In the last few years, rapidly escalating values and limited inventory were rampant in most markets, including Steamboat. Currently, the national housing marketing is decelerating and we can see the same trends occurring locally. The country is in the midst of a 15-month slide in year-over-year existing home sales. Even with rumors of a recession, the market is being kept afloat by buyers taking advantage of 30-year mortgage rates near 3.7%. 

Existing home sales are slowing down and on the national level, single-family home construction volume is at half of what it was 15 years ago. While overall home buyer demand is strong, there remains a mismatch of type and price of inventory; there is surplus of luxury homes and a lack of affordable housing. Routt County has a similar mismatch with inventory. There are 26 months of inventory for homes over $2M and only five months of inventory for homes under $1M. Total residential inventory of $759M is the highest since September of 2016. 

There was solid activity in July, with total sales volume of $59M, down slightly from $66M in June and comparable to the $60M in July of last year. Total sales volume for 2019 is now a very healthy $335M, up 6% from this time last year. Total transactions of 538 are down negligibly from last year. 

August and September are typically two of the most active months in Routt County. Unless recession fears grow stronger, we expect this to remain true this year. Nonetheless, sellers are starting to realize that as inventory increases, so does the average number of days on market. With only one month left in the busy summer selling season, more homes are having price reductions than are actually going under contract. 

In an ever changing and seasonal market like Routt County, it’s always important to understand current market conditions. Connect with a Colorado Group Realty agent at any time for an analysis and forecast of your homes’ value.