Denver Colorado Real Estate Statistics | December 2011
January 15th, 2012 categories: Market Trends
The end of 2011 came with few surprises for those of us in real estate, and one big one.
The inventory of homes for sale in Metro Denver is nearly 40% below this time last year. It’s so low, that I can remember a time when it was almost triple what it is now.
What this will most likely do is accelerate the pace of home sales. With less on the market, it should take less time to sell your house.
Eventually, the quicker sales pace will result in increasing prices. This is always location and neighborhood specific. The snapshot is city-wide, but prices, days on market and appreciation will vary block by block.
With less than 11,000 properties on the market in the entire city, buyers are feeling a little like they don’t have much to choose from.
The number of sold properties has increased over November and from a year ago, while prices are up just a bit. Watch the first few months of the year to see inventory increase – it has to, and prices to increase as well.
Happy New Year Denver!
Gretchen Faber, LifeStyle Denver author, is a local Denver real estate broker. Contact Gretchen for information on Denver area real estate.
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Denver Colorado Real Estate Statistics | November 2011
December 13th, 2011 categories: Market Trends
Imagine you want to move from your city, small town, or suburb to a new location.
This new city isn’t as large as NYC or LA, but it’s big enough to offer you the company of over 2 million residents metro-wide, all the major professional sports, plenty of arts and culture and great restaurants for foodies. Added to that, a fun outdoorsy lifestyle.
Now imagine that you begin your home search in this city, only to learn that there are a little over 12,000 properties to choose from. That’s the entire inventory – from suburban ranches to downtown highrise condos. That’s it. 12,634 homes in every price point, neighborhood and housing style.
Here’s how this phenomenon is currently affecting people in Denver:
- Buyers feel like they’re circling around the same old inventory over and over. When something new comes on the market, if it’s in tip top showing condition and priced well, it’s gone in a matter of days.
- Sellers are feeling the tide turning and aren’t as willing to negotiate as they once were. This is understandable when the Seller has a new listing just on the market, Pottery Barn cute and priced aggressively. But Sellers who won’t look at offers when their house has been on the market for many months or who have had more than one offer and keep waiting for them to go up isn’t facing the reality of their particular piece of property. With inventory and prices this low, Sellers need to understand that Buyers will wait for new properties to come on the market rather that do what they perceive as anathema – overpay.
- Many buyers are deciding to push their price range up a little at their high end. They can’t find what they want and reason that with rates remaining incredibly low, they may as well push at the edges of their comfort level.
- This seems to signal a change in consumer confidence. If Buyers are willing to push a bit toward the top of their price range, they must have a sense that prices will not dramatically fall any further.
Denver’s residential real estate inventory is over 36% below where it was last year, and close to 11% below last month. some of this is seasonal, but that’s not all of it. The Sellers who don’t have to sell have decided to take themselves out of the market. For sure, there will be an increase in inventory after January 1st. But thinking back to the days when we had over 28,000 properties on the market in Metro Denver illustrates just how remarkable this is.
The sold prices have a floor under them now, and are even up about 3% since last month. The days on market are coming down, close to 10% below last year. So houses are selling faster than they have been the past three years.
This month has been a busy one. It will be interesting to see if more buyers come out of the woodwork when the new listings hit the market next month.
Gretchen Faber, LifeStyle Denver author, is a local Denver real estate broker. Contact Gretchen for information on Denver area real estate.
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Denver Real Estate Statistics | October 2011
November 8th, 2011 categories: Market Trends, Real Estate News
Sellers – this is not the winter you want to take your house off the market for the holidays.
The Denver metro area inventory is the lowest it’s been this entire millennium. Buyers are searching for homes and sellers are holding back. This level of inventory is about half what it was in the busy times.
If you’re getting your house ready to sell, get it ready now. And get it on the market. The weekly sales rate of 5.62 percent in October, was almost 44 percent higher than the weekly sales rate in October 2010.
Sales were up 12% from October 2010. Days on Market were down from September and year over year, reflecting the buyer demand for good properties.
And finally, prices are down too. Counter intuitive when there are such low interest rates and correspondingly low inventory. The reason prices show a decrease is the trend toward lower priced home sales. The “mix” of properties that are closing are bulking up around $200,000-$400,000. Mid-priced homes and high end homes are still taking longer to sell, and those sellers are still finding themselves reducing prices.
This is shaping up to be a “not normal” winter in Denver. Let’s hope the snow is in the mountains, the sun is in the city and real estate is hot.
Look at pretty pictures of homes for sale at www.gretchensdenver.com.
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Denver Real Estate Statistics | September 2011
October 31st, 2011 categories: Market Trends
Real estate in Denver has picked up steam during September and October. The summer was hot and dry, the fall has been brisk. Under contracts are up over last year.
Inventory is still extremely low, and buyers are finding it difficult to get into the house of their dreams without making some concessions. But sellers with any sort of perceived flaw in their home are nonetheless finding themselves waiting for an elusive offer. The perceived flaws that hold today’s buyers back are location issues, lack of updates and price.
Those are just a few of the reasons why such a profound lack of inventory still isn’t translating into higher prices. We have 7,347 fewer homes on the market from the same time last year, yet prices are still down 2.63%.
Another factor is that showings are bulking up at the $200,000 to $400,000 price point. A reflection of investors buying up rental properties. With vacancy rates hovering at only about 1%, it’s a crazy good time to own rentals.
If you’re a seller, don’t even think about taking your house off the market for the holidays. The shortage of inventory plays to your favor, particularly if your house is priced between $200,000 and $400,000.
Buyers can use this time of year to negotiate. Just make sure you do your research. Not every listed home is over priced. And if you’re not finding what you’re looking for, you’ll see an increase in your choices by mid-January.
Search homes in all neighborhoods and research sales statistics at www.GretchensDenver.com. Gretchen Faber’s real estate web site.
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Denver Colorado Real Estate Statistics | August 2011
September 18th, 2011 categories: Market Trends
Predictions are difficult, and the only certain thing in real estate is that it’s always interesting.
Some homes come on the market and get offers within days. Others are seemingly well-priced and well-presented and still languish for months. The average number of days on the market is up slightly from last year, but not dramatically so.
Prices are down for single family and up for condos, and that’s not a surprise if you’ve listened to any economic news recently. Anything that could make a good rental is being snapped up by investors.
Denver’s unemployment rate, while not stellar, is about a full percentage point below the national rate. And Denver’s inventory of available homes is so low, that buyers have to compete for a very few homes. That would theoretically push prices up, except for the fact that buyers are competing for a fraction of the available homes, and letting the rest languish.
We’re holding our own here, but sellers who are waiting to put their homes on the market until prices come up will be waiting awhile. Prices will firm, but waiting for meaningful appreciation will take patience.
What doesn’t take patience is looking at pretty pictures of houses. Check out the 16,000-plus homes on the market in Denver at www.GretchensDenver.com!
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Denver Colorado Real Estate Statistics | May 2011
June 9th, 2011 categories: Market Trends
We’re finally comparing Denver real estate sales this year with the time after the tax credit ended last year (for under contract properties.)
The number of homes under contract jumped 23% from May of 2010. This is the first month in 2011 where we’re not comparing under contract data to the tax credit time of 2010.
The average sale price for both single family and condo are up over 3%, reflecting stability in the market. While the recent Case Shiller numbers for March indicated a potential “double dip” housing recession, the Denver real estate market is truly hanging in there.
Sellers are realistically pricing their homes, Buyers are taking advantage of the drop in interest rates to incredible lows, and more investors are entering the market and snapping up properties for their portfolios.
Inventory continues to fall, which is one reason prices are steady, even rising. Buyers aren’t finding as many homes to choose from, so the great ones are going fast. The number of days on market fell nearly 3% from April. Days on market were dramatically less a year ago, perhaps an overhang from the tax credit frenzy that was wrapping up at the end of April 2010.
The Denver real estate market may be contracting in terms of number of available listings, it’s not contracting based on the buyers making offers on homes. With a 23% increase in under contract properties, we should see the number of June closings rise considerably. Stay tuned!
Consider an investment property. With prices and rates at an all time low, it’s a great time to buy a rental. Search Gretchen Faber’s web site at www.GretchensDenver.com.
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Denver Colorado Real Estate Statistics | April 2011
May 24th, 2011 categories: Market Trends
Denver real estate is always interesting. With April statistics out a little later in the month than usual, and a recent business trip, the April report is finally here!
And… what do we see?
- Inventory is unusually low for the Spring. This could impact prices in future months, if Buyer demand improves and inventory stays low, prices will improve.
- Prices are flat and down from last year. Not a surprise since we’re still recovering and last year’s tax credit generated high demand.
- Under contract properties jumped in a big way over March 2011. A good reflection that Buyers are finding what they’re looking for and executing contracts.
- Home closings dropped from April 2010. That tax credit frenzy last year. Closings are up from March 2011, which shows we’re in a more typical Spring market.
The year 2011 is proving to be pretty much as we thought. Steady. There are no surprises. The well-priced homes in great condition are selling, and often in under 90 days. Buyers are conservative and still want bargains. Mortgage rates are extremely favorable, and jumbo loans are easier to obtain than a few years ago.
All in all, it’s a more normal-feeling Spring than it has been in a few years. Except for the buckets of rain coming down for weeks. Some of us are wondering if we’ve woken up in Seattle!
Enjoy your Memorial Day weekend. Have some ice cream!
Search for your next Denver home at www.GretchensDenver.com.
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Denver Colorado Real Estate Statistics | March 2011
April 20th, 2011 categories: Market Trends
Real Estate is like a box of chocolates. Sometimes you get nuts.
- The nuts have been our foreclosures, our short sales, our underwriting issues and our tough appraisals.
Real Estate is like a roller coaster. Sometimes you go up, and then you fall fast. It takes longer to go up than come down.
- Interestingly, last year’s tax credit made our first half of the year incredibly busy. Then third quarter we fell off a cliff. It was so quiet! We all went to the pool.
- Prices have fallen across the nation since 2008. In some areas, they fell fast. Now, they’ll take longer to creep back up. Appreciation won’t be crazy fast like it was. It will be slower, more rational. This is the new normal.
Real Estate is like babies and teenagers.
- If you own your home, you need to baby it. Feed it with updates to keep it current. Clothe it in great curb appeal, lovely landscaping, an occasional fresh coat of paint and new carpet.
- Some days owning a house is like having teenagers. Temperamental (notice the word “mental” is in there?) Keep your mechanicals, appliances and roof in good working condition so you don’t have to use your mattress money to bail them out of jail.
Whatever your real estate is like, Denver real estate is always interesting. And the homes for sale are the bargain of a decade right now, with prices on the rise again.
In March 2010, the tax credit was just about to end. Buyers were in a tizzy to get their new homes under contract by the deadline. This was driving the market and the main price-point was the lower end, or starter homes.
This year, you can see in the chart that prices are moving back up. We don’t have much appreciation yet, if at all. We have a more normalized market, with the higher end finally coming back. In 2008-2010, jumbo loans were nearly impossible to get. Luxury homes were purchased with cash, so fewer luxury homes were selling. This resulted in significant price reductions by Sellers who wanted to compete and sell. Now that jumbo lending is back, rates are low and prices are low – the high-end is off of life support.
So Real Estate is like life. Ups and downs, ins and outs and always interesting. If you’re interested in searching for a Denver home or listing your fine property, call on Gretchen Faber and The Kentwood Company for assistance. Our company was ranked the #1 residential real estate company in the United States for per-agent sales volume in 2009, with 2010 results posted soon. We’re a dedicated team of professionals, looking forward to helping you find your next dream home.
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Denver Colorado Real Estate | February 2011 Market Statistics
March 22nd, 2011 categories: Market Trends
Prices are down. The February market statistics are plain.
Last year, when prices were down it was because lower end homes were selling. The “mix” of homes was skewing to starter homes, reflecting a “reduction” in prices.
The past few months, we’ve actually seen a firming up of the high end in Denver (although there is still about 5 years’ of inventory in Cherry Hills Village.) With luxury homes rebounding, the reduction in prices can only mean one thing. Prices have come down. Not dramatically, but the 4% reduction since January and 2% since February 2010 is enough to cause Sellers to pause before pricing their home.
What’s selling in this Spring market is homes that are extremely competitively priced. The new listings are getting a ton of showings because of low inventories in some neighborhoods, but the stale listings are languishing.
Average Days on Market is rising. That’s a little unusual with the low levels of inventory compared with past years. Inventory is over 8% lower than this time last year! When it takes longer to sell, prices are negatively impacted.
We need to clean out our old inventory. Sellers should get their homes in perfect showing condition and priced to sell. It’s the only way. Crossing your fingers and waiting it out for appreciation to catch up is not a realistic game plan.
Buyers – when making an offer ask your broker to analyze the past 6 months sales in your neighborhood for similar homes. Make your offer based on the reality of the market and not based on your need to get a better deal than your friend did. Depending on where the home is priced when you make the offer, you may need to low ball and you may need to offer closer to list price.
This is the time to pay attention to the market signs. No more crossed fingers and wishful thinking. This is reality. A new reality. There is a market. Where are you going to fall in that market?
Check out all of Denver’s available properties at Gretchen Faber’s real estate web site – www.GretchensDenver.com.
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Denver Colorado Real Estate | December 2010 Market Statistics
January 9th, 2011 categories: Market Trends
The end of 2010 has passed us by, and we’re well on our way into 2011! This week, we’ll get to see 1.11.11, and there are other cool binary days on hand this year.
The wrap-up for 2010 doesn’t pose too many surprises. The inventory went down last month, a normal seasonal adjustment. The average sales price was down too. Showings have trended more to the $200,000-$400,000 homes in the past couple of months in our office. A shift away from higher-end sales in previous months.
There is a lot of good news, though, which will push us into continued favorable territory this year.
Denver real estate’s available inventory was down 8% from November 2010, and up 11% from last year. The number of homes under contract fell by 13% compared with November, and by 11% from December of 2009. Last year, we’d just learned that the first-time homebuyer tax credit would be extended, so sales began to spike again. It’s not too surprising that we settled into a normal December this year in terms of a seasonal slowdown.
But wait! Our sales volume was UP 13% compared with November and UP 2% compared with December 2009. Our year-to-date sales volume is off by 8% from 2009. Real estate in Denver took off in a big way during the first quarter of 2010, and then stalled right after the tax credit ended. We saw a pretty dramatic pick-up in the last quarter, which I’m thinking bodes well for 2011.
An article in the January 8th Wall Street Journal reframes the discussion of how many homes are actually “underwater.” Apparently, there are a variety of ways to come to the conclusion, and statistically, the calculations have tended to overstate the number of homes that could be lost to foreclosure.
2011 will be a telling year. The year of the real estate turnaround or the year of the double dip. It feels like a slow, but steady turnaround is in store for Denver.
If you’re looking for your next Denver Home, look no further! www.GretchensDenver.com is Gretchen Faber’s personal web site for searching homes, for mapping where the homes are, and for important relocation information.
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