As usual, the market slowed down a bit in August- folks are sneaking in that last minute travel before school starts, they are looking forward to a long Labor Day weekend with friends and family, and unless you absolutely have to, no one’s really thinking of preparing their house to put on the market. In August, in comparison to July, average sold prices declined and homes took a bit more days to sell. We’re talking slight differences though- July saw an average sold price of $408,406 and come August there was a 1% change- to $403,245. Homes spent on average 20 days on the market in July before as opposed to 23 days in August- not too big of a delta.

While a recognizable seasonal trend is a culprit, days on market (DOM) is extending a bit due to appraiser’s lack of availability. When someone goes under contract to buy a home, one of the steps is to get an appraisal of the home to verify value. This can make or break a deal, if the home does not appraise and neither side is willing or able to negotiate a decreased sales price.

Some say that recent world events, namely Britain’s vote to leave the EU caused another drop in interest rates, encouraging many to revisit refinancing their home. Similar to buying a home, when you refinance, your bank or lender requires an appraisal- a new snapshot in time. Local appraisers are taxed. As of late, when I’ve gone under contract with my clients, their lenders require at least three weeks to get the appraisal done. Some lenders are ordering “rush” appraisals at a price tag of $1200, when ordinarily appraisals cost close to $450. “Appraisals are taking longer than ever and, as a result, are causing widespread delays with closings,” Anthony Rael, chairman of the Denver Metro Association of Realtors Market Trends Committee, told the Denver Post. This has extended the average number of days homes remain on the market, even though by only a small amount.

Despite timeline challenges with tight closes, Denver remains among the top 10 most stable housing markets in the nation. According to WalletHub’s recent “Best Real Estate Market” report, six Colorado cities scored among the top 25 markets nationally out of 300 U.S. cities. The study focused on two main categories: first, the Real Estate Market in general, which looked at average days on market, appreciation and selling for gain, foreclosure rate, etc. The second category, “Affordability and Economic Environment” focused on, you guessed it, affordability, job growth, etc.

The Colorado cities that ranked in the top 25 are:

 

 

    • Thornton (8th)

 

    • Arvada (10th)

 

    • Denver (12th)

 

    • Greeley (13th)

 

    • Fort Collins (21st)

 

    • Aurora (22nd)

 

    • Westminster (25th)

 

 

Longmont came in 26th, Colorado Springs came in 28th, and Centennial (29th) edged out Lakewood (32nd) who edged out Boulder (48th).