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It’s a New Year and as always – people ask me what I see upcoming for 2020. How is the market going? what’s going to affect house prices, time on market, investments.

There are several factors at play but here are my top 5 trends for real estate in 2020:

1. there’s an election coming (in case you hadn’t noticed)

A lot of people have been getting antsy about how the upcoming election might affect the real estate market. There are always unknowns around the election but it’s probably better to look deeper at some of the other factors at play in the market overall, especially given that an awful lot can happen between now and November.

2. what recession?

Last year we saw some talk about recession rumors, with some predicting that 2020 may be the year that the “bubble burst’, and certainly folks in Boulder county have been wondering about this, with the price increases we have seen over the last few years.

The thing is – indicators are not showing a likely descent into recession. Despite some predictions by economists in Spring 2019 that it was a possibility, the final quarter or the year finished robust overall with no indication of a crumbling of stability – leading a lot of experts to reverse our downgrade their recession predictions.

All of which is good news for a stable marketplace. Which leads me to point 3 ….

3. mortgage rates will remain stable

Leading mortgage and real estate associations are predicting stability for mortgage rates throughout 2020. And let’s not forget that these stable mortgage rates have been lower for the last decade than the four decades preceding it!

We are still in an unprecedented era for low mortgage rates with rates under 5%.

4. demand is predicted to remain high and prices set to improve

Especially with the continued low mortgage rates mentioned above, demand should remain at best stable and could well increase. Pricing is also set to improve over the year. It may be that inventory becomes the deciding factor in sales this year  – especially at mid-market price points.

From my personal perspective I already see a lot of availability coming in the next weeks,; we could see a whirlwind of real estate activity in the Niwot area in the early months of this year.

5. the “niwot effect” is alive and well… and should increase

Niwot area real estate finished strong in 2019, showing itself to be resilient in the face of change.

DRF direct experience backs up this fact, with involvement (either via seller or buyer) in one third of the 20 home sales in the $1-2 M price bracket in Niwot in 2019, and selling one of the two homes listed in the $2-2.5M bracket.*

Additionally, after a quiet period downtown there are some new stores and restaurants slated to appear in the downtown district in the next year – all of which add to both residents’ enjoyment of the town as well as keeping return on your home investment robust.

With a strong annual calendar of family events and activities, Niwot remains the small town “hidden gem” of Boulder County, especially in contrast to some of the more overcrowded areas of Boulder County.

*Source IRESIS ( excluding farms, new construction and Lake Valley)