What makes that true for me is that my world rotates around real estate sales, and for the first time since 2014 we’re seeing segments of the market where buyers and sellers are on par with each other rather than one favored significantly over the other. That’s what I call flat. Yet… some market segments are leaning slightly toward buyers, and a few segments still lean slightly toward sellers.
Always remember that The Market is not necessarily the same as Your Market with regard to location, price band, features, condition, and overall market vitality. For example, 12 percent of sales in the Evergreen/Conifer area are horse properties. So, if we’re selling a horse property, only 12 percent of available buyers are our prospects. New home builders draw from a similar pool as only 10 to 15 percent of home sales are new construction. That market is affect- ed by the 2023 glut of new homes available and the 2025 and continuing incentives offered by builders to move their product.
The most balanced (flat) price range is $350,000 to 700,000 metro-wide. Below that range is hot (with investors), and the higher you go above that range, the softer the market becomes. Take the 700,000 to 1 million price range and apply it to Jefferson County and you’re leaning closer to a seller’s market, yet the same search for Denver is leaning toward a buyer’s market and for Adams County it’s a strong buyer’s market. That happens to be Evergreen’s and Conifer’s strongest market segment, although in buyer’s market territory. Second place, ironically, goes to the $2 million to $2.5 million price range.
So, whether you are a home seller or buyer, there are numerous touch points that determine your strength in negotiating, let alone odds of even finding just what or who you’re looking for. All of this data lends itself toward what I call an absorption analysis, which keeps my buyer clients knowledgeable about their position relative to the seller of a home they’re buying, or to the prospective seller to the potential buyers of the home they are selling. As the saying goes, Knowledge is Power.
Another Market segment, which is as important as any other, but almost impossible to quantify, is home condition. There are many homes that have been fixed up and flipped or significantly renovated in recent years. There is no question that these are the most desirable as long as the price is competitive. Although I can’t quote exact numbers, it is my experience in working with buyers in today’s market that there is much more demand for these “move- in ready” homes than for those less up to date. I’ll just add home staging here as another value-add element to making homes more attractive to buyers, albeit a temporary value.
Buying a home is an emotional process and selling your home can be the same. Emotional decisions are rarely the best, so the more understanding you have of what affects a home’s marketability and where that home lies amongst its competition, the better your odds of succeeding.
Wishing you happy homes. The KC Butler “Home” Team.
