Phil Castle, The Business Times

Real estate activity constituted something of a mixed bag in August with an increase in transactions, but a decrease in combined dollar volume.

Residential sales declined as the inventory of homes continued to trend upward.

Stewart Cruickshank, sales manager at Bray & Co. Real Estate based in Grand Junction, said the latest numbers reflect what’s been a mostly flat market limited in part by higher interest rates on mortgages. That trend likely will continue through the end of the year before improving next year.

Demand persists, though, Cruickshank said, with some homes attracting multiple offers.

Jenn Hardy, marketing director for Fidelity National Title in Colorado, said 360 real estate transactions worth a total of
$163 million were reported in Mesa County in August. Compared to the same month a year ago, transactions increased 4.5 percent, but dollar volume decreased 4.6 percent.

Fourteen large transactions worth a total of $22.8 million bolstered dollar volume, Hardy said, including the sales of property near G and 24 Roads in Grand Junction for more than
$5.3 million, a home on 35 acres on E 3/4 Road for $2 million and two homes on 12.3 acres on C 1/2 Road for nearly $1.7 million.

Through the first eight months of 2024, 2,530 transactions worth a total of more than $1.2 billion were reported. Compared in the same span in 2023, transactions increased 2.3 percent and dollar volume rose 4.5 percent.

According to numbers Bray & Co. tracks for the residential market, 264 transactions worth a total of nearly $115.7 million were reported. Compared to the same month a year ago, transactions decreased 2.9 percent and dollar volume dropped 1.5 percent.

Through the first eight months of 2024, 1,858 transactions worth a total of nearly $830 million were reported. Compared to the same span in 2023, transactions declined 2.1 percent even as dollar volume edged up 1.4 percent.

Darah Galvin, operations manager for Bray & Co., said she was encouraged by continued increases in residential inventories. At the end of August, there were 596 active listings in Mesa County. That’s up 21.4 percent from a year ago and offers buyers more selection. Still, that represents only about a two-month supply at the current pace of sales, less than the six-month supply indicative of a balanced market.

The median price for homes sold in August fell 2.4 percent to $387,000 compared to a year ago. But the median price of homes sold during the first eight months of 2024 increased 1.7 percent to $396,000 compared to the same span in 2023.

High interest rates on mortgages continue to affect the real estate market, especially for first-time home buyers, Cruickshank said. But many transactions aren’t affected by interest rates, including those involving buyers with cash or those with significant equity in their homes, he said.

Cruickshank and Galvin said the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee is expected to cut a key short-term interest rate when it’s scheduled to meet Sept. 17 and 18. The Fed could cut the rate by a quarter point, but it’s uncertain.

Additional uncertainty over the coming presidential election also effects the real estate market, even on a local level.

But Cruickshank said he remains optimistic what’s been a flat market will improve next year.

Meanwhile, property foreclosure activity continues to decline. Hardy said 126 foreclosure filings and 22 foreclosure sales were reported in Mesa County during the first eight months of 2024. Compared to the same span in 2023, filings decreased 21.2 percent and sales fell 29 percent.