Colorado home values, which have lagged national averages the past five years, aren’t faring any better as overheated real-estate markets along the coasts slow.
Colorado’s housing market appears to have no kick left as formerly fast markets like Florida and California fall back. By contrast, housing markets in Idaho and Utah are stepping up, taking the lead among all states for home-price gains through the third quarter.
Existing-home prices in the U.S. rose a weak 0.86 percent from the second quarter to the third quarter, falling to an overall 7.7 percent rate for the past four quarters, according to the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight.
They rose an even weaker 0.62 percent in Colorado, for an annual gain of 3.72 percent.
By comparison, home values in Idaho and Utah are rising four times the pace seen in Colorado.
“Our newest data confirm last quarter’s data that the housing market is in a decidedly different stage,” said OFHEO director James Lockhart. “There are still some areas where appreciation rates remain very high, but now they are the exception rather than the norm.”
OFHEO looks at the sale of the same homes over time, considered a more realistic approach than resale values, which aren’t adjusted for shifts in square footage or the mix of homes sold.
Grand Junction, the beneficiary of renewed interest in natural-gas drilling on the Western Slope, is among the exceptions. Home values there are up 13.35 percent over the past four quarters.
But housing markets along the northern Front Range are hard-pressed to stay ahead of inflation, which was running at 3.8 percent in the Denver-Boulder area during the first half of the year.
Denver-Aurora home values were up 2.29 percent for the past 12 months; Fort Collins rose 1.43 percent; and Boulder County was up 1.68 percent.
The once fast-growing Greeley metro area, which includes Weld County, saw home prices fall 1.99 percent, the second quarter the area has suffered a year-over-year decline.
Over the past five years, home values in Weld County have increased 13.4 percent, about what Grand Junction home values have risen the past 12 months, according to OFHEO.
“I can’t say that any segment of the market comes to mind that is doing particularly well, from starter homes in Greeley to income properties to upper-end homes,” said Matt Revitte, a broker associate with Pro Realty in Greeley.
But the OFHEO report did offer some insight for Colorado property owners and investors seeking gains: Get away from the cities.
Buying a home in rural parts of the state, rather than buying in urban areas, has proven a much better investment over the past five years, according to OFHEO’s research.
Rural homes appreciated 41.5 percent over the past five years in Colorado, compared with a 20.5 percent gain in urban areas.
Staff writer Aldo Svaldi can be reached at 303-954-1410 or asvaldi@denverpost.com.
