This week we have the La Plata County residential real estate transaction numbers through the month of March. These numbers largely reflect real estate activity from prior to much of the Coronavirus impact, based on a standard sales cycle.
The month of 
March had 90 total sales, compared to 62 sales in February. This is a historically high number; in fact, it’s a higher number of sales for any March since prior to 2011. Year to date, we are at 211 total sales, compared to 192 this time last year.
The median sold price through March sits at $439,000, which is also higher than any year-end median sales price since prior to 2011. Of course, it’s early in the year, but it’s a good start for the median sales price. Average days on the market for the month of March was 144, which is higher than the last few years, but still relatively low compared to historic numbers.
As we noted a couple weeks ago, this trend is going to change in April, and even more so in May. Our prediction is that April will have decent numbers, as there were a number of transactions already in process. We expect the market to rebound quickly once this all settles out, but obviously the longer it takes to return to normal, the longer it will take to fully recover. Our hope is that with everyone’s efforts to stay home and stay healthy, it will not last much beyond April.
One of the most notable changes this week is the ability to show homes. At the beginning of this week the Colorado Attorney General announced there would be no in-person showings allowed, including inspections and final walk-throughs. That created huge challenges for Buyers and Sellers currently under contract. Aftera lot of back and forth over the last couple of days, the Attorney General and the Colorado Association of Realtors came out with this updated guideline:
Real estate appraisals and closings are considered critical services to complete real estate transactions. Further, home inspections and final walkthroughs after a buyer has signed a purchase contract, and is therefore a condition precedent to the actual transfer of property, is also considered to be an essential part of the real estate transaction.
What this means to our industry is that contracts can still be written and executed, but there are no new in-person showings or open houses. Obviously this will severely impact the number of contracts being written. This is tied to the Governors stay-at-home order that is effective through April 26th. We will keep you updated as this changes.
As always, we are here for our clients and are available to discuss any questions or concerns you have on the state of the real estate market. We continue to work, staying optimistic and thankful for the ability to live and work in Durango.
Post Courtesy of The Durango Team.
