The numbers are in, and they show that La Plata County’s real estate market made a large jump in activity in 2013.
There were 1,036 homes sold last year, a 24 percent increase compared with the 834 homes sold in 2012, according to statistics released by the Durango Area Association of Realtors. The median price of homes sold also rose in 2013.
Other categories showed similar increases. It’s the healthiest the local market has been in seven years, Don Ricedorff said, Colorado Association of Realtors media spokesman and broker associate with the Wells Group in Durango.
Durango’s 58 in-town home sales for the fourth quarter – Oct. 1 through Dec. 31 – were significantly higher than the 40 sold during the first-quarter – Jan. 1 through March 31.
However, 2013’s fourth quarter yielded a lower number of in-town home sales, 58, compared with the 73 sold during the third quarter.
The median price for Durango in-town homes was $370,000 last year compared with $344,000 in 2012.
Rural La Plata County properties also made a comeback. There were 105 country homes sold in 2013 at a median price of $320,000. Of those homes, 75 are in Durango’s rural outskirts, 20 in the Bayfield vicinity, two near Ignacio, eight in the Vallecito area and six in the Durango mountain area.
The median price for all homes sold in 2013 throughout the county was $310,000, compared with the median price of $299,450 in 2012.
The number of Durango mountain homes sold in 2013 doubled since 2012. The median price for mountain homes was $606,500.
Overall, records show an increase in affordable-home purchases for the average middle-class resident, with 85 percent of the properties sold in 2013 valued less than $500,000 and the median sales price of $310,000. Residents with a higher budget were not left out, as 26 homes valued at more than $1 million were sold in 2013, compared with 13 homes in 2012.
Among those sales was a Vallecito area ranch for $15 million, the highest priced sale of 2013 in the county. The property, at 920 Buena Vista Trail, is a 5,000-square-foot home residing on 569 acres; it was originally listed at $18 million.
“It’s a very attractive property,” said Ricedorff.
The highest sale in Durango was a tie between a historic home at 1237 East Third Ave. and a townhome at 235 Rockpoint Drive, both priced at $1.275 million.
“It speaks to the uniqueness to the properties in Durango,” Ricedorff said.
The East Third Avenue property required restoration, and the current owner is in the process of remodeling, he said. The townhome, above the DoubleTree Hotel in Durango, has an optimal view of the Animas River.
The lowest-priced home sold in Durango, at 230 East Sixth Ave., sold for $219,900. Kelly Kniffin, president of DAAR, said she is encouraged by the year-end numbers. “It shows that the economy is improving,” she said.
Also, there have not been as many home sales since 2005, she said, thus making it a transitional year for real estate.
Additionally, Ricedorff said the most encouraging thing he noticed is the slow increase of median prices. The second half of 2012 was the beginning of an increase, but 2013 was a significant change for the real estate market, he said. With the numbers continuing to improve and to increase, the market is the healthiest it’s been in seven years, he said.
He said he expects the median price will continue to increase, as records have indicated small improvements over the past years and a shortage of inventory. With fewer homes available, not only in-town homes will continue to increase in price, but so will homes on the outskirts of town, he said.
Additionally, he said, the demand for homes will increase as inventory decreases. The demand for new homes dropped significantly after the Great Recession, but as the economy slowly picks up, 2014 will lead to a higher demand for new homes, he said.
vguthrie@durangoherald.com
