Denver Metro Real Estate Market – May 2019

DMAR Market Highlights:

• Denver remains a top destination for Millennials to put roots down and live according to a study by the National Association of REALTORS®
• The percentage of transactions involving seller concessions in the Denver metro area jumped to 58% as of the end of the first quarter of 2019.
• Aurora was ranked #8 on Realtor.com’s list of fastest-growing suburbs, showing 3-year price appreciation of 19.4%.
• Denver City Council passed its 20-year ‘Blueprint’ for growth. The plan envisions a city of ‘complete neighborhoods’ with goods and services easily reachable by foot, bike and transit to abate solo driving. Blueprint is not regulatory – it will inform future policies and plans.
• Denver was listed as the 11th most-rent burdened city according to Freddie Mac. Miami was ranked first.
• While housing inventory is rising, multiple offers are still prevalent if a property is priced correctly. 
• Many buyers are searching for homes with the mind-set that they’re over-priced even if online on the market for a short period of time.
• Greedy sellers are finding egg on their face with overpriced listings sitting on the market too long. Price reductions are even more common even in the host price ranges.
• Well-written offers are key when multiple offers are present. Brokers prefer to work with other brokers who are professional and are adept at keeping transactions together.
• Great lender partners are more important now more than ever. Some can close buyer’s loans in as little as two weeks allowing financed buyers the ability to compete with cash. 
• The Federal Reserve is in a sweet spot right now with moderate growth and low inflation, and is implementing a patient strategy of keeping rates steady.
• Mortgage rates are 0.25-0.38% lower than a year ago.
• GDP of 3.2% in the first quarter is the best in four years. It is expected to temper as the year progresses, perhaps to around 2.2% annualized.
• Average active listings for April is 15,399 (1985-2018). April 2019 had 7,012 active listings. For context, the high was April 2006 with 29,045 listings and the low was April 2015 with 5,025 listings.

Source: Denver Metro Real Estate Market Trends Report, May 2019, by the Denver Metro Association of REALTORS®.

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Metro Denver Market Review by Megan Aller

“Denver is experiencing a delay of new listing inventory, in fact we have fewer listings available in the detached market than we did just one year ago- coupled with more units under contract than one year ago means that prices are on the rise-again!

“While we are still waiting for our housing stock to show up for detached homes, for the first time in 6 years we have increased supply available to the demand that has been snow-balling. Pent up buyer demand is now being serviced by the first actual wave of new units to enter the market since the modification to Builder Defect Law. Demand isn’t pacing as quickly as inventory, so prices are not rising as high, as fast in 2019. Don’t be fooled, it’s still an extreme seller’s market- albeit a slightly less severe version of where Denver was in previous years of this cycle.

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Land Title Market Report

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Colorado Association of Realtors Market Report

And that concludes this month’s Denver Real estate market update