DMAR Real Estate Market Trends Report | SEP. '17
Homebuyers are seeing price reductions for homes on the market, but the average home price is still up eight percent from a year ago.
The average price of a home in August decreased by 2.75 percent from the previous month to $434,478, yet that price is still over eight percent higher when compared to last year.
"Housing numbers can be presented in ways to paint many different pictures,” said Steve Danyliw, Chairman of the DMAR Market Trends Committee and Denver REALTOR®. “Overall, I feel positive about this market even though we are transitioning towards something that looks more normal.”
According to Danyliw, “looking at the glass as half full,” year to date compared to 2016, the median price of a home increased eight percent and the average home price increased 8.35 percent. Additionally, a record high year-to-date 38,553 properties have sold, which is an increase of 4.35 percent from last year. However, “looking at the glass as half empty,” days on market for condos had a substantial increase of 46.15 percent in August year over year.
Digging into the numbers, active listings in the residential market (single family and condos) was at 7,360 total units in August, virtually the same as the month prior. The number of listings that sold decreased 5.79 percent compared to the previous month. Notably, the decrease in sold listings is close to a 10-year season decrease of 4.3 percent. Even with the number of closings dropping over the last couple of months, the market remains ahead of last year as year-to-date closings are up 4.35 percent over 2016.
Like last month, condo inventory continues to outperform the single-family segment. Condo inventory is up 17.18 percent year over year with single-family active inventory down 3.76 percent compared to last year. The most active price segment for single-family homes continues to be $300,000 to $399,999, and $200,000 to $299,999 for condos.
Our 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) and “Premier Market Report” (properties sold between $500,000 and $749,999). In August, 135 homes sold and closed for $1 million or greater, down 22.41 percent month over month and up 4.65 percent year over year. The closed dollar volume in August for all luxury residential was $206,367,210, down 23.58 percent month over month and up 3.86 percent year over year.
The highest priced single-family home sold in August was $8,116,000 representing six bedrooms, nine bathrooms and 6,330 above ground square feet in Highlands Ranch. The listing agent for this transaction is a DMAR member. The highest priced condo sold was $2,170,000 representing three bedrooms, four bathrooms and 3,085 above ground square feet in Denver. The listing and selling agents for this transaction are DMAR members.
“Just as August brings a return to shorter days and the rhythm of school schedules, the Luxury Market is returning to normal levels for this time of year,” stated Elaine Stucy, DMAR Market Trends Committee member and metro Denver REALTOR®.
Stucy adds, “The new normal in residential homes priced over $1 million is still experiencing an elevated 4.65 percent in the number of home sales month over month from a year ago. To add context, year to date from August 2014 to August 2017, we were just 26 sales short of doubling the number of sales in this category. In 2014, there were 581 sales over $1 million and, this year, there were 1,136 – an astounding increase of luxury buyers in just a three year span.”
Furthermore, the number of condos sold for over $1 million has more than doubled in just two years, with 51 sales year-to-date through August 2015, increasing to 118 sales of condos year to date through August of this year. In 2015, condo sales over $1 million were only seven percent of the market. In 2017, condo sales have accounted for 10.4 percent of sales over $1 million. Stucy comments, “It seems that the space, location and convenience of condo living is an increasingly attractive option for luxury buyers.”
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