February 21, 2021
With the “Year No One Could Have Imagined” Behind Us, What Should Sellers Anticipate in 2021?
With 2020 in the rear-view mirror, investors, buyers, and speculators all have their eyes on the horizon to catch a glimpse of what 2021 might bring to their local housing markets. To get a jump on the competition, let’s take a close look at what home sellers in all Northern Colorado communities can expect from the real estate market in 2021.
*[NOTE: To help sellers prepare for what promises to be a crazy-busy Spring sales season, I have published a free book, Selling Secrets You Don’t Want to Miss. I am also offering a complimentary Comparative Market Analysis [CMA] to help you dial in the current value of your home. Details for the book and CMA are at the bottom of this page and both are free of charge!]
Low Inventory
It should come as no surprise that 2020 put a dent in the average homeowner’s willingness to attempt moving into a new home. Rather than journey through the moving process, homeowners, for the most part, “hunkered down,” and hustled to figure out a viable game plan that included work, parenting, virtual-schooling, home workouts, Zoom meetings and care for elderly parents – all from home!
It’s little wonder that inventory is down; people had to scramble to keep up with the ever-changing COVID landscape. Wondering if inventory is really down? Take a look at these recent stats from the Fort Collins Board of Realtors, comparing inventory of active listings for January 2019, 2020, and 2021.
Our current inventory for single family homes is 41% of what was available just a few weeks prior to COVID! Inventory for townhomes has been hit as well with 54% of the January 2020 total available today!
What does that mean for sales price? Today’s average home is selling for 100.3% of asking price with the average sales price up 14.5% over a year ago!
Early on, we were all dealing with the unknown elements of COVID as well as the potential consequences. Due to the new uncertainty and constant need to first adapt, then re-adapt as time went on, many homeowners opted to stay put and wait for things to calm down before investing time, energy, and money into making a home purchase.
The unwillingness to dive into the market has led to a very limited selection of properties to buy for the time being. This means, if you decide to put your home up for sale, it’s got the potential to attract more attention and offers than in other years.
Refinancing Is a Priority
Since owners weren’t looking to sell, then buy and move into a new home, they instead turned to the mortgage lending industry to help lighten the financial load over the long term.
The Federal Reserve slashed and maintained incredibly low interest rates throughout 2020, and this provided a spectacular opportunity for owners to spend a bit more now to save bundles over the remaining term of their home loans. Granted, the savings from refinancing are dependent on the terms of the original loan mixed with a given lender’s refinancing fees, so the adjustment to interest rates did not completely remove the market demand, but did stymie it for a short period of time.
Prepare for the Home Buyer Rush
As we have acclimated to the new reality that set in through 2020, our comfortability with circumstances slowly grew over time.
Some potential buyers did push through the complications created by COVID, but quite a few decided to wait for a better time that posed fewer dangers to themselves and others.
Considering the brief market stall during the early stages of the COVID outbreak, we are expecting to see sales continue to grow rapidly as we move through the first quarter of 2021, then beyond. The would-be buyers that initially put things on hold and have been fortunate enough to save even more during 2020, are now coming out with a newfound enthusiasm to achieve that home-buying goal by entering the real estate market in 2021.
Demographics Are Shifting
One of the largest changes we saw among home buyers in 2020 is the fact that Millennials came out in large numbers to purchase their first or second homes.
It is estimated that Millennials were impacted less than most other age groups because of the stability of the service industry in the jobs market. Steady employment mixed with reduced expenses has given this generation an occasion to build up their savings and become the major purchasing block of the Northern Colorado housing market.
This means paying attention to the wants and needs of Millennials, who are marrying and starting families later than previous generations. Close proximity to entertainment and shopping are always helpful, but are an extra boon to a home seller looking to attract this next group of flourishing buyers.
Guidance for Northern Colorado Sellers in the Real Estate Market in 2021
After the uncertainty of the past year, many home sellers are looking to get their properties ready to go on the market soon. If you’re looking to enter the Norther Colorado real estate market in 2021, please contact me today at:
- 970.820.0969 – call or text
- tavery@c3-re.com – email
- timaveryrealestate.com – complete the form at the bottom of the page.
Book and CMA Details
If you would like a copy of the book, Selling Secrets You Don’t Want to Miss, or the CMA, just:
- Type “Book” or “CMA” [or both] into the form at the bottom of this page, or
- Request the book by completing the short form at https://timothy-avery.book.live/biz-card-book
