Monthly Roundup February: DMAR in the News

Denver Business Journal

January continues 'record low' trend for metro Denver home inventory

January started off the year with a record-low inventory of home for sale in metro Denver — 3,869 listings, according to the Denver Metro Association of Realtors' latest market trends report. "These lows will not change until new listings significantly outpace under contracts," said Steve Danyliw, DMAR's chairman. For comparison, the record high for inventory in January was in 2008, with 24,550 listings. Read more...

Condos were king in 2017 luxury home market

Despite fewer condo sales in the luxury home market, they raked in some strong prices in the last quarter of 2017. The average price of luxury condos sold in December was $1.40 million, just under the average $1.53 million for luxury residential. That’s according to the Denver Metro Association of Realtors’ January report, which noted low inventory of condos continues to be an issue. Of the 118 luxury sales in December, 16 were condos. However, despite the fewer sales, the condos still fetched strong prices. “Overall in 2017, single-family sales were up nearly 28 percent and luxury condo sales were up more than 60 percent,” said Jill Schafer, DMAR market trends committee member. Read more...

Denver's tops in the country for sparse inventory of houses for sale

Re/Max's findings echo those of Denver Metro Association of Realtors' latest market trends report released earlier this month, which indicated January started off the year with a record-low inventory of home for sale in metro Denver — 3,869 listings. Last month, online real estate company Zillow reported that Denver's "inventory shortage is approaching crisis levels." Read more...

Denver is 'the most challenging' city in U.S. for first-time homebuyers, says report

"Denver is not the most challenging city in any single measure, having weak showings across the board, which could be (an) obstacle for first-time buyers. Down payments are high at $66,806, and even the FHA down payment is a considerable $22,841," LendingTree said in its report, which ranked Little Rock, Arkansas as the best U.S. city for first-time homebuyers. Yesterday, it was reported that Denver ranked No. 1 nationally (tied with Seattle and San Francisco) for fewest months supply of inventory at 1.1 months. And earlier this month, the Denver Metro Association of Realtors' latest market trends report indicated January started off the year with a record-low inventory of home for sale in metro Denver — 3,869 listings. Read more...

Here's a little-noticed factor behind Denver's shortage of homes for sale

Many reasons have been cited for metro Denver's trend of record-low inventory of homes for sale — 3,869 listings, according to the Denver Metro Association of Realtors' latest market trends report —  including high demand, the slow pace of new home construction and empty nesters hanging onto their homes for lack of affordable tradeup options. Here's one more that doesn't get talked about as much: Denver ranks second in the nation for older homeowners opting for reverse mortgages, according to a new report from LendingTree Inc. Read more...

Denver Post

Housing shortage pushes metro Denver buyers toward new homes, but builders can’t keep up

Metro Denver, with a population of 2.8 million, had fewer than 4,000 homes listed for sale at the end of December or January. The average price of a home sold in January topped $490,932, while the median price was $416,000, according to the Denver Metro Association of Realtors. The average price of a new home sold last year in metro Denver was $560,000. New homes are priced mostly in the $450,000 to $700,000 range, with the under $300,000 pretty much extinct and the under $350,000 getting there, Covert said. To qualify for a 30-year mortgage at a 4.5 percent interest rate on a new home at the average price, a household putting 3 percent down would need to make more than $143,000 a year to qualify, including taxes and insurance, according to MortgageCalculator.org. Read more...

9news.com

January continues 'record low' trend for metro Denver home inventory

January started off the year with a record-low inventory of home for sale in metro Denver — 3,869 listings, according to the Denver Metro Association of Realtors' latest market trends report. "These lows will not change until new listings significantly outpace under contracts," said Steve Danyliw, DMAR's chairman.  For comparison, the record high for inventory in January was in 2008, with 24,550 listings. Danyliw said homes under contract in January were almost the same number as new listings. "This means that as fast as listings come on the market, they are placed under contract," he said. Read more...

Denver 7

Denver-area home prices inch upward in January; housing stock hits new low

The latest numbers from the Denver Metro Association of Realtors show that while housing inventory was up slightly in January, it wasn't enough to reverse the trend of record-low listings. The total number of homes on the market in January was just 3,869 for the entire metro area, a decrease of just over 3 percent compared to January 2017 and a new record low for the month. Historically, the Denver area sees more than 13,000 active listings this time of year. In terms of prices, metro Denver more or less held steady in January with a slight increase of $200 compared to December, for a median sold price of $385,203. Compared to the same time last year, however, home prices are up more than 10 percent. Homes priced between $300,00 and $399,999 continue to be the most competitive in the metro area, with single-family homes in that range selling so quickly, they would all be gone in less than two weeks if no more homes entered the market. Read more...

Builder Online

DENVER HOME PRICES INCH UPWARD IN JANUARY; HOUSING STOCK HITS NEW LOW

The extreme shortage of homes for sale in metro Denver doesn't seem to be easing up anytime soon. The latest numbers from the Denver Metro Association of Realtors show that while housing inventory was up slightly in January, it wasn't enough to reverse the trend of record-low listings. The total number of homes on the market in January was just 3,869 for the entire metro area, a decrease of just over 3 percent compared to January 2017 and a new record low for the month. Read more...

EfficientGov

​Colo. Community Land Trust Delivers Affordable Housing Options

Affordable housing options are a highly sought-after commodity in Denver, where home prices have risen 11.6 percent, according to the Denver Metro Association of Realtors, with an average home price of $490,525. Income requirements for the Elevation Community Land Trust have not been finalized, but are estimated to span “$36,960 to $53,760 for a two-person household and $46,145 to $67,120 for a family of four,” according to the Denver Post. Read more...