Report: Vail real estate inventory down 34.5 percent

Signs point to housing recovery, brokers say

A new report shows there has been a continued reduction in real estate inventory across the Vail Valley.

The Vail Board of Realtors released its first "quarterly indicators report" to its members this week and it says the decreased inventory had effects on other metrics, such as number of sales and median sales prices. All of those factors combined with a continuation of record-low mortgage rates and rising rental costs support a housing recovery, the report stated.

Inventory levels are 34.5 percent lower than they were in the first quarter of 2012, the report showed. This time last year there was roughly 17 months of inventory available; now there is nine and half months of available inventory in the Vail Valley. Further, the average time that properties spend on the market is decreasing and median sale price is on the rise.

“This shift may mean that for owners who were on the fence about listing a property; the time to revisit their decision is now. There are buyers out there looking to purchase,” says Julie Retzlaff, Chairperson of the Vail Board of Realtors. “From the buyer’s perspective, now is also the time for them to move forward. Those considering a purchase could anticipate a rise in purchase prices in the future as fewer inventory options exist.  Lower inventory can create a rise in prices as a multitude of buyers compete for the same property.”

Vail Valley real estate market inventories are shown to be in concert with other mountain communities, according to reports from the Colorado Association of Realtors. Predictions from the National Association of Realtors forecast a seven percent gain in existing-home sales nationwide and a seven percent gain in existing-home median sales price during 2013. These indicators support opinions that the local and national real estate markets continue to recover. 

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