The most recent report from the Denver Metro Association of Realtors (DMAR) was littered with the word “emotional” referring to homebuyers in Denver. The recent data revealed that if a homebuyer wanted to buy a home a month ago at $500,000, then they would have had to pay over list price. Not only go over asking price, but a price tag at the tune of $35,000 over the list price. The increase in home values in Denver climbed 6.90 percent compared to last month and a whopping 15.26 percent compared to last year settling at $589,587, according to DMAR. The median days on market in the MLS plummeted to four days. The “close-to-list-price” or the sale price compared to what the home is listed for rose to 103.32 percent. These are obvious signs we are still in a strong sellers market. The data from DMAR below shows just how competitive the Denver real estate market is for homebuyers.
New listings were up year-to-date with 962 new homes on the market, which is up 4.32 percent. The number of homes under contract catapulted compared to last year by 95.98 percent, which was more than new inventory could keep up with. Another mind blowing statistic is that the number of homes sold was up 70.88 percent - 757 detached homes sold, compared to 443 last year. Below is some interesting data going back to 2017 to put into perspective just how hot the market is in Denver. What struck me was that in 2017 the average home sold for just over $414,000 and today it is $565,959.
Here are a couple of noteworthy quotes from the report: “In a highly emotional market, it is one of the most challenging times to hone in on a price,” which emphasizes the point made earlier about not only taking into account past sales, but also knowing the competition. Here is another example from the DMAR report to bring home the competitive point, “Instead of only using past sales as an indicator, one must also understand how much competition one has when submitting an offer. In other words: the data or facts are only a small piece of the puzzle. The bigger question is what are buyers willing to offer to beat out their competitors and go under contract?” Unfortunately, buyers have to put their best foot forward out of the gate when making an offer.
In the past, the Denver market has seen an increase in housing inventory from February to March. The housing market in Denver saw the inventory drop signaling a competitive market for homebuyers. Anyone looking to buy a home in Denver knows all too well that this is the case in the red hot Denver market. Realtors not only need to know the recent sales, but also need to know what the competition is willing to go over the asking price. A recent client of ours has lost out on several homes and the last contract by over $100,000 on a home listed for under $500,000.
The luxury market in Denver is struggling to keep pace with the luxury buyer demand. New luxury listings were up by over 28 percent, which sounds great, but the pending sales were up 26.27 percent with 399 luxury homes under contract. The detached luxury market pending sales were up 95.98 percent compared to last year and luxury homes sold were up 70.88 percent. The luxury market reversed direction compared to the January report, which stated that the luxury market was the only place to find a deal in Denver. The data below shows just how hot the Denver luxury market is today.
Sources:
DMAR Real Estate Market Trends Report | APR. '21
