Denver Real Estate Market Sees Record Low Inventory Go Even Lower and Record High Prices Go Even Higher.
In an already record low inventory market, more homes are going under contract and selling then we typically see this time of year while fewer new listings are coming on the market. It doesn’t take an expert economist to realize that prices will remain high as buyers compete for new listings.
NOTE: Statistics are taken from Greater Denver Metro Counties: Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Clear Creek, Denver, Douglas, Elbert, Gilpin, Jefferson, and Park
The best way to read this post: The majority of this post is comprised of me analyzing different metrics to break down what is happening with price, supply and demand across different segments of the Metro Denver real estate market. This helps me determine where the real estate market has been, where it is now and forecast where it is likely to be in the near future. If you are a stats nerd like me, you might enjoy reading the entire post, if not - skip to the summary at the end of each section, or all the way down to the overall Denver real estate market review and Denver real estate forecast at the end of the post. If you are reading this post on a cell phone, turn your device sideways to see the graphs in their entirety.
Metro Denver Real Estate Statistics Snapshot - All Property Types
| Latest Month March 2021 | Previous Month February 2021 | Year Over Year March 2020 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Sold Price | $500,000 | $475,000 | $449,700 |
| # of New Listings | 6,093 | 4,761 | 6,785 |
| # of Active Listings | 2,168 | 2,740 | 8,646 |
| # Under Contract | 6,124 | 4,951 | 4,676 |
| # Sold Homes | 5,535 | 4,207 | 5,029 |
| Months Supply of Homes | 0.4 | 0.5 | 1.7 |
| Median Days on Market | 4 | 5 | 7 |
Metro Denver Real EState Prices
Median Closed Price For The Entire Denver metro MLS - All Property Subtypes
The median sold price of homes closed (single family detached and attached) rose to $500,000. Prices for the market as a whole are up 11.2% year over year from March 2020.
Median Closed Price - Single Family Homes
The median sold price of single family detached homes (houses) rose to a record high of $567,500. Market prices for single family homes are up 15.8% year over year from March 2020.
Median Closed Price - Attached (townhomes and Condo)
The median sold price for condos and townhomes in Denver rose to $356,002. Prices are up 6.3% year over year from March 2020.
Pricing Summary
Overall, prices rose 5.3% from last month. Single family house prices made the biggest jump with an increase of 6.1%. Prices increasing are typical this time of year, however not at this rate.
Metro Denver Real Estate Supply
New Listings - Metro Denver, All Subtypes
6,093 homes were listed in March which is about 500 homes less than we have seen on average in March over the past 3 years.
Homes For Sale - Metro Denver, All Subtypes
The supply or inventory of homes for sale is the Denver metro area is at an all time low. Only 1,261 single family homes were available for sale as of March 31 2021 – 78% less than the same time last year.
Supply Summary
Record low inventory levels are creating fast sales at top dollar with multiple offers. The median days on market for single family homes during March was only 4 days! We currently have less than 2 weeks of inventory, which mean, if nobody listed a house in the next 2 weeks – we wouldn’t have any homes for sale.
Metro Denver Home Buyer Demand
Sold Homes - Metro Denver, All Subtypes
5,535 homes sold throughout the Denver real estate market in March 2021, which is about 10% more than we typically see this time of year.
Pending Sales - Metro Denver, All Subtypes
The pending homes sales metric is the best indicator of our current market because it is our most recent metric and tells us how many homes went under contract during the month of March, while closed sales and sold prices in March show the results of homes that went under contract months ago in February and late January.
We saw about 6% more homes go under contract then we typically see in March.
Demand Summary
More homes sold in March and more homes went under contract in March compared to previous years. This, along with the fact that fewer new listing came on the market to an already record low inventory means we can expect demand to remain high until more sellers bring their homes to market.
Interest Rates
According to Bankrate.com’s Rate Trade Index, “Mortgage experts mostly think rates will stay steady in the week ahead (April 8-14). In response to Bankrate’s weekly poll, 57 percent said rates will remain the same, while 21 percent think they will rise and another 21 percent expect them to fall.”
Today’s Most Prevalent National Rates as reported by Bankrate.com.
- 30 YEAR FIXED – up to 3.27% compared to 3.24% last month.
- VA – down to 2.81% compared to 3.01% last month.
- FHA – up to 3.03% from 3.01% last month.
- 15 YEAR FIXED – stayed even at 2.51%.
- 5 YEAR ARMS – up to 3.08% from 2.98% last month.
Denver real estate Forecast and market review
Pricing – All segments of homes throughout the metro Denver area rose 5.3% overall last month. Single family house prices jumped up 6.1%. Prices are up 11.2% year over year from this time last year.
Supply – Record low inventory levels are creating fast sales at top dollar with multiple offers over list price and crazy terms such appraisal gap coverage and escalation clauses. The median days on market for single family homes during January was only 4 days!
Demand – More homes went under contract and sold than this time last year. April and May are typically the 2 months with the highest buyer demand.
What’s Next For The Denver Real Estate Market? – My Denver Real Estate Market Forecast: – Prices will continue to push up. As more homes go on the market in spring, prices might stabilize. However, if inventory remains low, home prices will continue to artificially increase which could cause a bubble and put some people in tough spot.
My Advice For Potential Sellers – Right now is the best time ever to sell you home. Will it get better as the spring season progresses? Maybe, but if more homes come on the market, prices will stabilize and offers of tens of thousands over listing/market price will go away.
My Advice For Buyers – If you want to buy in this market, you have to be aggressive and patient at the same time. You will be competing with multiple offers and will probably need to be willing to overpay in this market or wait and hope it stabilizes.
Is a Wave of Foreclosures on the Horizon? – Maybe, but it will not have much of an effect on our market if it does come. Unlike in 2008, most homeowners in the Denver area have equity in their homes today. When the moratorium for foreclosures is lifted, these homeowners can either modify their loans or sell their homes at a profit rather then letting them fall into foreclosure. The homes that do go into foreclosure will likely be bought at auction rather than falling to the banks for REO or bank owned sales.
