovering market.”
Kim Ranes of Diamond 4 Realty, who’s been in the business since 1996, agrees with Wagner’s assessment.
“I think that it’s generally doing OK,” said Ranes, who operates all over the northern Front Range. “It think it’s kind of holding its own. The listings that are selling are some of the better ones on the market, and some of them are selling quite quickly. Others sit for a while.”
The average days on the market has dropped this year in Longmont to 91, from 111 last year.
Ranes said that from the seller’s perspective, price continues to be key.
“No matter what, for the entire time I’ve been in the business, pricing has always been the most important. I think no matter what, pricing has to be number one. But staging and cleaning and updating (your home to sell) is very close,” she said. The median home price in Longmont year-to-date through June was $216,800, a 13 percent decline from the $249,900 of a year ago. Part of that is due to buyers being more cautious, which is forcing sellers, in many cases, to ask less than they might want to, Ranes said.
“Right now, because of what’s happened in the economy the last few years, the buyers seem to be weighing their decisions a little bit more,” Ranes said. “They’re being a little more cautious.”
Dene Yarwood, a broker associate with Wright Kingdom Real Estate’s Longmont office, said that the market is in a bit of a summer lull at the moment, but she expects that to change in about a month, once back-to-school season comes around again.
“The numbers show (the market) to be down, but I’m not necessarily feeling that,” said Yarwood, who’s been in real estate for 8 1/2 years. “I’m feeling that there’s a lot of activity.”
Yarwood said that for buyers, the fact that interest rates continue to be at a 30-year low definitely works in their favor.
“If you’re a seller and you’re moving up in the same market that you’re selling in, now’s a great time to be doing that because your money’s going to buy more. If you’re downsizing, it’s not going to be as fruitful for you,” Yarwood said.
That’s particularly true for higher end homes, she said, explaining that it’s typical for a $400,000 home in Longmont to have an actual market value of about $365,000.
Wagner agreed with that assessment.
“The bigger houses have lost more value as a percentage,” Wagner said.
Friday, May 20