Months of inventory is a measure of supply and demand in a given market. When inventory is below 3 months supply, it indicates a market in which the sellers have negotiating power because there are not as many homes for buyers to choose from. Three months is considered a balanced market, while above 3 months indicates a market where buyers have more negotiating power as homes tend to be on the market for a longer period of time.

As you can see, the last several years have seen a very strong seller's market in the Fort Collins area, indicated by the red line. In fact, Fort Collins is a busier market than the rest of the northern Colorado market (indicated by the blue line), due to the red line generally being below the blue line, indicating a lower supply of homes.

The end of the year is a great time to buy as there is more inventory to choose from. The spring and summer are great times to sell because so few homes have been available the last few years. If you're a buyer during those busy months, expect to offer at or very near full price if you expect to purchase a home.

The chart above shows data for single-family, detached homes with 3 or more bedrooms.

Price per square foot is one of the best apples to apples comparisons between similar homes. What constitutes similar homes? Homes in the same neighborhood, with approximately +/- 10% of the subject square footage, with similar features (basement, pool, similar finishes, etc.) that are currently on the market or have sold in the last 90 days would be considered similar homes. There are other factors, but that is the basic definition. This chart shows price per square foot of single family, detached homes with 3 or more bedrooms in Fort Collins (red line) compared to the entire northern Colorado market (blue line).

Median sales prices continue to climb after a brief pause in 2019. Prices have climbed over 55% since 2015, but with the economy continuing to move forward despite COVID and associated shutdowns, there is no end in sight at the moment. The old adage of "the best time to buy real estate is always 5 years ago" remains true. Last year saw a consolidation in prices throughout Northern Colorado, and as Q4 hit, the typical pattern of higher inventory and slightly lower prices persisted. As January came, 2020 started off very typical with a jump in prices and a drop in inventory levels as home buyers started home shopping after the holidays. The COVID-19 outbreak did not slow the price growth this year at all. In fact, bidding wars are the order of the day in many Denver metro regions with homes there selling 40-50k above asking price!