Real Estate Bidding Wars may be Cooling in Boulder, Colorado . . . .

By Ron Rovtar

The K Company Realty
Boulder County CO

303.981.1617

Sometimes a little quick and dirty statistical analysis turns up information worth thinking about.

Such was the case last week after I found myself wondering about recent bidding wars for existing homes in Boulder, Colorado.

It seemed to me there were fewer.

So I checked the IRES multiple listing service to see how many homes in Boulder city sold above the last asking price during the previous six months. 

The above-asking-price number is an imperfect indicator of bidding wars because there can be other reasons for such high offers. But one could expect a certain correlation, so it served my purpose.

It turned out that 58 of 330 houses closed above the final listing price during the half-year period. This amounted to 17.6 percent of sold Boulder houses. I did not include condos and other attached dwellings in my research.

I ran numbers for the previous two years, finding a steady reduction in  homes selling above asking prices.

I learned 67 of 273 homes sold above asking price during the same six months of 2016-2017. This was 24.5 percent. In the same 2015-2016 period, 96 of 311 home sales were above the ask. That's 30.9 percent.

Why the drop?

I'm guessing many buyers stopped looking because they wouldn't or couldn't pay the ever-increasing home prices in Boulder. Rising mortgage rates may also be driving buyers out. Higher rates mean higher monthly payments, of course.

Home prices in Boulder have risen considerably during the last three years because buyers have been willing to pay more and attractive inventory has been low. 

But, there are limits and Boulder may be closing on these limits, at least for the short term.

So upward pricing pressure in Boulder does seem a little cooler this year. 

This has implications for both sellers and buyers.

Sellers now must to be more careful about assuming ever-increasing prices. It likely will be harder this year to price homes a little above the recent neighborhood comparable home sales –– a standard practice in previous years.

And buyers should not automatically assume a competitive bidding situation when they make offers. However, buyers should remain aware of signals indicating bidding competition, such as sellers who seem reluctant to respond to good offers.

Based on the last six months, the Boulder housing market may be tipping a little more toward buyers. But the crystal ball is cloudy due to factors outside the housing market. 

I'm watching the stock market, which could become a less favorable place for money. This could signal a shift to other investments, including real estate. I'm watching bonds, where interest rates could rise due to increased borrowing by the Federal government. This would force home mortgage rates onto a parallel upward path. And, like everyone else, I'm watching unstable Washington DC politics, which could upset a lot of apple carts in very unpredictable ways.

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Ron Rovtar, is a broker associate at The K Company Realty in Boulder, CO. Please call Ron with all your questions. Call him at 303.981.1617.  To learn more about Ron, please visit his website. For more about life in Boulder County and nearby, check out our facebook page. Ron Rovtar does business as Front Range Real Estate, Ltd.  

Real Estate, Boulder, Colorado, Selling, Buying, Homes, Houses