Colorado’s Noteworthy Job Market
The
first week of September is the annual celebration of Labor Day. Labor Day is
more than just an opportunity for a last-minute summer camping trip. It
honors the American labor movement and the contributions that
workers have made to the strength, prosperity, laws and well-being of
our nation. Here in Colorado we have a lot to be thankful for in
regards to our
local employment and job market. It’s one
of the best job markets in the country! On top of that, Colorado is
considered one of the most desirable places to live!
Real
estate markets and job/economy markets move together hand in hand. Strong job
growth increases demand to purchase. In a perfect world and market, there
would be enough housing and purchase opportunities for everyone who wants to
buy a home. Unfortunately, the reality is that Colorado’s inventory of
available homes for sale is at historic lows. Over the past few years, this
has created a tight housing crunch and a strong tilt towards a “sellers”
market.
Why
is housing inventory at a historic low? Many job seekers are staying in
Colorado and do not have the need to relocate for employment. With the growth
of technology, the ability to work remotely has allowed many employees to
choose where they want to live. Additionally, employers do not need to create
incentives to move employees to Colorado. The incentives are the state and
quality of life. Believe it or not, but some employees relocating to
Colorado from the Bay area of California or from the upper east coast
actually think our local real estate market is “affordable”.
So
now that we’re past Labor Day and heading into Fall, what is the short term
projection of our local real estate market? No matter how great our local job
market is and no matter how great the state of Colorado is to live in, there
is still some seasonality to our local real estate market. In upcoming
months, the real estate market will inherently cool a bit. However, buyers
will still have great opportunities to secure some good deals on lingering
homes for sale. Likewise, there are still newer-sale homes that will become
available for sale. The real estate market may slow down a bit, but it never
stops.
A Refreshing Look at the Question “What is my House Worth?”
Let’s
take a look at some of the stats for our area to get a better idea of what is
going on in the local housing market!
In
Arapahoe County for August 2018, the average sales price* was:
- $419,000 for Single Family Homes (up 8.8% from 1 year ago)
- $260,000 for Condos/Townhomes (up 10.6% from 1 year ago)
In
Douglas County for August 2018, the average sales price* was:
- $509,000 for Single Family Homes (up 7.2% from 1 year ago)
- $334,000 for Condos/Townhomes (up 9.4% from 1 year ago)
*Median
sales price based on a six-month moving average
