Five of the 11 major housing markets in northern Colorado have experienced increases in value despite the overall economic downturn, according to a new, in-depth study on home prices released by the Colorado State University College of Business Everitt Real Estate Center.
The indices rely on data from IRES LLC, the area's Multiple Listing Service, and include more than 180,000 closings from 1997 through 2008 in Boulder, Larimer and Weld counties.
The study is more detailed than other indices that report home prices for broader metropolitan areas and uses Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to select data by Census Tract in order to evaluate smaller boundaries - almost on a neighborhood-by-neighborhood basis.
Two researchers for the Everitt Real Estate Center, John Gerhard, a research associate for the Center and Sriram Villupuram, an assistant professor in Department of Finance and Real Estate, conducted the study, which is scheduled to be released twice a year - in March and August.
"Northern Colorado's housing market is actually in fairly good shape according to our analysis of housing prices," said Gerhard, "Our real estate market in northern Colorado is 'hyperlocal,' meaning it can vary widely by neighborhood and even block by block. That's particularly important for homebuyers, given the conservative lending practices resulting from the world financial crisis. Home values may be stable or increasing despite the seemingly widespread perception that the entire market is struggling."
The five northern Colorado markets that experienced increases in value were, from highest to lowest, the Dacono-Frederick-Firestone area, Fort Collins-Timnath, Boulder-Gunbarrel, Estes Park and Erie.
More study highlights:
- At year-end 2008, the Boulder-Gunbarrel market area had the greatest overall appreciation since the base year of 1997, up 89.1 percent.
- Lafayette-Louisville-Superior registered the second highest appreciation followed by Estes Park, Erie and Fort Collins. The Greeley-Evans market areas had the lowest overall appreciation during this time period with 7.9 percent.
- In 2008, home prices increased in six of the 11 major market areas in Northern Colorado. The greatest percentage increase occurred in the Tri-Cities market area (Dacono, Firestone and Frederick), up 2.1 percent, followed by a 1.5 percent increase in Fort Collins-Timnath.
- In contrast, the greatest decline in home prices occurred in Greeley-Evans, down 8.2 percent in 2008.
The study uses a weighted repeat sales methodology similar to the Case-Shiller Index, which measures price change for the same home over time, rather than the conventional median sales price methodology which may be impacted by the type of homes selling in a given period. The EREC Indices differ significantly from other repeat sales indices, and include all transactions as well as attached housing. In addition, the Everitt Center's House Price Indices illustrate the performance of different price ranges of homes within each of the major market areas. Each market area is split into three equal tiers based on closing price to analyze the appreciation or depreciation of low-, medium- and high-priced homes for each market area.
The local press reported extensively on this study:
Coloradoan Report shows Fort Collins housing industry relatively insulated
Study: Area home prices dipped
ReporterHerald.com
By Shelley Widhalm Five of the 11 major housing markets in Northern Colorado increased in value from 2007 to 2008; however, the Loveland-Berthoud market was ...
Greeley home prices see biggest drop in northern Colorado
Greeley Tribune
Greeley-Evans housing prices have sunk lower than any other market in northern Colorado in the past year and grown the least in the past decade, ...
Area Housing Prices Depreciate the Most in Greeley-Evans
istockAnalyst.com (press release)
May 5--Greeley-Evans housing prices have sunk more than any other market in northern Colorado in the last year, and in the last decade, according to a ...
Five NoCo housing markets gained value in 2007-08
Northern Colorado Business Report
By Staff FORT COLLINS - A study by the Everitt Real Estate Center on the Colorado State University campus shows five of 11 Northern Colorado housing markets ...
Fort Collins housing prices appreciate 1.5% in past year
Fort Collins Now
Fort Collins housing prices were among five Northern Colorado markets in Northern Colorado that appreciated in the last year out of 11 that were studied ...