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REAL ESTATE INSIDER Vol. 45, No. 5 | June 2021

GROUND FLOOR: EXPERIENCE IS AN EDGE IN NEW HOME TRANSACTIONS

As demand for housing keeps gobbling up existing homes on the market, more homebuyer - whether they're first-timers, moving up in the market or looking for a custom dream home - are turning to new construction in Northern Colorado to find the house that fits their needs.

If you're ready to take the new construction path, it pays to have a guide that knows the territory.

Since it's founding in 1976, The Group Real Estate has been working with buyers and builders across the region to make new construction transactions click for both sides. Over 45 years, Group Realtors have been involved in new home sales in well over 100 neighborhoods (see graphic below), from some of America's biggest home builders to local custom contractors. As a result, we know what good outcomes look like.

For buyers, that means knowing to ask the right questions of your builder at the right time in the purchasing process (e.g., Is there a soils test on each lot? Is landscaping included?). For builders, it means making sure your customer understands what to expect from the process and knows what it takes to move from contract to closing.

At The Group, we subscribe to the saying that "good buyers make great builders." When buyers learn how to be successful, there are winners all around.

STRIKE OUT ON AN OFFER FOR A HOME? KEEP SWINGING

We get it. You put in an offer but couldn’t land that home you wanted. Maybe more than once.

With all the talk about tight housing inventory in Northern Colorado, it's tempting for any first-time homebuyer to throw up your hands and decide that ownership is just not in the cards.

In fact, despite the challenges of today’s market, first-time homebuyers are still getting transactions done. In March, 32 percent of all home sales went to first timers, according to the National Association of Realtors - up from 31 percent in February

That means opportunities are out there for those who keep swinging (Don't forget the baseball axiom - even .300 hitters fail seven out of 10 times).

And the benefits to staying in the game are as vital as ever. Remember that the average homeowner enjoys more than 40 times the net worth of the average renter, according to CoreLogic.

The key is to be prepared to move fast when the next home in your price range and preferred location comes on the market.

For more on that topic, see the next story.

Stay on your toes – this market is moving fast

While today’s tight housing inventory might be keeping homebuyers from enjoying the usual variety of housing options, it’s certainly not keeping homebuyers from buying. Even with the number of homes available for sale sitting at less than half of last year’s supply at the same time, total home sales through the first quarter of 2021 were still up nearly 7 percent over a year ago.

How is that possible?

Because inventory, while slim, seems to keep replenishing at the same pace that sales are closing. It’s as if each time a fisherman pulls a perch out of the lake, another one drops in for the next fisherman coming along.

And that turnover is quick these days. In Larimer County, the median number of days for a home to be on the market in March was 41 days this year, down from 59 days (off 30.5 percent) in March 2020. Similarly, days on the market in Weld County dropped to 43 from 57 last March (off 24.5 percent).

Put another way, residential real estate in Northern Colorado is performing more like a retail store that restocks inventory to replace the product as it goes out the door, rather than keeping six months of supply in the back room.

For the potential homebuyer, it means you need to be poised to jump when the next home is available. A trusted real estate advisor can help you get ready – from pre-qualifying for your mortgage to keeping tabs on homes as they become available – to reel in your prize.

NORTHERN COLORADO AT A GLANCE

Median Days on Market for Larimer and Weld Counties Between January 2020 and April 2021

The Group Difference

Working with a Group Realtor® is crucial during a new construction home purchase.

Here are just some of the advantages we can add to your home building experience:

  • We can access builder contracts ahead of time, giving us the opportunity to review items you need to be aware of before signing.
  • We will work to ensure you know about things like radon, expansive soils, building process and maintenance.
  • We will help to navigate what to look for in your home inspections and make sure you’re fully protected on your new construction title policies.
  • Choosing the right selections can be overwhelming. Let us assist you in simplifying the process.
  • We will be available to assist you after the purchase with any possible warranty issues.

The Group has had a storied history of working with builders and developers all over Northern Colorado. Let us put 45 years of experience to work for you. Looking to build your dream home? Let’s chat.

REAL ESTATE BY NUMBERS

193 percent. Increase in lumber prices between April 9, 2020, and April 9, 2021, according to lumber industry newsletter Random Lengths.

10,000. Square footage that pet food supplement maker PetDine LLC plans to turn into manufacturing capacity at 4500 Innovation Drive in southeast Fort Collins.

$76.5 million. Investment that UCHealth plans to make to renovate Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins. Among the changes, due to start this fall, is a new heart and vascular care clinic and testing area on the first floor.

180,000. Approximate square footage for a new apartment complex, which is due to come under construction this spring in the Centerra development in southeast Loveland. The project will include 154 units.

$13 million. Price paid by a Utah-based investor for a 128,000-square-foot industrial property in Milliken, which sits on a 22-acre parcel at 3333 Center Drive.

$2.75 million. Estimated cost for Fort Collins to clean up from the mid-March snowstorm, including $1.5 million for tree and limb removal and $400,000 to plow residential streets.

$70.2 million. Price paid by investors for Rise at 2534, a 236-unit apartment complex in the 2534 development in Johnstown.

$110 million. Price paid by a San Francisco-based investor for The Wyatt, a 368-unit apartment complex at 4701 Strauss Cabin Road in the southeast Fort Collins.

2,654. Square footage for the former Burger King, 4218 S. College Ave. in south Fort Collins, which is being converted into a Starbucks coffee shop this summer.

$29.25. Average hourly wage for Colorado workers in 2020, about 8 percent above the United States average of $27.07, according to a recent Colorado Occupational Employment and Wages report.

$47.1 million. Price paid by investors for the Cloverleaf mobile home community near the I-25 and East Mulberry Street interchange in northeast Fort Collins. The 60-acre property includes 391 homes.

$3.85 million. Approximate total of the funds that investors contributed to McWhinney Real Estate Services Inc. to help finance the developer's newest industrial park project in Loveland, according to disclosures with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

11 percent. Share of Americans who say they moved since the beginning of the pandemic, according to a Zillow survey.

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Created with images by undrey - "Table with laptop in home office interior." • Lev - "New home construction framing"