Third Quarter Numbers Are In

It’s the middle of October, and an early snow has dropped the fluffy stuff in the High Country. The numbers for the third quarter are in, and surprise to no one, they continue the trajectory upward. Interest rates are creeping up, and while inventory remains low, homes are still trickling onto the market. All that and more on this month’s Durango real estate update. The temperature drops have had little effect on the market, which continues to be red hot in areas. The third quarter statistics draw a similar picture to that of Q1 and Q2 this year, as prices are up over 20% year over year, and inventory is still at 70% less than pre-pandemic levels. This graph here shows the average home prices for La Plata County in Durango, even at 771 and 772,000 respectively. These are 20 and 16% over 2020’s Q3 numbers, and a whopping 40% higher than the average home price was in La Plata County for the same period in 2019. When looking at new single family home listings added to the market in the third quarter, you’ll notice that Durango only had 49 new listings drop, which is half of what was added in the third quarter of 2020. Only 12 single family homes were listed in September, 2021, on the in town Durango market, and in September of 2019, Durango had 41 new listings in September. So that means they’re down 75% from pre pandemic levels when you look at Q3 as a whole. Currently there are 148 homes for sale in La Plata county and only 21 homes listed for sale in town. Better than nothing, right? Well, the contrast in this graph really shows that the anomalous statistics that permeate our local and the broader national market at large are historic. For context, the number of active homes on the market in La Plata county in July of 2010 was a whopping 845 homes. That number has slowly but surely been coming down since then, corroborating the national discussion about the lack of housing being an issue that started over a decade ago. The sky isn’t falling, but we definitely need to keep building and stay smart about how we develop and plan for the future. Freddie Mac, Chief Economist, states that as inflationary pressure builds due to the ongoing pandemic and tightening monetary policy, we expect rates to continue a modest upswing. So all signs are pointing to interest rates rising in 2022 and beyond. So if you’re looking for a little pressure relief in the market, that could be the ticket, but with so many people having liquidity and equity increases over the last year or so, it’s anyone’s guess as to how the market pricing and inventory will shake out over the next 12 months. That’s all the time we have today, and thank you for watching. If you are enjoying the information in my videos, please subscribe below and hit that like button for the algorithm. If you have any questions or you would like to reach out and have a good discussion, you can reach me directly at Dan@AlpenglowProperties.com or slide into our DMs on any of the social media channels at our handle @DurangoBrokers. Enjoy the cool crisp air, hire a young person for an odd job, and see you next time.

‍