A vast majority of real estate articles are focused on first-time buyers. There is actually a segment of the real estate market called the “move-up market,” which, as its name implies, fits buyers who want to move into a larger home. This market describes homeowners who need a larger home or would like more land and property. For several reasons, the local La Plata County market is currently ripe for move-up buyers.
There is a real opportunity for homeowners to sell their homes in the more median price ranges of the market and “move up” to a home of their dreams. The values have increased for the low and mid-priced homes, yet the higher priced homes are still lagging. This makes it the perfect time to capitalize on the advantages of the impacted median-range home prices, and buy in the softer market of the higher-priced homes.
At this time, buyers may get more home for smaller differences in payment. In the past, the leap to move up would have been larger; now, buyers will have a smaller difference in house payment. This is a huge factor—why pay more in the future when the best value may be now?
Additionally, low interest rates make it easy now, but that may change in the future. As we have noted in the past, we are still sitting at historically low interest rates. Last week, we saw mortgage rates at a 4 month high, and a recent Wall Street Journal article states that it is likely the Federal Reserve will initiate an interest rate increase in December (http://www.wsj.com/articles/feds-task-next-week-signal-december-rate-rise-1477351253).
In La Plata County, there is an excellent selection of homes for buyers in the higher-priced range. If you are considering a move-up scenario, the inventory is strong now in this market segment, allowing choices and variety in home selection.
Finally, the property taxes are still low in La Plata County. Take advantage of lower taxes, lower interest rates, and a variety of home options available. For a strong visual, take a look at the median price change in the last two years in each market price range (below). As you can see, in all homes over $500,000, values have decreased in the last two years. In the under-$500,000 range, values have increased. If you would like to move to a larger home, now is a prime time. As always, please let us know if you have any questions, or would like to discuss the market further.
La Plata County (All Residential Units)
Median Price / Two Year Change:
Price Range: 10/25/13 thru 10/25/14 10/25/15 thru 10/25/16
0- $500,000 $287,500 $307,875 +7.1 %
$500,000-$750,000 $580,000 $570,000 -1.7 %
$750,000-$1 Million $855,000 $827,450 -3.2 %
$1Million-$2 Million $1,265,000 $1,231,250 -2.7 %
