DENVER – Buyers now have the power in Denver’s housing market as home prices are falling and homes are staying in the market for longer, according to a monthly update from the Denver Metro Association of Realtors.
“The majority of buyers’ motivations have shifted from buying for financial reasons to buying for their lifestyle” and all major statistical are pointing toward the market slowing down, said Andrew Abrams, chairman of the DMAR Market Trends Committee, in annotations accompanying the latest housing report.
In this 360 In-Depth report, we’ll dive into:
- What the current trends show for Denver's housing market
- What it means for buyers and sellers
- What the latest rent report shows for those in the metro
Let's look at the numbers 👀🏡
About 6,939 active listings were reported for the month of August, with new listings dropping 15.50% from last year. The average closing price for a single-family home last month was $744.589, down 4.39% from July.
The number of homes and condos sold last month continued to drop with 4,221 properties closed on, a 5.93% decrease from July and a 30.21% drop from this time last year.
The close-price-to-list-price ratio dropped below 100% for the first time since July 2020, to 99.41% in August. The median sales price also saw a drop of 2.54% from the month prior.
The biggest change this month? Homes and condos are now on the market for about 19 days before they sell. This means buyers have more time to shop for a home and get some concessions, like asking for an inspection.
“As the market shifts, buyers have a little bit more power, they have a little more time to walk through a house and actually make a decision,” Abrams told Denver7 this week. “And then, when they're getting an inspection, they get to actually ask for inspection items that mean a lot to them.”
What does August’s housing report mean for sellers?
With competition to attract buyers heating up, Abrams said people should expect more deals that contain a seller concession.
“The advice for selling is: Do your research and understand what that research means. If a property is sitting on the market, even though it might be listed higher, it doesn't mean someone wants it at that higher price, and so use that as an indicator of what's too high,” Abrams told Denver7.
If you’re selling, he said, you have to base your price on the last 60 days not the last 6 months, or you’ll probably have to drop your price.
What about those renting in this market?
While the housing market has now shifted toward buyers – at least for the time being – the same can’t be said for those renting in the Denver metro area.
Rents continued going up, though marginally, during the month of August, according to Apartment Lists’ latest rent report.
In Denver, rents went up by a tenth of a percentage point last month, with renters paying about $1,440 for a one-bedroom apartment – a 6.2% more than this time last year. Those renting a two-bedroom apartment were looking at paying a median price of $1,790.
Renters in Brighton, Aurora and Arvada paid cheaper rents last month, with median prices for a two-bedroom apartment ranging from $1,490 to $1,750.
Brighton, in fact, saw rents falls by about 1.4% over the past month – the biggest drop in the metro – according to Apartment List.
Thornton, Littleton, Castle Rock, Westminster, Broomfield and Parker were more expensive than Denver, with those in Parker paying about $2,240 for a two-bedroom apartment in August.
And while rents have also increased across the country, they haven’t seen such a sharp increase in prices like Denver’s renting market.
Data from Apartment List shows that, when compared to most similar cities across the nation, Denver is less affordable for renters.
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