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.GretchenRosenberg.com is Gretchen Rosenberg’s personal web site for searching homes, for mapping where the homes are, and for important relocation information.