Sellers are rejoicing about the improved real estate market and the growth in the value of their homes during 2014.
Buyers have continued to come into the market because of low interest rates, which have negated some of the challenges of a higher-priced market and made it possible for first-time home buyers to participate in the market.
Real estate in La Plata County showed strength in the fourth quarter, with an increase in homes sold of 18 percent, after sales were trailing the previous year in the first nine months. Sales of homes were nearly flat for the year, and median prices showed a strong gain of 8.7 percent.
This fueled a market value of $405.5 million, a growth of 7.2 percent compared to 2013.
The data comes from the Colorado Real Estate Network.
Homes under $500,000 constituted the bulk of the market, with 826 homes sold in the county, but the numbers were down 6.2 percent. Still, this accounted for 80 percent of all home sales.
The number of homes sold for between $500,000 and $1 million increased 6.5 percent, with 169 home sales, while the sales of homes costing more than $1 million were up 34.6 percent to a total of 35. With home prices improving, more home sales moved into the higher price categories.
The Durango in-town market for single-family homes was up 3.2 percent, while the sale of rural homes near Durango was down 5.6 percent.
There has been a lot of speculation in the last year about the impact and importance of walkable and rideable neighborhoods, and there may be a shift toward in-town types of amenities.
Bayfield in-town home sales were up 15.4 percent, and while rural home sales near Bayfield were up, it was a smaller growth of 9.4 percent. Nearly half of all of the sales in rural Bayfield were within Forest Lakes, and home sales were up in the subdivision.
The Bayfield and Ignacio markets provide the most affordable homes in the county, with a median price of $260,500. With low gasoline prices, we may see more buyers take advantage of these more affordable homes.
Buyers are deciding once again whether to build or to buy existing homes. Builders throughout the area are busy with new residential construction, and sales of residential lots were up 6 percent in the county.
In Edgemont Highlands, there were 24 lot sales in 2014, while in-town Durango posted 16 sales. The least expensive lot on the market in Durango today is $139,000. With the higher prices of lots in SkyRidge and areas such as Edgemont Highlands, the opportunity for building homes under $500,000 is unlikely.
The only major opportunity for median priced new homes in Durango is Three Springs, where the median price for single-family homes was $358,040 in 2014.
Expect prices of new homes to continue this upward trend, as there are increased costs for land, construction materials and labor.
Don Ricedorff is a Realtor at The Wells Group in Durango and a past president of the Durango Area Association of Realtors. He can be reached at don@durangorealproperty.com.
