Colorado Residential Real Estate Lawyers

Boulder County, Overview and Report on the 2007 Valuation Appraisal

State statute requires that each property in the county be re-valued by county assessors in odd-numbered years, based on the real estate market activity prior to June 30 of the previous year. Due to the high volume of residential home sales in the last two years (1 out of 9 homes in Boulder County sold during the '04-'06 time period), the Assessor's office was able to take advantage of an unusually large - real market - database from which to base actual property values this year.

The 2004-06 appraisal data reveal an aggregate total property value increase of 11.5% for all properties (commercial/industrial and residential) in Boulder County over the two-year reappraisal period. The total 2007 market valuation for all properties in Boulder County is $47.3 billion ($38.3 billion residential), up from $41.7 billion ($33.9 billion residential) in 2005, with new construction accounting for $1.4 billion of the total increase.

The data reflect a mixed residential market (single family, townhouse and condos) throughout the county, with pockets of varying value change from neighborhood to neighborhood and type of property evaluated.

On the residential side, general findings indicate that the majority of residential property values across the county increased in the range of 0-10%, with some notable exceptions, namely:

Boulder and near Boulder vicinity experienced a greater upward trend based on market activity;

Longmont, Lafayette, Louisville and Erie vicinity experienced a lesser increase (and in some cases, a decrease) in market-based value.

Other general trends in Boulder County include:

Residential properties located in the City of Boulder gained the most in market value over the two-year period, while residential properties in other incorporated municipalities and the mountain areas of the county, saw modest gains, on average, depending on location and type of property.

The established condominium market remained relatively flat across the county, with the exception of a relatively new class of “urban (loft style) condos” (located predominantly in downtown Boulder) that showed larger increases in market value.

Homes situated on an acre or more of land in unincorporated Boulder County (primarily the plains) showed more significant gains in market value than many other parts of the county due primarily to the increase in land values over the two-year period.

Multi-unit “apartment” buildings also showed a significant increase in market value, in large part because of the gain in sales activity (and sales prices) in this market sector, a sector that had been fairly inactive in the prior appraisal cycle.

“What the market data shows is that residential neighborhoods across the county generally experienced appreciating market values in the two years prior to June 30, 2006,” explained Cindy Domenico. “Residential property in the city limits of Boulder, in particular, showed the largest overall gains, but other areas and types of properties around the county gained modestly as well.”

She further noted that while houses tended to stay on the market longer in Boulder County during the 2004-2006 timeframe, most houses did eventually sell at levels close to asking price. This paints a healthier picture for the Boulder County real estate market compared to reports indicating that housing sales in other areas of the U.S. are languishing or lagging behind the market. (Note: This data does not reflect activity in the market after June 30, 2006.)

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