Durango-area real estate posted nearly across-the-board gains during a busy summer marked by higher-priced sales and increased transactions.
Homes in unincorporated La Plata County sold at a brisk pace, with 805 transactions, a 32 percent jump from the same period a year earlier. The median price of homes sold increased a modest 2.67 percent to $308,000.
Sales of in-town Durango homes grew 24 percent, with the median sale price gaining 8.56 percent.
“Transactions are way up. Activity is way up,” said Bob Allen, a Durango appraiser and real estate consultant.
The results come from the Durango Area Association of Realtors’ Multiple Listing Service. The data covers homes sold by Realtors in La Plata County from July 1 to Sept. 30. The third quarter is typically the busiest period for home sales.
The gains were broad. Sales and median prices also improved in Bayfield and among Durango mountain homes.
“We’ve had a pent-up demand,” said Kelly Kniffin, president of the Durango Area Association of Realtors and an agent at RE/MAX Pinnacle. “People put off moving because they couldn’t sell. There was a lot of uncertainty with our economy.”
Demand is particularly strong for in-town homes costing less than $500,000, Kniffin said.
“The in-town market, we’re now getting to a lower inventory,” she said. “The demand is still high, so we are getting multiple offers.”
Don Ricedorff, a Realtor at The Wells Group in Durango, said demand in town radiated out into close-in subdivisions such as Edgemont Highlands, Three Springs and Durango West.
“The epicenter was in-town Durango, especially affordable houses,” he said. “It starts in town, and it spreads out from there.”
Allen agreed that in-town inventory has fallen significantly, driving up prices. The effects have spilled into the rental market, he said.
“Buyers are moving into units that may have been rented, so the rental market is tightening,” Allen said.
New homes are getting better value than older homes, Kniffin said.
“There’s a lot more pressure on price for the older homes,” she said.
Older homes that need updating are less attractive to second-home buyers, she said. “They’re not really wanting to do the remodel.”
Durango condominiums and townhomes also sold well – transactions surged 31 percent to 145 – but the median price slipped 2.49 percent to $235,000. Durango mountain condos and townhomes showed the same trend, with an increase in transactions of 26 percent but a 20 percent decline in median price to $124,000.
The Durango Area Association of Realtors attributed the price drop of condos and townhomes to first-time homebuyers and investors purchasing affordably priced units.
The only category to see declines in both transactions and price was land of 1 to 10 acres. The median price for land fell 9.28 percent, while the number sold fell 14 percent.
The gains in real estate tracked broadly with other indicators of economic improvement. Sales-tax collections in the city of Durango were up 5.1 percent for the year through September while lodger’s tax collections grew 6.8 percent.
cslothower@durangoherald.com
