The Platt Park Real Estate market followed a predictable course in October but with added gusto. It is a well established pattern in Platt Park for the market to slow in the fall compared to the first nine months of the year. In the fourth quarter of the year the number of sales tends to drop off considerably as buyer and sellers who intended to make a move in 2015 largely have done so by this time–hence the slow down. In that 4th quarter October is generally the strongest month and things slow from there–after all who wants to be moving during the holidays it seems. So how did we fair in October this year compared to years past? In short way slower! That is pretty well summed up by the closed-sales statistic in which Platt Park had six closed sales in October. Compare that to 2014 which saw 11 sales in the same month to give you an idea what I mean. That is a drop off of 54% which is pretty huge.
A little less obvious in October was we saw the return of the price drop which had become a fairly rare occurrence for much of the past three or so years. Sellers began to feel the heat of less buyers working the market. Homes that in previous months would have been sold in a matter of days sat for days, weeks and some…are still sitting, leaving a price drop one of the primary options to move a must-sell home along.
Time to panic? No not at all. I obviously get asked a lot for the reasons for the above. In short I just believe, after what has pretty much been a buyer feeding-frenzy for years, the market is simply catching its breath for a spell. For years there has been a lot in the news about real estate that essentially was saying, “if you’re going to buy a home better do it now as interest rates are going to sky-rocket”. That constant message kept buyers pushing the market. Now more than any recent time the message is more measured about interest rate and the ‘panic’ element has been taken away. All this is probably a good thing as we really don’t want wild swing in our market driven by emotions more than fundamentals.
Speaking of fundamentals they are all looking pretty good for the future. Job, income and population are all predicted to grow in Denver which will drive the real estate market along in a positive direction. So in short the future looks good. If you are thinking of selling in 2016 the Platt Park real estate market should be just fine.
If your plan is to sell next year, now is a great time to touch base. I can help you evaluate the best timing and perhaps any projects that would maximize your homes value. Love to be of service.
See you around the neighborhood
Tom Snyder