DMAR Real Estate Market Trends Report | MAR. '24
Spring is in full seasonal swing this year as March new listings jumped 16.27 percent month-over-month to 4,932 properties, which was a slight dip of 3.28 percent from this time last year. Active listings at month’s end also increased by 6.13 percent, while the year-over-year numbers increased by 29.52 percent, showcasing that inventory is slowly building. Of note, the active listings at month’s end of 5,849 were 1.26 percent above the year-to-date number of a pre-pandemic March 2020.
The median close price rose 3.48 percent to $595,000 as Denver Metro continued the ascent in prices that historically reach their peak in June and take a downward trajectory through December. Notably, the price increases both month-over-month and year-over-year represented a more normalized price increase versus the double-digit Covid increases the market saw at that time. The median days in MLS fell 52.17 percent from 23 days in February to 11 days. Both the increase in median closed price and days in MLS showcase that buyers are out there and eager for the new inventory as they placed properties under contract twice as quickly as they did in February.
Pending sales increased 31.94 percent to 4,317 properties, a 7.47 percent gain year-over-year. However, closed sales only increased 13.40 percent to 3,512, a fall of 13.37 percent from the 4,054 closed sales from March of last year. Closed transactions are a lagging indicator, meaning that most closed transactions in March were likely written in February.
“As we head into the warmer months, sellers have resigned themselves to the elevated interest rates and have begun to take the golden handcuffs off,” commented Libby Levinson-Katz, Chair of the DMAR Market Trends Committee and Metro Denver Realtor®. “In many cases, these sellers have chosen to downsize. The goal for these sellers is to sell their home and use the equity in their home to either purchase the next with their current equity or to obtain a significantly smaller loan. Regardless of their plans, buyers are very happy to see additional inventory.”
DMAR’s 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, spring has bloomed as seasonally predicted. Inventory increased 6.8 percent from February to March, and while listings increased, this is a relatively minimal increase compared to the number of closed properties which rose 42.12 percent.
Demand outpacing supply was represented in the months of inventory decreasing to 2.77 months.
In the previous months, months of inventory for properties above $1.5 million leaned towards more of a seller’s market for attached properties and on the higher end of a neutral market for detached. This month, for properties that sold between $1.5 and $2 million, the months of inventory for attached properties was 3.09, representing a balanced market, and 2.45 for detached, representing a slight seller’s market. While above $2 million has higher months of inventory, this is not surprising as those higher-priced properties traditionally sell at a slower rate.
“Whether it’s competition in sports or the real estate market, expect things to heat up heading into summer,” said Andrew Abrams, DMAR Market Trends Committee member and Metro Denver Realtor®. “March represented an early uptick as we saw a close-price-to-list price ratio of 99.09 percent and median days in the MLS decreased 54.17 percent month-over-month. We will continue to see increased inventory, increased buyer demand and the potential for competition. While interest rates will pace the market, the seasonality will undoubtedly have a big impact.”
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