This past year has been a noteworthy year for both the local and national real estate markets. A few occurrences in the housing market include: homebuyer tax credits, rock-bottom interest rates, rampant foreclosures and short sales, home prices struggling to bounce back and the list goes on. Since we have been asked repeatedly about our predictions for the Denver real estate market in 2011, we thought we would share our outlook with you.
Interest Rates: We saw rock bottom interest rates in 2010 - rates so low that we may never witness them again in our lifetimes. Where are interest rates headed for 2011? While it is hard to predict, we expect low interest rates to stick around for the first two quarters of 2011. Most industry experts expect interest rates to increase in the second half of next year.
Home Prices: Property prices continued to rebound in most Denver neighborhoods in 2010 and housing inventory has fallen. Unfortunately, the trend was mainly due to artificial market stimulation from federal housing credits. We expect 2011 to bring real buyer demand from improvements in the job market, along with the low interest rates through Q1 and Q2. We hope this demand will lead to real home value appreciation through the second half of the year.
Housing Inventory: The upbeat news is that the inventory of homes for sale has decreased in 2010, which is good news for sellers. A lower inventory of homes for sale means that prices will remain stable, or even increase, since there are fewer homes on the market to compete with each other. If you are planning on selling your Denver home soon, you will want to get it on the market as soon as possible while there is less competition.
What does all of this mean for perspective homebuyers? Now is a great time to consider investing in a Denver home. Take advantage of the historically low interest rates, and the ample selection of homes for sale before they are gone forever. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity from homebuyers that we would hate for you to miss out on this opportunity. Interest rates are already increasing, so now is the time to act. If you don't, you will regret it in a few years or decades.
