Third-quarter real estate sales were healthy across La Plata County, while in-town Durango dwellings continue to be the county’s highest-priced housing, according to a report released Friday by the Durango Area Association of Realtors.
The median home price in La Plata County stabilized in the third quarter at $356,000, up slightly from the $350,000 posted during the first six months of the year.
Prices for in-town homes in Durango remain on top in residential real estate with a median price of $434,525 for the third quarter, a 12.82 percent increase from the same quarter last year. The median price since the beginning of the year is $440,000 in Durango.
Between 2000 and 2015, in-town Durango housing was at its highest in 2007, with a third-quarter median price of $460,000. Prices were on the decline for the next three years before starting to rise again in 2011.
Residential sales are the highest with 86.5 percent of the market volume, while land sales account for 8.2 percent of the market volume. Though commercial sales come in third at 5.3 percent, they have made the largest gain, with a 40.9 percent increase in the first nine months of 2015 compared with the same time period last year.
Third-quarter residential sales were at an all-time low in 2009 with only 27 houses sold. There were 52 closings this quarter, down slightly from 58 in 2014. A total of 150 homes have sold so far this year in town.
Condos and townhomes in Durango have shown a major spike this quarter, with a $308,500 median price compared with last year’s third-quarter median price of $265,000. So far, 174 townhomes and condos have sold this year.
The second highest third-quarter median for these homes in the past 15 years was in 2010 when the median price reached $269,500. However, local real estate agent Bob Allen of Allen and Associates said there are too many variables to put much stock into quarterly numbers.
Year to date, condo sales have grown 66.7 percent and townhomes have grown 32.4 percent, according to the report.
Home sales are up in the county as well, with 873 being sold so far this year countywide, up from the 756 that had sold during the same time period last year.
At a median price of $356,000 in the third quarter, La Plata County country homes show about a $3,000 increase, or 1 percent, from 2014 third-quarter median prices.
Those numbers have begun to climb in the past two years after taking a significant dip starting in 2009. The third quarter high for the past 15 years was in 2007, where the median price peaked at $379,450.
“Countywide, residential home sale activity remains strong through the first three quarters of 2015,” Allen said. “Sales of vacant land below 10 acres are up significantly, which often leads to new home construction on those vacant sites in the near future.”
Allen said numbers look strong across the board, though Durango’s slow real estate season is on the horizon in the fourth quarter.
“Locally, real estate sale transactions are seasonally slower during winter and spring compared to stronger summer and fall,” he said.
But as demand for affordable homes increases, La Plata County’s lower-priced homes are becoming scarcer.
“Inventory of residential homes available for sale below $400,000 continues to decline,” Allen said.
jpace@durangoherald.com
