Denver real estate market stats are in for August 2019:

Before we talk about the statistics let’s talk about the upcoming recession.

We are going to hear the word recession relentlessly for the next 18 months, we are heading into an election year.

First, let’s remember that “recession” does not equal “housing crisis”. The last recession did include and was driven by a housing crisis. Three out of the last 5 recessions, the home prices increased only two decreased, one was big one was very little. The economists are predicting this one to hold steady. People have equity in their homes and foreclosures are down 18% from last year so the economists aren’t seeing this as the driving force.

 

Our Denver real estate market is becoming really interesting.

Denver average sold prices are up 2.22 percent from a year ago. The S&P has Denver up 3.40 percent. They take a larger metro area into consideration than I can take using our MLS statistics. Who would have guessed that our prices were up over last year? The word on the street and the newspaper articles wouldn’t have me thinking that.

Sellers who were asking for the moon have had to come back down to earth. That is being interpreted as prices dropping. The reality is that the sellers started their asking price too high. Therefore, houses are staying on the market longer before receiving an offer.

Inventory is healthy for our Denver real estate market!

Inventory is up to 9,350 available homes to purchase. Our record low was 7,327 in 2016. An equal buyer/seller market would be 16,761 available homes so we aren’t in an equal or buyer’s market yet, but we aren’t in an extreme seller’s market either. More inventory adds to the importance of pricing, with more inventory for buyers to look at they know that if a house is not priced correctly.

Last year was the year for the fix-up home. They received top dollar and no push back from buyers at inspection. This year, there have been a lot of dropouts and push back at inspections from the buyers. Sellers needed to step up the condition of the home to average if they wanted to sell for top dollar. That will continue.

The lending process has changed quite a bit over the past few years. You can have a loan transaction that will close in 2-3 weeks. A buyer needs to have full loan approval before making an offer, it is as easy as that.

Interest rates are bubbling near record lows over the past month. They are a full point lower then they were a year ago.

Building permits in the Denver metro area are down which means the builders are slowing down. That will help hold prices steady.

Sellers who weren’t sure where they were going to move to because inventory the last few years has been so low are now ready to move. There are more options for them to make a move and interest rates are incredible.

We’ll have some incredible opportunities as we head into the winter months for buyers and sellers. If you are thinking of buying or selling get serious so you don’t miss out.

Let me know how I can help you,