DMAR Real Estate Market Trends Report | APR. '24
Spring bulbs have made their colorful return, and optimism in the Denver real estate market is strong due to resilient buyers who continue to place properties under contract quickly when they find the right home, at the right price. The most apparent change in the market last month was the rise in inventory. While buyers continue to grapple with financing pressures, they finally have more choice thanks to sellers who are back in the market listing their properties. Active listings climbed 19.51 percent month-over-month and 51.32 percent year-over-year to 6,990 listings. This is a notable year-to-date increase of 51.30 percent from 2023 and a 118.16 percent increase from 2022. New listings increased 21.22 percent month-over-month and 25.42 percent year-over-year to 5,980 listings. Pending sales increased marginally with 4,468 properties, an 8.32 percent increase month-over-month and a 5.53 percent year-over-year. The most significant metric was closed sale data with 3,739 properties closed, a mere 1.66 percent increase month-over-month and a 4.79 decline year-over-year. While this data point is a lagging indicator of pending sale activity from March, it showcases that buyers are not absorbing the inventory as quickly as they once were.
The increase in inventory favors buyers who have been dealing with historically low inventory for years. Additionally, as many sellers have been hesitant to list their homes in favor of maintaining their low two to five percent interest rates, the increase of active listings to 19.51 percent represents a healthy increase as the historical average increase in listings from March to April is 10.32 percent. As inventory increased, buyers eagerly purchased new properties as days in the MLS dropped 27.27 percent to eight days. The median price rose 1.27 percent to $602,550 while the average price hit a new record of $727,700.
Detached and attached properties experienced a similar increase of over 19 percent for active listings month-over-month: 19.65 for detached and 19.21 percent for attached. Active listings for attached properties jumped 66.62 percent year-over-year. New listings in the detached market segment rose 25.46 month-over-month, while the attached segment rose a mere 11.04 percent. Pending sales for detached homes jumped 11.14 percent month-over-month, whereas the attached market saw a minimal rise of 0.37 percent. Attached property inventory is clearly outpacing the detached market, which presents further opportunities for buyers interested in attached condos and townhomes.
“Inventory will continue to climb through May, so pricing conservatively has never been more important,” commented Libby Levinson-Katz, Chair of the DMAR Market Trends Committee and Metro Denver Realtor®. “Buyers on the hunt for their next property will likely choose the one priced at fair market value, with very little work needed. This is not the time to push the price or to place a home on the market to see if you can obtain the price you hope to achieve.”
Detached homes are still considered a buyer’s market with less than three months of inventory. The months of inventory then jump to 4.32 months of inventory when we look at properties priced at $2 million and over. Attached homes priced below $750,000 remain a buyer’s market. However, properties priced from $750,000 to $2 million are in more of a balanced market with three to six months of inventory. For attached properties priced at $2+ million, the month’s of inventory substantially increases to 7.75.
Our monthly report also includes statistics and analyses in its supplemental markets that include properties sold for $1 million or greater, properties sold between $750,000 and $999,999 and properties sold between $500,000 and $749,999.
For the $1+ million market, there was a scent of the $1+ million real estate market blossoming into springtime. Across all price ranges, there was a 21.22 percent increase in new listings in April 2024, when compared to March 2024, yet new listings over $1 million increased 33.43 percent. Out of the 3,739 total closed transactions in April, 514, or 13.7 percent, were over $1 million. More impressive was a sales volume increase of 17.38 percent over last month, compared to only 5.48 percent for all price ranges combined. Even pending sales were up nearly 10 percent over March for the $1+ million segment. All price segments combined saw an increase of only 8.32 percent.
Upon breaking up the price segment a little further, it is evident that the biggest flurry of activity was seen over the $2 million mark with a 43.8 percent increase in the number of transactions compared to last month and a 16.8 percent increase compared to last year.) This increase is evident in the sales volume increasing 17.38 percent over March 2024 and 18.05 percent over April last year.
“Since the high interest rates, looming Presidential election and lack of federal rate cuts don’t seem to be affecting this top price segment, I expect the market to flourish in May,” commented Susan Thayer, DMAR Market Trends Committee member and Metro Denver Realtor®.
Additional monthly Mortgage Market Trends Insights are brought to you by The Rueth Team of OneTrust Home Loans, the Exclusive Partner of the Denver Metro Real Estate Market Trends Report.
Learn more about our partner here
