Metrolist, the largest MLS, or Multiple Listing Service in the state, is offering Colorado buyers, sellers and brokers an “unrivaled ability” to search for properties and open houses, find local real estate agents and coordinate home buying searches with a broker, the organization said.

The new site offers simple, yet powerful home searching capabilities for Colorado homebuyers, Metrolist said. The search engine incorporates a variety of tools to help in the home buying process, including an aerial-view map search with rooftop accuracy and parcel line overlays, custom searches tailored to regional and market specifics, and enhanced listing information with access to school and neighborhood data. Through the site or a smartphone application, home buyers will have access to:

• Property Alerts – Property alerts notify you when potential properties become available.
• Open Houses – Search for local open houses to tour properties first-hand with turn-by-turn directions.
• Home Valuation – Check out your home’s current estimated value.
• Rentals – A searchable rentals database is coming in early 2012.
• Realtors- Find an agent or office.

“For the first time, Colorado consumers and real estate agents have a real estate search website that truly does it all,” said Metrolist interim Chief Operating Officer Kirby Slunaker. “Whether you’re a homeowner who wants to value your home or you’re a homebuyer looking for the perfect home buying experience, we offer the tools to get the job done.”

Metrolist selected Real Estate Digital, based in Irvine, Calif., to power the new site. Real Estate Digital is a provider of integrated technology, media, and data solutions to the real estate industry.

“Clearly, consumers with independent access to MLS data like listings and open houses are much better informed,” said John Hensley, Chief Product and Technology Officer for Real Estate Digital. “The new will give consumers just that kind of access through Metrolist’s individual brokers and agents. In the end, it’s all about maximizing the consumer experience.”

Metrolist supports the largest network of Realtors in Colorado with the most comprehensive database of real property listings throughout the Front Range. Home sellers planning open houses are encouraged to have their real estate professional to schedule the event in the Denver-based MLS.

“Our new public website allows homebuyers to better coordinate with their local real estate professional using the most detailed and timely housing information, greatly improving on what’s currently available in the marketplace,” said James T. Wanzeck, chair of the Metrolist board.

To check out REColorado.com, please visit this link.

Contact John Rebchook at JRCHOOK@gmail.com

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This 1,927-square-foot Littleton home sold last month for $276,000, very close to the average price of a home that sold in November in the Denver area.

The number of unsold homes on the Denver-area market plummeted 30 percent in November from a year earlier, likely the biggest year-over-year drop in the metro area’s history.

“The headline is that the inventory is down 10 percent on a month-to-month basis and down 30 percent year-over-year,” said independent broker Gary Bauer who today released a housing report based on Metrolist data.

There were a mere 14,275 unsold homes on the market last month, compared with 20,392 in November 2010 and 15,794 in October.

“It is unbelievable,” said Peter Niederman, CEO of Kentwood Real Estate.

The last November there were fewer unsold homes in the market was in 2000, when there were only 10,282 homes listed by area Realtors.

The unsold inventory peaked at 31,989 in July 2006.

Bauer said he believes the 30 percent drop is the largest ever. Still, he said it is a good news-bad news story.

“The good news is that there are still buyers out there,” Bauer said. “The bad news is they have less to choose from. Long-term, if this trend continues, we may have some real concerns for the market. This might be a very good idea for people who were holding off putting their home on the market until next year to consider to do so now, because there is so little to choose from.”

By the numbers

Other than the drop in inventory, the other metrics were not too bad:

• There were 3,365 homes placed under contract, a 12.5 percent drop from October, largely for seasonal reasons, but up 8.5 percent from the 3,101 in November 2010.
• In the first 11 months of the year, 44,541 homes have been placed under contract, down 4.5 percent from the 46,621 during the same period last year.
• Closings were even better. Some 3,068 homes closed in November, up 15 percent from the 2,666 in November 2010, and down 3.6 percent from October.
• In the first 11 months of the year, 36,231 homes have sold, 1.2 percent more than the 35,794 during the same period in 2010.
• Total sales volume is up slightly to $9.2 billion, compared with $9.1 billion in the first 11 months of 2010. Single-family homes accounted for $8.1 billion of the sales volume this year, while condo sales were unchanged at $1.1 billion from 2010.
• The average price of a single family home that closed in November was $275,951, compared with $281,466 a year earlier and $269,503 in October.
•  The median price of a single-family home that closed in November was $230,300, compared with $233,990 in November 2010 and $226,021 in October. The median price of a condo was $125,000, unchanged from October of November 2010.

“Every metric, other than the inventory, is relatively stable,” Niederman said.

“I think we are seeing such a big drop in inventory is because a lot of people are saying they are going to take a wait-and-see attitude, before they put their home on the market,” Niederman said.

Niederman expects another big drop in the inventory in December, but more consumers may brave listing their homes in early 2012.

“It will be really interesting to see what happens in January,” Niederman said. “A lot of people will not put their homes on the market between now and the end of the year before the holiday season.”

Niederman said that he thinks that home prices are doing better than the numbers reflect.

The overall prices are being dragged down because of haircuts sellers of $1 million-plus homes are taking, as well as short-sales at the lower end, in which the bank agrees to accept less than the mortgage amount.

“There are also some REOs, that is foreclosures, also hurting the overall prices,” Niederman said. “I think if you look at homes with conventional loans, those at $417,000 are below – or typically homes that sell for $470,000 or less – you will find they are very stable or even appreciating a bit. We have even seen bidding wars, but probably only out of 1 out of every 10 sales.”

Bullish on 2012

Shannel Ryan, sales manager at Fuller Sotheby’s International Realty Denver, is quite bullish on the Denver-area housing market in 2012.

“We are starting to see a little increase in consumer confidence and that affects not only the buy side, but the mind-set of the seller as well,” Ryan said. “More and more, I think people are seeing that if they are a losing a little bit as a seller, they will more than make up for it by buying right. No offense, but part of the problem is that people read all of these negative reports in the media. But the overall market here in Denver and Colorado is not as bad as the picture being painted.”

Although since all real estate is local, different pockets of the market will out-perform others.

“On a micro-level, it makes a difference whether you are in Castle Pines Village or City Park,” Ryan said. “We can’t get enough homes to sell in Country Club and Hilltop, but in a gated community like Castle Pines Village, you need to expect that the days on market for a home will be quite a bit longer.”

New home market filling resale void

One silver lining to the dearth of supply of previously owned homes is that a lot of consumers appear gravitating to new homes.

“We are hearing a lot of comments from our builder members that there are just not a lot to choose from in the resale market,” said Jeff Whiton, CEO and President of the HBA of Metro Denver.

“I heard from a lot of our members in November that they were seeing a big increase in traffic from people considering new homes,” he added. “A lot of new homes being constructed by home builders are Built Green or Energy Star-designated homes and those are really gaining traction for in the market.”

It’s not just entry level new homes that are selling, as it has been during the past few years.

“I was talking to one builder last night who said he is seeing a lot of activity in the $450,000-plus market, which had been kind of the hardest-hit part of the market,” Whiton said.

The number of new homes being sold have been accounting for about 11 percent of all homes that have been sold, half of where they were at during the buying frenzy of the mid-2000s.

“I think we are going to start seeing the new housing market penetration pick up again,” Whiton said. “Our objective is to get it back up to 20 percent or 22 percent. I can’t really predict when that will happen, but I do see it climbing right now.”

Chris Mygatt, president of Coldwell Banker Residential in Colorado, called described the low inventory number as “remarkable.”

He said that a big part of the low number is a Denver-area economy that while not robust, is better than many places in the country.

“I think because of our relatively decent employment picture those who do not have to sell their homes are going to wait-out the market,” Mygatt said.

Meanwhile, the low inventory numbers are putting upward pressure on prices, he said.

“In that respect, a low-inventory is healthy,” he said.

Last year, he noted, the first half of the year was driven by “those amazing tax credits. The second half of the year was simply devastated,” he said.

He said is it is a testament to the Denver market that without tax credits, sales are slightly ahead of where they were at this time in 2010.

Niederman noted early in 2011, most observers were predicting an over-supply of homes on the market, not a shortage.

The only question was not if Denver and other markets were going to be enveloped by the shadow market – homes held by banks not yet on the market – but the magnitude of the shadow.

“It didn’t happen,” Niederman said. “And I hear that next year we will see a big drop in foreclosures, mostly replaced by short sales. Lenders are realizing that they lose less money in a short sale than in a foreclosure. They might get 75 cents on the dollar for a short-sale, compared with 65 cents for a foreclosure. And if they do a foreclosure, the house sits vacant and they have to hire a property management company. It’s better for banks to keep someone in that house.”

Early in the year, Niederman predicted that 2011 would be slightly better than 2010, at a time when many thought the market was heading off the cliff.

His prediction appears to be on the money, despite a number of unexpected events that have roiled the markets, primarily the economic turbulence in Europe.

“I’m glad that I took a contrarian point-of-view when there was so much doom and gloom in the market,” Niederman said.

Contact John Rebchook at JRCHOOK@gmail.com

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Home closings in October were up 12 percent from a year earlier.

The headline-grabbing number in the Denver-area housing report released today is that the unsold inventory hit a new low for 2011 in October of 15,794, almost 28 percent lower than it stood a year earlier.

The report by independent Realtor Gary Bauer also showed the last October when there were fewer unsold homes on the market was in 2000.

“It is amazing,” said Chris Mygatt, president of Coldwell Banker Residential Colorado.

However, there was more to the market than the dwindling inventory.

Overall market pretty good

“Overall, I thought the market was pretty good in October,” Bauer said. “Under contracts and closings were down a bit from September, but overall area fairly table. And while prices are down, that is largely because of the mix of homes being sold.”

There were 3,844 homes placed under contract in October, down a mere 0.1 percent from September and 3.7 percent up from the 3,706 homes placed under contract in October 2010.

An analysis by InsideRealEstateNews.com, showed that in the past 22 Octobers, the number of under contracts only increased from September six times. The 0.1 percent drop was the smallest percentage decline in the 16 years that home sales followed the typical seasonal pattern of falling off from September.

In 2008, the month-to-month change was a 14.5 percent nose-dive, for example. And it wasn’t unusual to see month-to-month drops of 5 percent, 6 percent or more.

“That doesn’t surprise me,” said Peter Niederman, CEO of Kentwood Real Estate.

A month does not make a market

“I don’t worry too much about month-to-month swings, as one month never makes a market,” Niederman continued.  “That is especially true at this time of the year. October is the beginning of the fourth quarter when the housing market typically slows down for seasonal reasons.”

Closings showed a similar pattern, Bauer’s report showed, although the month-to-month drop and the year-over-year gains were greater.

There were 3,183 home closings in October, down 4.6 percent from the 3,337 in September, but up 12 percent from the 2,842 in October 2010.

In the first 10 months of the year, there were 33,163 closings, up 0.1 percent from the 33,128 in the same period in 2010.

From January through October, there were 41,176 homes placed under contract, a 5.4 percent from the 43,520 contracts during the same period last year.

The closed dollar volume is flat, with $7.4 billion in sales in the first 10 months of 2010 and 2011.

Despite steady demand and low inventory, the average price of a single-family home closed in October was $269,503, 6 percent lower than the $287,048 in October 2010 and down 4 percent from $280,289 in September.

The median price of a single-family home at $226,021, was down about 2 percent from a year earlier as well as in September.

Bauer said he thinks the main reason that home prices have dipped is because of the mix of homes being sold.

The average condo sales price in October of $160,273 was up slightly from October 2010 and September.

Low inventory bolsters home prices

However, prices would be down considerably more, if not for the low inventory, Mygatt said.

“The single biggest factor putting upward pressure on pricing is the inventory being so low,” Mygatt said. “If the inventory were not so low, we would be seeing even more downward pressure on prices.”

He agreed with Bauer that the main reason that prices are down is because of the mix of houses on the market.

Niederman pointed out not that long ago one of the main concerns facing the industry is that banks would flood the market with the so-called “shadow” inventory of foreclosures that they own, but haven’t yet put on the market.

“We do think the shadow market is real, but it is not going to cause the glut of homes on the market that a lot of pundits were predicting,” Niederman said.

“Instead of flooding the market all at once, banks are letting them out in dribs and drabs, so as not to depress prices,” he said. “They’re hoping they can get another 5 percent of 10 percent by waiting.”|

Mygatt said “the big question” for the Denver market going forward, “is what is going to happen to the inventory? That is something we are going to be watching very closely. Quite frankly, when you compare Denver to many other markets, I think we are doing exceptionally well. Our market is faring far better than many other places in the country. The big thing is, and will continue to be, job growth. I’m hopeful that people like Gov. Hickenlooper will bring more jobs to Denver. Jobs are critically important to the economy and the housing market.”

Contact John Rebchook at JRCHOOK@gmail.com

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Kirby Slunaker

Metrolist Inc., the largest Multiple Listing Service (MLS) serving Colorado, today announced that Kirby Slunaker has been named the company’s interim Chief Operating Officer following Patricia Bybee’s resignation as CEO.

Slunaker brings more than 20 years of experience in leading information technology for a broad range of top companies, including Pendum LLC, MDC Holdings, eBags, FedEx, and VISA USA. He is a former Chairman of and currently serves on, the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee for the Colorado Technology Association (formerly CSIA), Colorado’s premier technology trade association.

In his new role with Metrolist, Mr. Slunaker will be assisted in the firm’s day-to-day operations by the existing management team.

“We sincerely appreciate Pat’s 27 years of leadership and wish her well in her new pursuits,” said James T. Wanzeck, Metrolist Board Chairman. “Metrolist was one of the first regional multiple listing services in the nation and I think Mr. Slunaker and the management team are well positioned to move the company forward.”

The Metrolist board of directors will conduct a national search for a permanent CEO in 2012, Wanzeck said.

“We have a number of product and service initiatives in the pipeline that we’re eager to bring to market,”  Wanzeck said. “This is very much a transitional time in the real estate market and we want to make sure we’re fully executing on our long-term strategy.”

Metrolist provides a broad database of real property listings for real estate brokers to better serve buyers and sellers. Metrolist serves five Realtor® associations: Aurora Association of Realtors, Douglas/Elbert Realtor Association, Mountain Metro Association of Realtors, South Metro Denver Realtor Association, and the Unified Association of Realtors (formerly Denver Board of Realtors, Jefferson County Association of Realtors, and North Metro Denver Realtor Association).

About Metrolist

Metrolist is the largest MLS in the state of Colorado, supporting the largest network of Realtors with the most comprehensive database of real property listings throughout the Front Range. Realtor owned since 1984, Metrolist provides leading technology solutions to real estate agents and brokers to better serve buyers and sellers. More information about Metrolist is available at this link.

Contact John Rebchook at JRCHOOK@gmail.com

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So IRES, whose full name is the Information and Real Estate Services, now has a dedicated form with its MLS database that will collect and submit information to the Fannie Mae Short Sale Assistant Desk.

The goal of the Assistant Desk is to assist real estate professionals in handling post short-sale offer issues that may arise, such as loan servicer responsiveness, the existence of a second lien, or problems involving mortgage insurance.

Complementing the streamlined service, IRES will provide Fannie Mae with data to improve valuations and expedite decisions regarding short sale requests. IRES says it is the first MLS to provide the Assistance Desk to Real Estate Professionals in Colorado.

“Metrolist (the MLS for the Denver area) does not offer it at this point,” said Melissa Olson, of Metrolist. “We have evaluated it, we have looked at it, but quite frankly, with all of the product development we have under way, we decided not to pursue it at this time. We still have an option to consider it and we may be looking at this down the road, but probably not this year.”

A short sale is when a lender agrees to accept less than the amount remaining on the mortgage loan.

“We are committed to helping homeowners avoid foreclosure whenever possible,” said Fannie Mae vice president, Marcel Bryar.  “The Fannie Mae Short Sale Assistance Desk will help real estate professionals resolve any issues that they may encounter during the review and approval process.  The goal of the Assistance Desk is to clear the way for more short sales and make the process more efficient.”

The Assistant Desk should greatly accelerate the short-sale process, said Lauren Hansen, CEO of IRES.

“Short sales in our area are taking over 120 days to close after an offer is received, compared to 30 to 45 days for a property that is not in a short sale situation,” Hansen said. “We hope that our new relationship with Fannie Mae and the Short Sale Assistance Desk will streamline and speed up the process so that buyers and sellers both benefit.”

Real estate professionals should first make a reasonable effort to resolve issues by working through the servicer.  The Assistance Desk staff will help in the event the servicer has not provided an initial response within 20 days, a final property valuation within 30 days, or a final decision or specific direction to facilitate a decision within 60 days from the original offer submission date.

Contact John Rebchook at JRCHOOK@gmail.com

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Peter Niederman thinks the time has come to create a statewide MLS in Colorado.

Peter Niederman, CEO of the Kentwood Co., is a staunch supporter of the overwhelming vote on Tuesday to merge three Realtor groups – the Denver Board of Realtors, the Jefferson County Association of Realtors, and the North Metro Denver Realtors Association – into a 5,000 member new group called the Denver Regional Association of Realtors.

“It is a positive thing and long overdue,” Niederman said. “I would hope other boards would kind of take notice and jump on board.”

But while combining boards and associations is a good thing and should continue, Niederman said the next big step should be to have one Multiple Listing Service, or MLS, for all of Colorado.

“We need a statewide MLS initiative,” Niederman told InsideRealEstateNews today. “Years ago, the technology didn’t exist. There wasn’t a platform around that could handle all of our data. But it does today. When you look at Trulia, and Zillow and Yahoo!, none of these real estate search engines have any geographic boundaries. They are basically national real estate data bases.”

In Colorado, Metrolist has the MLS for the Denver area, IRES (Information and Real Estate Services LLC) provides the MLS for Boulder and northern Colorado communities, and there is the Pikes Peak MLS for the Colorado Springs area, as well as other MLS services, Niederman pointed out.

While some states have recently moved to one MLS, “it’s been reported there are something like 900 MLS’s around the country. Why do we need 900 MLS’s?”

Much like merging Realtor boards, having one MLS would save Realtors money,  he said. “The overall costs would go down and the cost per user would drop,” Niederman said.

And while consumers may not take much notice to the merging of Realtor boards, having one statewide MLS would help those hunting for homes, or hoping to sell a house. “Some MLS’s have some proprietary search functions, but almost all of them also have a public interphase component. What this would do is consolidate all of the Colorado real estate information into one source. That would be great for the consumer, as well as for brokers.”

Niederman said he hopes the idea of gains momentum with fellow Realtors.

“Jumping on board with a statewide MLS and moving forward on all of its technology and benefits, is really the next logical step after consolidating boards,” Niederman said. “The technology exists, so we should be taking advantage of it.”

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Contact John Rebchook at JRCHOOK@gmail.com

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While the median age of inventory is not a frequently cited metric, in recent months it has been used as a proxy for the sales velocity of homes by some real estate observers and analysts, which have anointed Denver as the fastest selling home market in the country, based on Denver’s No. 1 ranking using this calculation.  However, the age of inventory should not be confused with the more common method of tracking how long it takes to sell a home, the average number of days on the market.

30 days lowest in nation

In June, the median age of inventory in Denver was 30 days, about a third of the national median age of 93 days. Denver’s median inventory age was down 23 percent from May, the largest percentage drop of any market in the U.S. on a month-to-month basis. Nationally, the inventory age creeped up by 1 percent from May, as well on a year-over-year basis.  Denver, on a year-over-year basis, however, saw a 36.2 percent drop. Only Philadelphia and Savannah, with 62 percent and 40.3 percent declines, respectively, showed larger percentage drops from June 2010. Denver had the lowest inventory age in May, and tied with Oakland for the lowest in April.

Jill Kipnis, spokeswoman for Realtor.com and a sister company, Move.com, noted that “we don’t calculate the median age of inventory to establish sales rates,” adding that it is “interesting” that some industry officials have been using it in that fashion.

So what is it exactly?

Realtor.com calculates the median age of inventory by first determining all the active listings at any given time period, whether it is a month, quarter or year. Then, the days on the site are calculated by subtracting their listed dates from the earlier of their end listing dates or the end of the time period. Next it takes the median of all the resulting individual days on site. This accounts for properties that were withdrawn from an MLS and subsequently re-listed, Kipnis notes. “Because median age of inventory in these reports is the days a listing is displayed on Realtor.com, it may differ from days on market calculated by the MLS where the listing is posted,” she explained.

Independent Realtor Gary Bauer performs his own analysis each month on the Denver market, using Metrolist data.

“My initial thought is that it is good to see the Denver market is being recognized,” with the latest ranking by Realtor.com. “But we need to keep in mind that this is just another data point. Data points are only the first step in telling the story. It is the trend that is important.”

Other findings for Denver by Realtor.com in June included:

• The median list price was $257,500, down 2.8 percent from May 2010 and a 1.5 percent increase from May. The national median list price in June was $189,900, a 0.95 percent decrease from June 2010.
• Active for sale inventory In June was 7,203, an 8.3 percent increase from June 2010. Nationally, there were almost 2.4 million inventory counts, down 15.8 percent from a year earlier.
• Nationally, Denver ranked No. 22 for Realtor.com web searches. Colorado Springs was No. 55;  Boulder-Longmont, 111; Fort Collins-Loveland, 125; and Pueblo, 144. Chicago was the No. 1 searched city on Realtor.com in June.

More than 933 multiple listing services across the nation provide real estate information to Realtor.com, the most searched real estate website in the nation.

Contact John Rebchook at JRCHOOK@gmail.com

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The unsold inventory of homes in the Denver area in April was at a 9-year low.

Denver-area home activity in April was a roller coaster ride.

There were 4,749 homes placed under contract in April, a 28 percent drop from the record 6,616 in April 2010, the deadline for the federal tax credits that fueled a home-buying frenzy that has since collapsed, shows a report released today by independent broker Gary Bauer.

That was the single largest year-over-year percentage drop for an April on record, according to an analysis of the report based on Metrolist data. Metrolist publishes MLS data, which reflects home sales activity by area Realtors.

March to April activity soars

On the other hand, contract activity jumped 33 percent in April from March, the second largest percentage gain for an April from March. “There was a surprising amount of activity,” Bauer said. “It was surprisingly good. It was better than I had anticipated.”

However, there were only 3,429 home closings, an 18 percent drop from the 4,189 in April 2010.  Home prices were relatively flat in April, compared with April 2010 and March. The median price of a single-famly home was $222,000 last month, down 3.5 percent from $230,000 in April 2010. The average price of $271,969 was down less than 1 percent from a year earlier.

Tax credits: A year later

The report indicates that the federal tax credit of up to $8,000 that required qualified buyers to have a home under contract by the end of April 2010 was a wash. The 28 percent year-over-year decrease in contracts this year was almost identical to the 27.65 percent increase in April 2010 from April 2009.

“It was a wash,” Bauer said.  “But the tax credit did what it was supposed to do, which was to spur sales at a time when the market needed it. In May, we will start to see normal year-over-year comparisons.”

Lane Hornung, president, CEO and co-founder of 8z Real Estate and COhomefinder.com, said that it is too early to say if the big month-over-month increases in contracts “will be a sustained uptick.” But he said the “market seems to be gathering some momentum,” which will continue as consumer confidence grows when the economy shows signs of a sustained recovery and job growth appears to be more solid.”

David Simonson, of RE/MAX Professionals, however, described the month-to-month increase as a “blistering pace.” And he notes it comes as “the local real estate market rolls into the traditional sales season, but this year, there are no federal tax credits to attract potential buyers.”

Inventory at 9-year low for April

Perhaps the most significant piece of information in the report, however, was that the number of unsold homes on the market remains below 20,000. The 19,553 unsold homes on the market is the lowest inventory number for an April since 2002, when there were 19,373 unsold homes on the market.

“The data point that jumped out for me was the lack of listing inventory,” said Hornung, whose company is a sponsor of InsideRealEstateNews.  “Inventory only increased 1.2 percent from March to April, and that came on the heels of an anemic increase of only 2 percent from February to March,” Hornung continued. “The typical spring market pattern in which listing inventory increases 10 percent or more as folks put their homes on the market just isn’t materializing this year.”

Demand outstrips supply in some areas

But Hornung said that doesn’t mean that there is a shortage of homes across the board.

“No doubt, there are certainly still neighborhoods that have well over 10, or even 20-months of inventory, but we are starting to see pockets where the inventory is tight, and as a result, multiple offers are coming in relatively quickly on new listings,” Hornung said. “These are properties that are not distressed sales, show well and are priced realistically.”

Hornung said that the low inventory “bodes well for prices which have been bouncing along the bottom within a fairly narrow range of plus or minus 5 percent for more than two years now.  We’ll see if Denver can avoid the double dip when the Case Shiller data, which lags the current market, comes out later this month.”

Chris Mygatt, president of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Colorado, agrees with Hornung. “Historically, when the inventory is tight, it puts significant pressure on prices,” Mygatt said.

Sellers scared off

Mygatt said that buyers who do not need to sell their homes are not listing them, because they don’t want to compete with foreclosures and short sales. A short sale is when the lender agrees to take less then the mortgage amount.

Some reports indicate that about a third of the homes on the market are distressed. “The message has been loud and clear during the past 2.5 years – Don’t sell your home if you can wait it out and let the market absorb the distressed properties,” Mygatt said.

Inventory can get too low

On the other hand, Mygatt said he doesn’t want to see the inventory fall to low.

“It is healthy for the market to have these low inventory numbers,” Mygatt said. “However, it is critical for a healthy market to have enough of an inventory for buyers to have a good selection so they feel they can make good choices.”

He said he is not worried at all about flat sales prices. “You think back to a year ago, and the tax credits not only fueled more sales, but also fueled an increase in prices,” Mygatt said. “I actually think it is great that prices are relatively flat.”

Tax credits skew YOY comparisons

Mygatt said that it’s easy to misinterpret the data this year, when compared to the same time in 2010, when the tax credits were still in play.

“I’m telling all of my agents – and consumers who will listen – that they need to brace themselves for unprecedented negative press locally and nationally,” Mygatt said. “I’m expecting this tidal wave of bad publicity. Many reporters will not recognize that this a hugely different market from a year ago, when we still had the tax credits.”

Scott Matthias, a broker with RE/MAX Professionals, said that last month was mixed for him, and he suspects that was true for many brokers. “My personal goal was to bring in eight new listings and I brought in two,” said Matthias, who also is the president-elect of the Colorado Association of Realtors.

“I think there is a lot of continued uncertainty out there,” Matthias said “A lot of people have told me that if their values are not there for where they want to sell, they simply are not going to put it on the market.”

On the other hand, “my listing inventory that is under contract is exploding. My under contracts have gone up exponentially. It is a roller coaster for me.”

ALL HOMES	April 2009	April 2010	April 2011	Change, '09 vs '11	Change, '10 vs '11
Active*	20,705	21,565	19,553	-6%	-9%
Under Contract	5,183	6,616	4,749	-8%	-28%
Sold	3,390	4,188	3,429	1%	-18%
Average Price	$233,482	$250,605	$248,991	7%	-1%
Average Days On Market	104	80	112	85	40%
SINGLE-FAMILY HOMES
Active*	15,639	16,344	15,238	-3%	-7%
Under Contract	4,153	5,167	3,878	-7%	-25%
Sold	2,706	3,308	2,735	1%	-17%
Median Price	$210,000	$230,000	$222,000	6%	-3%
Average Price	$254,442	$274,253	$271,969	7%	-1%
Average DOM	102	79	109	7%	38%
CONDOS
Active*	5,060	5,221	4,315	-15%	-17%
Under Contract	1,030	1,449	871	-15%	-40%
Sold	684	880	694	15	-21%
Median Price	$130,000	$139,700	$121,200	-7%	-13%
Average Price	$150,560	$161,708	$158,438	5%	-2%
Average DOM	110	84	123	12%	46%

Source: Metrolist

*2010 and 2011 figures include Active and Pending Listings

April by year	Under Contracts	Closings	YOY contract change	YOY closing change
2011	4,749	3,429	-28.22%	-18.12%
2010	6,616	4,188	27.65%	23.54%
2009	5,183	3,390	-17.56%	-20.52%
2008	6,287	4,265	1.85%	-3.05%
2007	6,173	4,399	6.19%	2.30%
2006	5,813	4,300	-6.84%	-3.61%
2005	6,240	4,461	0.03%	0.65%
2004	6,238	4,432	140.2%	15.93%
2003	2,597	3,823	-13.40%	-8.15%
2002	2,999	4,162	-5.78%	-1.89%
2001	3,183	4,242	-12.63%	1.34%
2000	3,643	4,186	-5.96%	2.85%
1999	3,874	4,070	-3.2%	-0.22%
1998	4,002	4,079	21.86%	17.89%
1997	3,284	3,460	-9.21%	-3.11%
1996	3,617	3,571	31.38%	19.27%
1995	2,753	2,994	-11.39%	-13.84%
1994	3,107	3,475	-14.76%	18.80%
1993	3,645	2,925	9.49%	-9.16%
1992	3,329	3,220	19.79%	40.86%
1991	2,779	2,286	10.72%	2.42%
1990	2,510	2,232	(SOURCE: Gary Bauer, Metrolist)

Source: Gary Bauer, Metrolist data

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The Boulder Green Building Guild, in partnership with IRES LLC, has developed a Green Home Features Class designed specifically for all IRES subscribers and Realtors in northern Colorado, including metropolitan Denver. This class, offered February through March at different bards and association sites, will ensure local Realtors are well positioned to take advantage of the new green fields in the IRES MLS. The first class is at the Boulder Area Realtor Association on Friday, Feb. 11.

Does green add value?

“This is a huge step in the right direction for the green building industry”, says Julie Herman, Executive Director of the Boulder Green Building Guild. “The lack of quantifiable green data points has created a challenge to appraisers who are trying to determine if green/energy efficient or sustainable features add value to a property. Without the quantifiable green data points the appraiser lacks the ability to abstract the green or energy efficient and sustainable value from the market to compare it against other similar properties, and properties without any energy saving or renewable energy features. In turn, this makes it less likely that those providing the financing for a purchase can incorporate the value of those green features.”

Lauren Emery,CEO of IRES, points out: “A lack of consistent data also poses challenges to brokers, home buyers and sellers who wish to take advantage of and/or leverage the value of energy efficiency that a home or building has incorporated. Our class will make sure that all users who attend this class will have the knowledge they need to bring their clients the information they desire to improve their bottom line, and we hope that more MLS organizations in Colorado will follow suit in 2011.”

The  class costs  $30 and attendees will receive three credit hours. IRES subscribers and members of a board or association in the region are encouraged to visit www.bgbg.org to see class details, dates, locations and to register.

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