The Colorado Springs-area housing market remained hot in August, though there are signs that it might be cooling slightly.
A new Pikes Peak Association of Realtors report shows 1,870 single-family and patio homes were sold in August, which Gazette historical data indicate was second only to the record of 1,978 sales in July 2020. Historically low mortgage rates have helped drive demand, real estate industry experts have said.
The median price of $450,000 for homes sold in August was unchanged from the record high set in June and tied in July, according to the Realtors Association report. August’s median price — the midpoint of all prices — climbed 18.4% from $380,000 when compared with the same month last year.
The supply of homes listed for sale totaled 1,009 at the end of August, down 6.1% on a year-over-year basis, the Realtors Association report shows. At the recent pace of home sales, the August supply would be exhausted after only about two weeks if no new properties came on the market.
Still, the August home supply was the first time in a year that the monthly inventory had topped 1,000; in August 2020, listings totaled 1,079.
And that slight momentum in inventory might help to provide more opportunity for buyers; up to now, they’ve been limited in their choices, which has led to sellers routinely fielding multiple offers that exceed their asking price.
“It’s cooled off a little bit, but it hasn’t gone down,” said Brian Maecker, a real estate agent with Re/Max Advantage in Colorado Springs. “Instead of seeing 10 people bidding for a property, we’re only seeing a couple (or) three. So we’re not seeing the frenzied crowd that we saw a few months ago.”
In addition to a bump in inventory, there are times when some sellers might reduce their asking price, Maecker said.
The slightly slower pace has added more stability heading into the final few months of this year, which is good for the market, he said.
“It feels like more stuff is hitting (the market) and less people are bidding for it,” Maecker said.
Most home sales in August — 86.1% — took place in El Paso County, with the rest in several Front Range counties, according to the Realtors Association report. The report tracks transactions handled by real estate agents, not individuals.
Other highlights of the report show:
• Homes spent an average of nine days on the market before selling in August, which was two days slower than in July. Homes averaged 19 days on the market in August 2020.
• The average price of homes sold was $499,278 in August — a 0.4% dip from $501,138 in July, but up 14.5% from $435,922 in August 2020. The average price can be skewed by a few very high or very low sales and some economists and real estate industry experts consider it less reliable than the median price.
• Through the first eight months of 2021, home sales totaled 11,584, an 8.3% increase over the same period last year.
• The number of homes under contract or considered as a pending sale totaled 2,699 in August, down almost 12% from the same month last year.
This content was originally published here.
