Seventh most expensive home market

The Boulder metropolitan area, which includes all of Boulder County, was the seventh most expensive metro for homes in the nation during the fourth quarter of 2020, and families in the Boulder area needed to make at least $100,000 to be able to afford to a buy a home, according to the recently released National Association of Realtors fourth-quarter report.

Median sales prices in the Boulder area were $661,300 for the quarter, up nearly 5% year-over-year. In the Denver metropolitan area, which includes Broomfield County, the median price was $512,500, up 11.9% year-over-year. Nationwide, the median existing single-family home price rose 14.9% year-over-year, to $315,900 in Q4.

Every metro area included in the NAR study saw home price growth in Q4.

“The fourth quarter of 2020 presented circumstances ripe for home price increases,” NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun said in a statement. “Mortgage rates reached record lows, thereby driving up the demand,” he continued. “At the same time, inventory levels also reached record lows, leading to grim inventory conditions of insufficient supply in the fourth quarter.”

According to NAR, the most expensive metropolitan areas for homebuyers are:

• San Jose, Calif. ($1.40 million)

• San Francisco ($1.14 million)

• Anaheim, Calif. ($935,000)

• Honolulu ($902,500)

• San Diego ($740,000)

• Los Angeles ($688,700)

• Boulder ($661,300)

• Seattle ($614,700)

• Nassau, N.Y. ($591,600)

• Boston ($579,100)