House hunters in Broomfield can expect to have an easier time buying real estate now, according to Bill McGee, a local realtor with Berkshire Hathaway Colorado Real Estate.
The shift began in June, driven by higher mortgage interest rates, McGee said.
“We went from crazy multiple offers and way over asking on a lot of homes, to the opposite — to homes not selling in the first weekend, to homes being discounted, to the list price being adjusted down,” he said. “We still have super low inventory, so it feels like a buyer’s market now, but just as a contrast.”
The average single-family home in Broomfield spent only eight days on the market in May, according to data from the Colorado Association of Realtors. In August, the average home spent 20 days on the market, making the market a little friendlier for house hunters.
“In May, you needed to expect to be at 7 or 8% over asking, which is a ton of money,” McGee said. “You were taking homes as-is, instead of saying ‘we want to have an inspection.’”
Buyers couldn’t even ask for repairs, because the seller would just take the next offer, he said.
“We had so many opportunities where homes had eight or ten offers on them.”
In the spring, buyers weren’t making offers that were contingent on selling their own homes, he said. There were simply too many other offers.
“Now, it’s almost possible, because you might be the only offer,” McGee said.
While mortgages have gone up, buyers in Broomfield now typically won’t have to pay more than the asking price, the real estate agent said.
But prices remain high. As of September, the median sold home price in the community was $628,302 — up $83,494 over the same month last year, according to Rocket Homes’ Housing Market Report.
Buyers of Broomfield property are typically families who want homes with between three and five bedrooms, McGee said. And now that there are fewer offers on each home, agents can help those families get better deals.
