State of the Industry Update

I attended a State of the Industry update on Tuesday presented by the Fort Collins Board of Realtors with two impressive speakers including the National Association of Realtors’ Chief Economist Lawrence Yun and Dr. Elliot Eisenberg. Interestingly enough, half of our population thinks we are still in a recession when in fact we are not. Net worth is at an all time high, the unemployment rate is normal at 5% and the GDP has been under 9% for the last 9 years.

People still think we are in a recession because housing recovery has been slow nationally but that has not been the case in Colorado. Our real estate market is leading the nation. The commercial real estate market recovery has also been slow but both are improving. Costs of construction have risen and there is a labor shortage in the construction industry. Construction loans have been difficult to obtain for smaller local home builders due to increased regulations by the Dodd Frank Regulations. Loan underwriting standards will be in transition this year so hopefully those loosen up and normal in 2016. There continues to be an inflow of people that are moving or want to move into Colorado.

I was pleased to hear a very positive outlook for our national and local economies and who doesn’t like to hear that? We are on a multi-year recovery and will see an expanding economy over the next 4-5 years. More jobs are being created, mortgage rates are great and even if they go up will continue to be manageable, oil prices are down which overall is a net positive because it is putting an average of $750 per year back into our pockets and again we have record high household wealth. There is no recession or bubble anticipated and I also liked hearing that Colorado always outpaces national job growth. The real estate market is cyclical like the stock market and will rise and fall as it has historically.

I have included below a hyperlink that you may click on to view the Fort Collins Board of Realtors Housing Market Update for April 2015 which includes great statistical information. In the current market we have had to get a creative writing offers and searching and finding properties for buyers due to a lack of inventory and very competitive market, but we are getting folks in homes which tends to be less expensive these days than renting and certainly a much better wealth building tool than paying someone else’s mortgage. Please take a look at the report and don’t ever hesitate to call for assistance with all of your real estate needs.

If there is ever a time to list and sell your home in Northern Colorado it is now! Please contact us for a market analysis of your home!