2015 was a year of significant improvement in the Copper Mountain real estate market. Copper started the year in an extreme buyer’s market but thanks to a great summer and fall, ended the year in a balanced market. Sales numbers were up 29.7% over 2014. Median sale price increased as did the list to sales price ratio, and the number of days on the market dropped.
A balanced market means all of the properties on the market could sell at the current pace in five to seven months. As that timeframe increases, meaning a longer time for the inventory to be absorbed, the market swings to a buyer’s market. As that timeframe decreases, with a shorter time for the inventory to be absorbed, the market transitions to a seller’s market. The absorption rate is impacted by both the supply and the demand of the market. Copper Mountain began 2015 with 16.2 months of inventory, an extreme buyer’s market. It gradually decreased throughout the year and ended with a 7.3 month supply; at the outskirts of a balanced market.
Sales are typically slower the first half of the year. 2015 only had 17 sales in the first five months. Sales came on strong in the second half pushing the total sales just shy of the one hundred mark with 98. These are much stronger sales than the 74 seen in 2014. This year is looking much stronger than 2015 with 4 sales already this year and 9 more under contract. 2016 could be the year we hit 115 sales, the number of sales we had during our peak year of 2007.
Copper Mountain’s average sale price dipped slightly in 2015 however the median increased. The average sale price in 2014 was $388,805 and only $355,309 in 2015, a 8.7% decline. That was due to the highest sale price in 2015 being only $868,150. In 2014 homes sold for $2.3million and $1,690,000 influencing the average sale price that year. The median sale price in 2014 was $322,500. It increased in 2015 by 6.7% to $344,000.
During 2015, sellers were agreeing to sell their properties, on average, for 95.4% of their list price. In 2014 sellers had to give away a little more selling for 94.4% of list price. This ratio does not take into account any price changes that may have happened prior to the property going under contract. The amount a seller will negotiate from their list price is typically driven by market conditions as well as the seller’s motivations. In general, less negotiation can be expected in a seller’s market than in a buyer’s market.
As expected given the improving market conditions, properties at Copper sold faster in 2015 than they did the previous year. The days a home spent on the market fell to a median of 137. That is down from 2014’s median of 164, or approximately 5 ½ months.
No matter how you look at it, 2015 was a great year for Copper Mountain. So far, all signs for 2016 are pointing toward another great year for Copper Mountain real estate.
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