June 2023 Boulder Porch Report

Summer has arrived and it’s been a rainy one. Hopefully, more sunshine is on the way so you can get out and grill or venture away from home. And if you’re looking for a new home, I’d be happy to help out. With low inventory and high interest rates, there’s a lot of nuance to our market today. Feel free to get in touch if you want to chat—I’d love to catch up.

Inventory in the city of Boulder increased yet again to 155 new single-family listings, more than double January's 69 new listings. May also closed with 3.8 months of active inventory, a 123.5% increase year-over-year.

With more homes for sale and a rate spike late in May, prices decreased from $1,325,000 in April to $1,307,500 last month. However, sellers received an average of 98.9% of their listing price last month, an increase over April’s 97.6%.

Across Boulder County, prices in Lafayette increased from $805,000 in April to $825,000 in May, even with a bump in new inventory month-over-month. Up in Longmont, home prices remained flat at $652,000, but the median price for May is up 3.8% compared to 2022. 

If you’ve been to your local rec center lately or driven past a park, you may have noticed people playing a sport that has experienced a big resurgence in popularity, pickleball.

A combination of tennis, badminton and ping pong, gameplay is easy to learn, people of all skill levels (and ages) can play, and the equipment needed is pretty minimal.

Pickleball is played on a smaller court than tennis and uses a wiffle ball that moves a bit slower, so it’s low impact when played casually. Plus, it’s often played in doubles so that you can enjoy a game with a group of friends or your family. 

House hacking refers to renting out a portion of your house to earn extra income and decrease your housing costs.

You can hack a house, apartment, condo or other type of property, whether you own or rent it. For instance, if you have an extra bedroom, you might list it on a short-term rental site. You might also fix up an old workshop on your property into a guest cottage and rent it out to vacationers.

You can get creative with the types of spaces you hack. Treehouses, geodesic domes, tiny houses, yurts – these are all options for short-term rentals.