As published in DMAR Market Trends, February 2023

Buyers are coming right back into the market. Sellers don’t need to break the remodeling bank to attract buyers but will reap the rewards of smart investments in easy refreshes. Think paint in neutral yet current colors, affordable and interesting lighting updates, decluttering and enhancing spaces with simple staging techniques.

We’re seeing a definitive early push from buyers wanting to get under contract before the “spring rush” begins in order to avoid the extra stress and competition.

On a list of top buyer’s markets for 2023, Colorado Springs came in second and Denver-Aurora-Lakewood ranked fifth.

Although the population continues to increase, fewer Americans decided to move in 2022. Change of address data from the United States Postal Service indicates nearly 70% of the ZIP codes across the U.S. experienced fewer inbound moves in 2022 compared to 2021. Colorado ranked toward the middle of the pack, at #19 nationally, with a 0.5% population change from 2021 to 2022.

Colorado’s Division of Real Estate revised the Seller Property Disclosure effective January 1, 2023. Sellers who listed in 2022 may need to provide new Seller Property Disclosures to buyers before closing in 2023.

Investors are still being aggressive in looking for future investment properties but the equation for success has changed. Making the numbers work for rental properties is harder than ever. For fix and flips, forecasting a flat or down after renovation value has never been more important to stay afloat.

Investors who purchased homes in the second half of 2022 are now putting those flipped homes back on the market to feed buyer demand. We’ve seen several instances of move-in ready homes receiving multiple offers over list price.

MORTGAGE NEWS

The Fed hiked their rate by 0.25% to 4.75% as expected but the commentary afterwards had the bond and stock market celebrating a small victory—Powell’s acknowledgement of a softening inflation.

Mortgage purchase applications jumped 15% during January.