The September 2009 market statistics are in! In August, Denver had 20,225 active listings available on the market. In September, we were down to 19,834.
With inventory naturally shrinking as we round into fourth quarter, Buyers are left with choosing a currently available home or waiting to see what might come on the market in coming months.  It’s not likely that many new properties will be listed from Halloween through the new year, and many buyers are faced with choosing between buying a home they’ve seen or waiting until after the first of the year when inventory will begin to build.
Prices are up slightly from August, and up nearly 5% since last year.   From August to September 2008 our average price went down 14%, and it kept trending down for months.  We’ve now begun an upward swing just when our market typically begins to cool a little.
We’re likely in for a fairly quiet winter, but not likely to see prices precipitously dropping.  By early 2010, we should be well into recovery and buyers will benefit from new inventory.
The big kicker will be mortgage rates, and if (when) they begin to rise, they will rise quickly.  That could put a damper on buyers’ purchasing power.  If you’re a home buyer, you may not have as much to choose from today, but you know that prices and rates are still low.
Based on the increasing average price trend and shrinking days on the market, you can’t know for sure how long you’ll be on this side of low rates and low prices.
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