Boulder County housing market is looking strong for 4th and 1st quarter

The four legs of the chair (Cost of Money, Inventory, Job Growth, consumer confidence) look strong moving forward for the Boulder County Housing market for spring 2010 and the remainder of this year. 

The Daily Camera reported on September 19, 2009, “The rate declines were mirrored in Boulder and Broomfield counties. Boulder County's unemployment rate of 6 percent during August was six-tenths of a percentage point below the 6.6 percent rate notched in both June and July. Broomfield County's rate dropped to 7.1 percent in August from 7.7 percent in the previous month.”   Positive growth in the job market is a key indicator to the market as a whole.

Fed Chairman Bernanke is indicating they will keep interest rates at record lows to help facilitate a recovery. The senate is looking at passing an extension on the New Home Buyer Tax Credit and extending a $6,500 the benefit to Buyers who earn less than $125,000 as single filer and $250,000 as joint filer.  The cost of home ownership has never been less.  Currently Buyers even in the jumbo markets are seeing rates in the high 4’s to low 5’s.  I recently refinanced into a 7/1 jumbo arm a 4.75 percent with only a 2% adjustment after 7 years with no points.

In Boulder County we have strong reduction in inventory over the last couple of months spurred by very strong buyer activity.  But we still have nice inventory for Buyers to choose from and time to make a decision.  We are beginning to see the multiple offers starting again.  A very nice home we just listed at 1306 Banner Circle in Erie, CO just went under contract for over asking price and had multiple offers in 7 days.

 The trump card that is hard to predict is Consumer Confidence.  Since much of the public’s sense of reality is derived from the media.  Consumer Confidence tends to have more to do with how people feel from what they see and hear in the press.  Interestingly the year of year numbers being posted in Boulder County are amazingly positive.  Our Boulder RE/MAX Alliance office posted 53 under contracts for October 2008.  In October, 2009 we posted 117 under contracts a growth rate of over 100%.

In the past I have counseled Sellers to pull their homes off for the holidays and wait until February or March.  This year I think Sellers should charge forward, there appears to be no sign of a slowdown ahead.