Month of May recorded highest housing inventory in Metro Denver since 2013 and record-breaking average single-family home price.

In May, there were 8,789 new listings, up 16.97 and 38.12 percent from the previous month and year, respectively. At month’s end, 6,470 homes went under contract, up 5.65 and 10.5 percent from April and last year, respectively. Notably, the average single-family home price reached a record-breaking $555,482.

“Even with all of those offers written and accepted, we still ended the month with 8,891 homes for sale,” said Jill Schafer, Chair of the DMAR Market Trends Committee and Metro Denver Realtor®. “That’s an important number to note. It’s the highest end-of-month number of active listings since November 2013 when buyers had 9,352 choices.”

For further perspective, inventory in the Denver-area real estate market was at 26,333 active listings in May 2008.

Schafer adds, “The market has been experiencing a drought of new homes for years, so the increase in inventory is a welcome relief for thirsty buyers. Sellers have been experiencing an unprecedented increase in values. Even with the added inventory, prices were still up a bit.”

The average sold price for a single-family home in the 11-county metro area year to date was $534,577 in May, up 1.45 percent from last year. The median home price hit a record-breaking $450,000 for the first time, up 1.12 percent from this point in 2018. The average sold price for condos year to date bumped up 3.11 percent compared to last year to $364,134, and the year-to-date median price topped out at a high of $301,500.

“To get those higher prices, home sellers had their homes on the market a little longer before accepting an offer,” shares Schafer. Year to date, homes were taking an average 32 days to sell compared to 26 days last year. The median days on market jumped from six at this point in each of the past four years, to 11 so far this year.

“There has also been more negotiating,” comments Schafer. “The close-to-list price ratio dropped to 99.35 percent year to date. At this point in the past four years, sellers were getting, on average, more than asking price. Home sellers still have control across the housing price ranges, but a little give and take makes buyers feel better.”

Our monthly report also includes statistics and analyses in its supplemental “Luxury Market Report” (properties sold for $1 million or greater), “Signature Market Report” (properties sold between $750,000 and $999,999), “Premier Market Report” (properties sold between $500,000 and $749,999), and “Classic Market” (properties sold between $300,000 and $499,999). In May 2019, 262 homes sold and closed for $1 million or greater – up 5.22 percent from April and 3.15 percent year over year. The closed dollar volume in the luxury segment year to date was $1.44 billion, up 5 percent from last year.

The highest priced single-family home that sold in May was $4.25 million representing seven bedrooms, nine bathrooms and 5,782 above ground square feet in Englewood. The highest priced condo sale was $3.35 million representing three bedrooms, four bathrooms and 3,228 above ground square feet in Denver. The listing and selling REALTORS® for both transactions are DMAR members.

From a year-to-date perspective, the number of homes sold in the Luxury Market remained relatively level at 915, up 1.55 percent from last year. While sales in the single-family market decreased year to date by 2.78 percent from 2018, there has been a large jump in condo sales with 110 sold year to date compared to 73 in 2018, an increase of 50.68 percent.

There has not been any significant changes month over month or year over year in terms of price per square foot, outside of the condo total price per square foot metric that significantly jumped from $546 last year to $656 in May of 2019 - an increase of 20.15 percent. Single-family average price per square foot continues to hover around $300, ending May at $297.  

Overall, the average days on market in the luxury segment improved by 11 days for a total of 47 days on market. “Home sellers still have a slight upper hand considering the months of inventory, but buyers will have opportunity as well,” said Bryan Facendini, DMAR Market Trends Committee member and Metro Denver REALTOR®.

“Each neighborhood is performing differently; therefore, understanding how each submarket is performing will be important to consumers because some luxury homes could sell quickly, while other submarket luxury homes are under performing; meaning homes are staying on the market longer and garnering lower prices,” comments Facendini.