Metrolist has released the sales data for September, and the trend continues to show that days on market are shortening. As we see inventory moving in the medium price ranges, with fewer new listings coming on the market, we’ll see that properties are selling more quickly.
The high end properties continue to languish, and as you can see in the attached chart, average sales price is falling. A friend of mine, Lon Welsh at Your Castle Real Estate, publishes his own statistical analysis of Denver’s Market, and he shared a graph with me today that shows we have 31 months of inventory for properties priced over $1,000,000.
The dearth of high-end sales is resulting in a reduction of our average sales price. This will eventually move back up when the higher-end homes begin selling again. The cost of jumbo loans and the fact that many people in luxury homes are deciding to stay put for the time being have contributed to the slow down in high-end sales. This vicious cycle is perpetuated when new listings come on the market, increasing inventory numbers.
Denver real estate sales are much more active for moderate priced homes. Homes and condos priced $200, 000 to $800,000 are still the price point that we’re selling. This has been the case for many months now. The reduction in overall inventory is a result of this healthier segment of the market selling more quickly.
Sales for September 2008 are up 14.13% from this time last year and average days on the market are down 4.56% from last year. We’re hoping this shows that Denver, ever counter-cyclical with the rest of the U.S., is actually showing signs of strengthening and pulling out of the slump earlier than other areas.
Of course, as I write this, the news about the credit crisis, the bailout, international markets crashing along with ours is permeating the press. This frightening and unprecedented unraveling may very well slow Denver’s recovery. It remains to be seen, but overall, our news here positive.
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