Denver is the Tightest Squeeze on the Housing Market

Remember when painted on jeans were in? Squeezing into the tightest pair of Levi’s, Calvin Klein’s or Rockies was cruel, but pain was fashion and fashion was/is cool. Compare today’s housing market to the jean saga of the eighties and nineties and you will find gruesome similarities (even the forbidden camel toe)! As a woman from this era, I truly don’t want to rehash the cringing moments, nor will I compare detail for detail, but I am sure you get the picture.

We are currently living one of the biggest examples of housing supply and demand in the Denver Metro area. With the major influx of our population over the last year, Denver has become one of the coolest cities and turned into one of the tightest housing markets in the nation.

Aldo Svaldi of the Denver Post recently posted an article on this topic. Here is a recap of his findings…

Not only are fewer people selling their homes due to low inventory to repurchase, but the Denver home builders can’t keep up. According to John Burns Real Estate Consulting, “You can’t bring supply on fast enough.” Here are a few points they provided to back up this statement:

A hefty portion of Denver Builders had completed 70 to 90 percent of their 2015 sales goals by April.
New home building buyers are expected to wait 9 months to one year after signing their contracts to take possession of their new home.
Prices for finished lots are short in supply and have priced out at record highs.

Unfortunately, it is not due to lack of trying that holds our market in such restrictions as many factors play into this debacle.

There is a shortage of finished lots in desirable locations.
There is a shortage of skilled construction laborers.
Local government has laid-off skilled workers after the last recession and is slow to rehire, therefore slowing down the process to get raw land approved for development. Where developers are expecting to wait 18 months, the process is taking a much longer 20 to 30 months.
Due to interest rates rising, builders are gaining skepticism rather than hope that the housing market will remain in the green.

Lastly, due to the limitations on lots and lack of skilled workers, builders are targeting for building the more expensive homes. The downside to this is that the gap between median incomes and cost of housing is growing. It makes it near to impossible for the low and middle income population to afford to purchase a home.

Due to builders such as Boulder Creek Homes who are fitting more homes per parcel of land are providing a high quality, low maintenance home while trying to keep prices affordable. This is a glimmer of hope just like yoga pants…comfortable, versatile and practical.

Looking for a new build specialist to walk you through the tight corners of today’s housing market? Call TJC Real Estate and Management Services at 303.324.6988 today. We are here for you every step of the way!

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Brought to you by Sondra Lockett-Cameron, Marketing Coordinator for TJC Real Estate and Management Services.

TJC Real Estate & Management Services • 303.324.6988 • info@tjcrealestate.com

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Thank you to Gokhan Okur at FreeImages.com for the use of their photo!