As another glorious Steamboat fall begins its transition to a white (and hopefully powdery) winter, we also begin a shift to a seasonally slower real estate market. While October is typically quite active (October 2018 was the second busiest month last year), when the snow falls in November, sales activity usually starts to dwindle.

Sales volume in Routt County between April-September 2019 averaged $51M/month, a stark difference from the average volume of $30M/month from November 2018-March 2019. While a winter slowdown is common in most cities across the country, it’s exacerbated in most ski towns. Nonetheless, 2019 is shaping up to be quite robust for real estate activity.

Through September in Routt County, we’ve had 821 transactions totaling $500M. This is down just a tad from 2018’s very strong 915 transactions for a total of $529M. Still, 2019 is on track to be the county’s third most active year in our history. Overall inventory continues to hold in a tight and balanced range of near six month’s supply but there remains many categories and price ranges with limited inventory. For example, in the $300K-$500K price range there is only 2.7 months of inventory, a clear seller’s advantage. However, buyers have an advantage in the $1M-$2M range with nearly 10 months of active inventory.

Meanwhile, home values continue their steady ascent. The average transaction price in Steamboat is now $715K, up 12.5% in the last 12 months. Just a short five years ago, the average home price was $540K, giving homeowners great appreciation for their investment. Homes are now taking longer to sell than last year with the time between list date and contract date at 45 days, up from 32 day last year. Sellers are also getting used to keeping their homes clean for potential buyers as the average number of showings until contract is up significantly to 13.

Interested in the value of your home as the market shifts? Feel free to contact one of our agents for an evaluation on your home’s worth and tips to increase the value.