Denver real estate is number 1.  According to today’s release of the latest S & P Case Shiller Report, Denver’s real estate market declined the least.  We’re number 1 because housing values went down just .1% from October of 2008.  The rest of the 20 cities monitored by the report declined more than Denver year-over-year.  Not one monitored city increased values year-over-year.
Actually, if you break our market down further, there are some serious rays of sunshine in Denver.  The condo market jumped 50% in number of sold properties since last year.  The average sold price for single family homes in November was up 9.5% to $265,498. The starter home price point is so busy that buyers are competing for properties.
Our high end market is still languishing. Most days lately, I’m hearing stories about a high end sale here and there. That’s good news, but these sales are almost always coming with big price concessions from sellers.  You can read more about a local perspective at John Rebchook’s Inside Real Estate News Blog.
We’ve been saying for awhile that Denver is turning a corner.  Since I moved here in 1982, we’ve been a counter cyclical city. We’re ahead of the curve in recovery.
What does 2010 portend? The first half of the year will be very good for real estate sales here. But after the tax credits end, and when the U.S. stops buying Treasuries we may be in for a bumpier recovery.  Let’s hope that we’ve laid good groundwork with increased job growth and a stable local economy to stand the test of time.
In the meantime, let’s go skiing!