There is an abundance of news about the Denver metro area housing market, but what does it all mean for the Evergreen and Conifer communities?
“Conifer and Evergreen both have been doing well in keeping pace with Denver,” said Courtney Nelson, a real estate broker with PorchLight Real Estate, which tracks housing market numbers in those areas. “They were a year behind to start their (recession) recovery but are at or equal to pacing our appreciation at this point. When Denver starts to cool a little, Evergreen and Conifer will still go up a little.”
She said , buyers are looking farther afield, in areas like the foothills. Nelson calls the mountain community housing markets “slow and steady,” because while they might not go up and down as quickly as the Denver metro area, that value sticks around longer.
“It could be a huge year for both (Evergreen and Conifer), because they are a bit of a year behind,” she said.
Evergreen-area real estate brokers do not see momentum slowing in 2016.
Jon Terry, founder of Alaris Properties in Genesee, said the number of homes on the market is just about half of what it normally is, and that is driving prices up.
“The buyers that are out there, they’re competing for various properties — multiple showings on same day they’re listed, seeing competitive offers come in within a day,” he said.
The winter months are not normally ideal times for the housing market, but that is not the case this year, Terry said.
“If you’re contemplating putting your home on the market, now is the time to do it to get the maximum price,” he said. “In the springtime we will see more inventory come onto the market.”
David Pike, a Coldwell Banker Realtor based in Lakewood, said he has been working the area for 25 years and has never seen a market like this.
But , where it is more difficult, he said he cannot be sure the spring will bring an ease on demand.
“I’m really unsure if we’re going to get our normal spring influx” of homes on the market, he said.
Numbers from PorchLight show the average home sale price in Evergreen in 2015 was around $558,000. In Conifer, it was around $452,000. Both were more than 10 percent higher than the average list price.
Tupper Briggs, owner of Evergreen-based Tupper’s Team Real Estate Group, said — those under $1 million and those above $1 million. He said the market has seen demand for homes priced under $500,000 go up for years, and that demand has moved into the under-$900,000 range.
While this should make homeowners in the area feel good about their home values and prospects if they want to sell, it presents challenges for anyone wanting to relocate within the community.
“A lot of our market is baby boomers, and a lot of them are considering moving down (in size),” Briggs said. “Those prices are being bid up. It costs almost as much to buy a smaller home as it costs to sell (a) bigger home. There needs to be a softening of the market before we see people moving across town.”
Josie Klemaier: 303-954-2465, jklemaier@denverpost.com or @JosieKlemaier
