DMAR Real Estate Market Trends Report | NOV. '18
Real estate market factors including sales volume, days on market and housing prices continue to favor home sellers in the Denver area.
In October, year to date, inventory has increased 35.28 percent compared to last year in the residential market (single-family and condos). Yet, other real estate market factors including sales volume, days on market, and housing prices continue to favor home sellers in the Denver area. Year to date through October, sales volume for the Denver-area residential market has exceeded $22.5 billion, up 5.45 percent from last year. The average and median home prices in October were $471,321 and $400,000 respectively, up 7.12 percent and 5.26 percent compared to 2017. The single-family average sold price last month was $526,092, up 8.43 percent year over year. Furthermore, the average days a home was on the market year to date through October was the same, at 24 days, as in 2015, 2016 and 2017.
“You know when you go on a very long car ride and the passengers ask, ‘Are we there yet?’ over and over? That’s what I’ve been hearing this past month when talking to people about our current real estate market,” said Jill Schafer, Chair of the DMAR Market Trends Committee and Metro Denver REALTOR®. “They mostly mention two things when asking if we’ve shifted to a buyer’s market: one, houses don’t seem to be selling in the first weekend anymore and two, we’re seeing price reductions like we haven’t seen in years. Even with those two things in mind, my answer is ‘no,’ we aren’t there yet and it appears we still have a ways to go before we get to a buyer’s market. And that’s not just my opinion, that’s the story the statistics tell as well.”
Looking deeper into the numbers, October ended with 8,539 active homes on the market, fewer than the end of September, but more than any other month since November 2017. In October, 4,628 homes were placed under contract, up 5.11 percent over the previous month and down 10.31 percent year over year.
Schafer adds, “Yes, it seems houses are taking a little longer to sell with an average of 29 days on market for single-family homes in October compared to the super-fast 19 days in June. That just means we’re in the middle lane going the speed limit instead of in the fast lane going 100 miles per hour. Anytime you go from 100 to 65 miles an hour it feels like you’re crawling, but, remember, you’re still moving forward and the market always slows down when the leaves fall.”
DMAR’s monthly report also includes statistics and analyses in its supplemental “Luxury Market Report” (properties sold for $1 million or greater), “Signature Market Report” (properties sold between $750,000 and $999,999), “Premier Market Report” (properties sold between $500,000 and $749,999), and – new to the report - “Classic Market” (properties sold between $400,000 and $499,999). In October, 161 homes sold and closed for $1 million or greater – up 26.77 percent from the previous month and down 2.42 percent year over year. The closed dollar volume in October in the luxury segment was approximately $269 million, up 42.12 percent from the previous month, and up 5.92 percent year over year.
The highest priced single-family home sold in October was $5 million representing seven bedrooms, 11 bathrooms and 16,249 above ground square feet in Greenwood Village. The selling agent for this transaction is a DMAR member. The highest priced condo sold was $2,649,000 representing four bedrooms, seven bathrooms and 5,107 above ground square feet in Cherry Creek North. The listing and selling agents for this transaction are DMAR members.
Of the luxury properties that sold last month, 148 were single-family homes and 13 were condos. While the average days on market stayed relatively stable between last month and last year at this time, notably the median days on market increased 30 percent from the previous year.
“Single-family homes have 5.76 months of inventory remaining, while condos have 8.15 months remaining,” said Andrew Abrams, DMAR Market Trends Committee member and metro Denver REALTOR®. “With prices increasing over the years, it is no surprise that there have been more and more million dollar plus properties sold. The previous months have seen increased interest rates, more volatility and, therefore, more unknowns. All in all, it was certainly promising to see the stats echo the seasonality of October that we are used to.”
Additional monthly Mortgage Market Trends Insights brought to you by The Rueth Team of Fairway Mortgage, the Exclusive Partner of the Denver Metro Real Estate Market Trends Report.
Learn more about our partner here →
