Click on Map for Most Recent Metrolist Real Estate Statistics

Click on the map below to see the most recent Denver residential real estate statistics broken down by region:

Click Here for Total MLS Sales Statistics

Behind the Denver Housing Market – August, 2010

1. The average price for both condos and SFR dropped slightly in July, but is still higher than for July 2009 by a combined rate of 6.72%. WHAT THIS MEANS: The Denver market is realizing a continuing increase in the average price, which will remove the “underwater” concept many people have, and at some point, there will be useable equity for those folks that bought prior to 2004.

2. Homes place under contract in July declined by 1148 units from the previous year. WHAT THIS MEANS: The tax credit artificially moved the sales forward into the 2 month period of March and April, and unbalanced the market for the remainder of 2010 and most likely for the much of 2011. Total sales will remain under 2009-2010 levels until summer of 2011.

3. The “Absorption Rate” jumped from 24.3 weeks in June to 31.2 weeks in July. This represents an 8 month inventory vs. a six month inventory. WHAT THIS MEANS: the entire Denver market has moved back to a more favorable position for buyers.

4. The Denver market priced under $500,000 is selling well. The market over $500,000 is now at a 140 days on market, which is considerably better than to 210 days of July 2009. WHAT THIS MEANS: A combination of job losses and difficulty in obtaining mortgage money in the higher price ranges has created an oversupply in the upper price ranges. This oversupply will remain in place for some time. There will be few high priced home built in the next few years, unless custom ordered.

5. The FHA Mortgage insurance changes that were scheduled to take place in September have been delayed until later in the year.

6. At this time the following is true about FHA loans in Denver

a. The FHA Loan Limit in the Denver area is $406,250. This means you can purchase a home priced at $421,000 using the minimum amount required for a down payment ($14,750).

b. At the present mortgage interest rate of 4.5% a home priced at $300,000 will require a down payment of $10,500 resulting in a loan amount of $296,000 after MIP is included. This will result in a Payment of $1630 dollars including Principle, Interest, and Mortgage Insurance. Property taxes and Hazard Insurance must be added to arrive at the true monthly payment.

Thank you to Jim Renshaw at Land Title Guarantee for the first chart and to Larry McGee and Janet Marlow of the Berkshire Group for compiling the remainder of the Denver Housing data for August of 2010.

Michelle A. Potter
Denver and Suburban Realtor
303-489-4035

Click on Map for Most Recent Metrolist Real Estate Statistics

Click on the map below to see the most recent Denver residential real estate statistics broken down by region:

Click Here for Total MLS Sales Statistics

Combined statistics for Denver and the surrounding suburbs:

Market Activity:

Days on the Market (DOM) for June:

Residential Year to Date Sales:

Behind the Numbers:

• Home sales prices increased 10% in June over the month of May.  This could be attributed to corporate transferees purchasing homes in the $400,000 range in May and June.  The first time buyers absorbed much of the lower price homes while the tax credit was still in play, leaving higher priced homes available for the corporate transfer home buyers.

• The total number of closed home sales was down a bit in June over May (by 140 transactions).  On the flip side, the year to date sales for the first half of this year showed an 8% increase over the same period in 2009.

• Overall Denver-Metro home inventory is increasing (up 8.8 in June of this year compared to the same time last year.)  This is not at all surprising – as those who had been thinking about selling – seized the opportunity, having seen the success of homes selling in spring.

• Days on market (DOM) increased a tad to 82 days in June over an extremely low DOM for May…still quite good.

• Freddie and Fannie national mortgage rates are still at historic lows.  This creates an amazing opportunity for folks poised to purchase a home.

Thank you to Jim Renshaw from Land Title Guarantee for providing the Map for Most Recent Denver Metrolist Real Estate Statistics and to Janet Marlow and Larry D. McGee for compiling the remaining Denver market statistics used on this post.

Click on the map below to see the most recent Denver residential real estate statistics:

Click on Map for Most Recent Metrolist Real Estate Statistics

Click Here for Total MLS Sales Statistics

Here is the composite for the entire Denver Metrolist Inc. (MLS):

A huge thank you to Jim Renshaw at Land Title Guarantee for compiling these Denver market statistics.

Michelle A. Potter
Denver and South Suburban REALTOR
303-489-4035

Click on Map for Most Recent Metrolist Real Estate Statistics

Click Here for Total MLS Sales Statistics

An Overview of the entire Denver MLS Market Statistics for February:

Thank you to Jim Renshaw at Land Title Guarantee Company for compiling the Denver market stats.

Michelle Potter, Denver REALTOR
The Berkshire Group REALTORS
303-489-4035

Click on Map for Most Recent Metrolist Real Estate Statistics

Click Here for Total MLS Sales Statistics

An Overview of the entire Denver MLS Market Statistics:

Thank you to Jim Renshaw at Land Title Guarantee Company for compiling the Denver market stats.

Michelle Potter, Denver REALTOR
The Berkshire Group REALTORS
303-489-4035

Click on Map for Most Recent Metrolist Real Estate Statistics

Click Here for Total MLS Sales Statistics

Thank you to Jim Renshaw at Land Title Guarantee Company for compiling the Denver market stats.

Michelle A. Potter
Denver Realtor
The Berkshire Group, Realtors
303-489-4035

The Denver residential real estate market showed an uptick in average home sales prices in December of 2009 in comparison with December of 2008.  According to data released by the Denver Metrolist Inc. (MLS), prices increased during this year-over-year time period to the tune of 17%.

To read more about Denver residential real estate market conditions, you might like:

Denver Market Condition Extremes

Thank you to the Berkshire Group Realtors for providing the information for this update.

Michelle A. Potter, Denver Realtor
The Berkshire Group
303-489-4035

Here is another assessment of the Denver real estate market conditions for November of this year:

Thank you to Jim Renshaw at Land Title for compiling these Denver real estate statistics.

Michelle A. Potter
Denver Realtor
RE/MAX Professionals

All data taken from:  Metrolist (MLS), Inc, on December 5, 2009.  Denver, Colorado.

November sold data outperformed, 2008, 2007 and 2006 in number of single family and condo units closed for the month.  This is the first time in four years we have seen a Month outperform several years prior for the same period.  The $8000 Tax Credit, low interest rates and increased consumer confidence because of low housing prices fueled this years November closings.   The November sold data showed 3289 closed units and in 2008 it was 3056 units closed or 233 more units closed this year for a 7.08% increase over last November.

We have had a seasonal slow down from October to November with closings slipping from 3708 units in single family and condo homes in October to 3289 units in November or an 11.3% reduction in closings from October 2009 to November 2009.  Normally a reduction of 10% occurs between October and November, so watching this trend of increased sales year over year and normal seasonal downward sales can help us predict the 2010 real estate year in Denver.

Here’s the sold data for November of the previous 5 years.

• December Active Listing Inventory is at 14259 for single family home’s is down from 17176 from one year ago.
• The number of Active listings for Condominiums in December is 4620 and last December there were 5095 units available.
• The current 18879 active single family and condominiums is the lowest December inventory in more than 5 years.

Listing inventory continues to decline as you can see over the last five years.  A little abnormality occurred in December of 2009 for homes priced from zero to $250,000.  Normally we would see a decrease in inventory, but this price range actually went up from November 2009 to December 2009 from 4963 Single Family units to 5080 single family units.  We want to watch this over the next several months to determine if a market shift is occurring in the lower price ranges.  2009 has experienced the largest price increase on average in the lower price ranges and the extension of the $8000 first time home buyer Tax Credit and the addition of the $6500 Tax Credit for existing home owners should continue to cause the lower price ranges to appreciate, but watching the inventory in the upcoming months will tell us more about where we are going.

• There are fewer properties to compete with today and serious buyers are buying now, as the Tax Credit has been extended and expanded to include current homeowners.
• Interest rates are 4.875% for conforming loans today and more than likely will be a little higher in 2010 causing buyers to make a buying decision now versus next year.
• We anticipate a slight rise in interest rates in the first half of 2010. We are seeing investors creating loans have more competitive jumbo rates in small doses.  Watch as these are in and out of the market quickly.

Under Contract data is still outperforming pervious years for December 2009.

• The number of properties under contract is at 5694 single family and condo units.
• The number of properties under contract today is 298 units higher than 12 months ago.
• Job stability in Denver will allow more buyers after the first of the year to take advantage of the Tax Credits being offered.
• The number of properties under contract in December of 2009 is the highest recorded December in 4 years.

What should sellers do in this market?

• Today’s real estate market for sellers is a choice of your home being a beauty contest or a fire sale.  You must be the best looking home or the lowest priced property to attract today’s buyer pool
• Although inventories are decreasing, know your specific price range, as each price range affords a different amount of buyers buying today.
• Consider an Owner Will Carry scenario for upper end price homes with equity.  This is a creative tool for those sellers who have the ability to carry the paper for the buyer buying their property and get a return on investment.
• Offer a holiday special price reduction, like “10% off the Price for Christmas to New Years Week”.

What should buyers do in this market?

• With the extended $8000 dollar Tax Credit for First Time Buyers and the NEW $6500 Tax Credit for existing homeowners who will buy a primary residence, get into the system of being prequalified now as there will be an increase in the buyer pool causing competition for homes in January and February.
• Have you considered using your Retirement Account IRA to purchase an investment property in 2010?  You can do that with a good upside for returns compared to other investment vehicles.
• Become a prequalified buyer before looking.  The guidelines for lending changes daily and you want to be approved before moving forward.

Feel free to call me with any Denver real estate questions.

Michelle A. Potter
Denver Realtor
RE/MAX Professionals

The following Denver market snapshot takes a look at inventory levels and average days on market broken down by price categories – all useful information whether you are planning to purchase or sell a home in the Denver metropolitan area.

As you can see from this chart, the under $250,000 market is strong for home sellers – with a current supply of just under 6 months; 82 average days on market; and homes getting 98.1% of the final ask price.  Conversely, the supply of homes over $2,000,000 is over 6 years; 275 average days on market and coming in at 91.1% of the most current list price.  The graphs tell the tale of the conditions in between the extremes:

Denver Home Sellers: If your home is in the $500,000 plus category you can see that is imperative to price it aggressively. Additionally it must show immaculately and be in fabulous condition the day it hits the market. Furthermore, your property must be marketed aggressively, especially on the intranet. Video tours as well as quality photos are a must. Bring in a home stager if necessary. Leave nothing to chance to receive top dollar for your home.

Denver Home Buyers: If you are searching for a luxury property, you can see that you are clearly in the driver’s seat – negotiate on price, terms, financing…  On the flip side – if you are looking at homes under $250,000 make sure your financing is secure and your offer strong right out of the gate.

A special thank goes to RE/MAX Professional agent Jim Sigler for sharing this data with our office.

As always, feel free to call me at 303-489-4035 with any of your real estate questions.

Michelle A. Potter
Denver Realtor
RE/MAX Professionals