2021 Boulder County Real Estate Market Review

Time to take a look back at the 2021 sales numbers for the Boulder County real estate market. As is usual, these stats are IRES data only and may miss sales only attributed in REColorado and any sales not reported to the MLS system such as some new home construction sales, for sale by owner, off market sales, etc. Due to the duplication problems between the MLS systems, I am not including any REColorado data and remain hopeful that someday we’ll be able to reliably include that data.
An interesting drop in sales in 2021. A year that saw an incredibly frenzied market, but a distinct lack of sellers. That lack of product to sell, did result in over 400 fewer single family home sales in Boulder County. Attached homes logged an extra 13 sales from the year before. Last year I was watching a tick up in years-end sales numbers during COVID and thought that may have been the start of a new upward trend and the drop in sales squashed that notion. We’re still wobbling around 4,600 total annual sales and have been since 2012. Sales so far in 2022 are below the 2021 numbers, so maybe this year is the confirmation of a downward trend in sales or maybe just more wobbling? We’ll keep watch on this as the year progresses.

Sales may be down as we start 2022 due to the fact there is very little to sell. As you can see in the chart below, we’ve hit new historic lows in the number of homes available for sale and not under contract. This remains the metric I watch most closely. If we see this number start to climb, that would mean we have worked through the buyer demand out in the marketplace. From what I have seen and heard so far in the first two months of 2022, that isn’t happening yet! With all of the cash buyers competing over properties, I’m not sure the increased mortgage rates are going to provide much drag. Hard to believe that in 2022, the ongoing COVID global pandemic is down the list of top worries for our market. Mortgage rates and Marshall Fire effects seem to be playing larger roles so far in 2022.

More 2021 stats review next month. The percent of homes that sold for over asking was staggering and yet that appears to being outdone by this year’s activity. Lately the local real estate market has seemed to say, “You thought that was crazy, here, hold my beer!” We’re all waiting and watching for the next development that we never thought we’d see. Be well everyone.