The Denver housing market: so hot right now 🔥
Welcome to Market Monday, where we review the Denver real estate market and break it down into clear and informative bites! If you have any specific questions or areas of the market you’re curious about, reach out and I will do my best to get you an answer.
February is still continuing apace - tremendous buyer demand is causing a rush on new listings, resulting in an incredible amount of showings and offers, which in turn result in listings selling for way WAY over list price.
Part of the big over-list surge that we’re seeing is (perhaps unsurprisingly) the list price! The risk of even slightly overpricing your listing (causing it to sit on the market, requiring one or more price reductions, no flood of offers, etc) is much greater than underpricing (and letting the multiple offers bid it up). I don’t believe the underpricing is malicious - agents want to be conservative on pricing, given all of the unknowns right now. When you see something selling for $55,000 over list, keep that in mind. The other piece is buyer demand - there are just SO many buyers who 1) want to buy and 2) are ABLE to buy right now.
Let’s check out the numbers!
Take a look at the Denver Metro Association of Realtors’ Market Overview for December 2020. In looking at all residential listings for 11 Metro Denver counties, active units are down 8.85% from December, and 53.3% from January 2020. Average close price is at $550,425 ($629,159 for detached and $397,792 for attached - up 2.89% and 2.47%, respectively from the prior month). Closed transactions are at 3,015, down both 42.03% from December and 10.29% from January 2020. That dip is only a result of low inventory and not indicative of reduced demand.
More on inventory: Detached active inventory is down 61.69% from this time last year, with only 1,163 units. That low number, combined with the continuing high buyer demand, means that we only have 0.63 months supply of DSF inventory. The months supply of inventory measurement means that, if no new listings came on the market, keeping the current level of demand, we would run out of listings in less than 3 weeks.
Attached single family (ASF - condos, townhomes, duplexes, etc) is seeing a similar story in the numbers - active listings are down 14.04% from last month and 35.95% from this time last year, while pending and closed transactions are following the same trend - down from last month and last year. Days on market are actually up 9.38% to 35 (compared to detached, which is also up, but at 10% it only comes to 22 days), so overall condos and townhomes are not quite in the same frantic flash-sale frenzy as detached homes (though this is just an average, and your experience may vary)!
If you are thinking about buying (or out in the market trying to buy right now), you may look at this and feel overwhelmed, frustrated, or hopeless. I hear you, I feel you, and I’m with you! It takes a proactive approach, quick action, strong communication, and creative negotiating to get you under contract.
If you’re thinking of selling, this is truly the best time we’ve seen. It may be worth your while to accelerate your plans - what if it means an extra $10k, $20k, $30k over what you might get if you wait?
If you want a guide and advocate to help you seize that opportunity, I would love to be of service. Email, call, message, text… I’m here and I want to help you with a strategy to win.
Questions or Comments? Leave them below or contact me at the button!
Numbers and stats from Denver Metro Association of Realtors.