Phil Castle, The Business Times

Real estate sales continue to lag in Mesa County on a year-over-year basis. But the gap is expected to close because of slowing that began during the second half of 2022 and makes numbers more comparable.

“It’s going to be a truer comparison,” said Annette Young, administrative coordinator at Heritage Title Co. in Grand Junction 

Robert Bray, chief executive officer of Bray & Co. Real Estate based in Grand Junction, agreed. “I just think we’ll see a different set of comparisons.”

Young said 430 real estate transactions worth a total of $195 million were reported in Mesa County during June. Compared to the same month last year, transactions decreased 13.7 percent and dollar volume fell 7.6 percent.

A dozen large transactions worth a collective $29 million bolstered dollar volume, Young said. They included the sales of the Comfort Inn for more than $6 million, Best Western Grande River Inn for $4.65 million and a Harley-Davidson dealership for $4.4 million.

Young said transactions and dollar volume both increased in June compared to May, an uptick associated with the beginning of what’s usually a busier summer season.

For the first half of 2023, 1,874 transactions worth a combined $806 million were reported, Young said. Compared to the first half of 2022, when market activity was more robust, transactions fell 30.4 percent and dollar volume declined 29.9 percent.

According to numbers Bray & Co. tracks for the residential market in Mesa County, 315 transactions worth a total of nearly $141 million were reported in June. Compared to the same month last year, transactions decreased 4.8 percent and dollar volume fell 3.5 percent.

For the first half of 2023, 1,393 transactions worth a total of almost $592 million were reported. Compared to the first half of 2022, transactions dropped 21.6 percent and dollar volume decreased 21.1 percent.

The median price of homes sold during the first half of 2022 was only three-tenths of a percent higher at $386,000 compared to the first half of 2022.

Residential inventory dropped in June with 430 active listings at the end of the month. That’s down 13.5 percent from the same time last year.

Bray and Young said they expect smaller year-over-year declines in monthly sales because of the slowing that began in June 2022 as rising interest rates affected the affordability of mortgages. In fact, year-over-year increases could occur, they said.

Overall, Young said she expects real estate activity to hold steady during through second half of this year. “I think it’s just going to be more of the same.”

Bray said nothing has yet changed his outlook for a sluggish first half of 2023 followed by a busier second half as higher interest rates relent and more inventory comes onto the market. “I think we’ll see some more movement.”

He also expects what were double-digit increases in home prices on a year-over-year basis to moderate to the low single digits or even lower.

Property foreclosure activity edged up in Mesa County in June, but constituted a mixed bag for the first half, Young said.

For June, 18 foreclosure filings and four sales were reported. For the same month last year, 17 filings and one sale were reported.For the first half of 2023, 131 filings and 21 sales were reported. For the first half of 2022, 137 filings and eight sales were reported.

Young said many properties don’t make it through the foreclosure process as lenders work with owners. More owners have equity and can sell.