The blazing Denver market continues 

I’ve seen the Denver Market experience a frenzy of market activity from just after Labor Day through mid-October. New listings in all price ranges hitting the market are getting snapped up by active buyers.

This makes sense, as the Denver market broke records with its September stats, with both inventory and price.

The 3,971 active listings at September month-end registered as the fewest of any September on record. Because supply and demand typically work in concert, it follows that September’s median closed price of $575,000 was the highest for any September on record. In addition, median days on market of five days set a September record. The previous September highs for those three stats were 2020!

Record-Breaking September 2021 Inventory. 3,971 listings at month-end, the lowest on record. Single-family and attached breakout categories also had record-low inventory. Median and Average Close Price. $530,000 and $618,293, respectively, the highest on record for any September. Single-family and attached breakout categories also had record high close prices. Median Days On Market. 5, the lowest on record for any September. Same for breakout categories of single-family and attached. Source: Denver Metro Association of Realtors

We’re clearly in unprecedented market activity in Denver.

The median closed price of Denver metro homes jumped 15.1 percent from September 2020 to $618,293. Prices keep rising and it looks like that will continue.

This demand is happening at all price points.

For example, recently a new East Wash Park home listed at $2.15 million; it received five offers and is now under contract at $2.5 million. That activity is not typical at that price point — it just shows how hot the market it is, especially core Denver neighborhoods.

In another example, I helped a buyer bid out several competitive offers to get under contract on a half-duplex in the Capitol Hill/Governor’s Park neighborhood. It was listed for $550,000 and went under contract at over $635,000.

The caveat is that this trend holds for homes that are priced right and staged well, critical components to listing well and getting top dollar.

Want my perspective on your situation? Reach out to me at kharris@milehimodern.com

Tale of two markets

The macro Denver market, however, still has important distinctions as we drill down into how it compares with Denver’s core neighborhoods — including East Wash Park, West Wash Park, Cherry Creek, Cory-Merrill, Congress Park — where I live and do most of my transactions.

In the greater Denver metro area, housing inventory rose 10.9 percent from August to September. While this does shift the dial, market-wide, more toward buyers, we still operate, as the record stats above indicate, in a very low inventory market.

This tale of two markets really started emerging in the spring and has carried through to now, and looks to sustain well into 2022.

With low interest rates, and a sustained increase in price appreciation, buyers should remain active and aggressive if they’re looking to jump into the Denver market.