Has the Market Officially Cooled? With prices coming down and a possible recession looming, what can we expect?

Has the Market Officially Cooled?

Let’s go back in time for a moment. It’s February 2022, you are out looking for a house, and find there are four other groups looking at the house your broker selected. You think, that's odd, why are there so many people here? You decide to make an offer at the asking price. Later in the day, you hear back from your broker and the house has 6 other offers. What? Why are there that many? What is the highest asking price? And, you say to yourself, I am not going to pay that much for that house! March comes around quickly, and you've looked at 15 houses. Amazingly you find that every single house you like is going for $100,000 above asking price! You are on the fence, do I spend $120,000 more than I want for this house? Do I waive the inspection all together? How much should the appraisal gap be? Is there any way I can purchase this home?

Well, if you didn't end up buying a property in the last 6 months, there is no wonder why. The last half of a year has seen a dramatic increase in pricing. in the real estate community. We have seen numbers we never dreamed of in this Colorado climate. We have gone from a middle-class community to bordering a luxury market. Some may be happy about this, and others not so happy, but one thing is for sure, we seem to have peaked. Now this doesn't mean you should panic, because there is nothing happening right now, things are just continuing as if normal. We are on the border of a recession, but the market (as far as real estate goes, buying, selling, renting) is business as usual. Homes are still near record highs, and things are looking very, neutral.

Is now the time to buy? Is now the time to sell? Those are good questions. With a lot just sitting on the line it would seem everybody is just wondering when the other shoe will drop and wondering in what direction that will push us in.

So, what to do now? It is still a great time to sell, we are seeing homes sit a little longer than say March, and we are still seeing prices 20% higher than we did 2 years ago. So, is it bad to sit on the market for a little while for that kind of return? Surely not. According to Denver Channel 7, “In June, the median price for a home was $810,415 – a 0.58% increase from a month prior and a 12.31% increase year-over-year."

Unfortunately, we can’t look at national trends because they don’t seem to apply to Colorado. If you find a great deal, take advantage of the opportunity, but don’t be in a hurry, if you don’t have to move immediately, don’t do it out of frustration.

You can always call one of our realtors here at RE/MAX Masters for advice on buying, selling, or creating an investment portfolio in the form of rental properties.  

RE/MAX Masters Property Management