If you or someone you know has listed or purchased a home recently, it should come as no surprise that the Denver real estate market is one of the hottest in the country! The national and local media have caught on as well with recent reports of Denver ranked 2nd only to Oakland for the best housing market in the U.S. (Denver Post). The average home in Denver is listed for a mere 33 days before it sells (the average for the rest of the country is 89 days)!
Digging into the numbers, we have seen a rapid and dramatic turn of events in our housing market compared to a year ago. Inventory is still very limited with only 10,325 active listings on the market at the end of March. And that number continues to fall. Last year at this same time we had nearly 18,000 active listings. Now, with over 7,400 properties in an Under Contract or Pending status, we are selling through our inventory of available homes and Denver lofts at an alarming rate. Home builders too have fallen behind with the current demand, with most builders 6+ months out on their availability of new homes.
Where is pricing headed? I see homes and Denver condos continuing to appreciate at a good rate this year. The average home appreciated 3.7% from March 2011 to March 2012 and condos appreciated 1.25% from last year. Keep in mind that we haven't even hit the "high season" in real estate yet (typically June through August), so this bodes well for the local housing market and the overall economy along the Front Range. Rents have also continued rising with the average rent increasing 5-10% from a year ago, often making home ownership more affordable than renting in most metro areas, Denver included. Most Americans, have a much more positive outlook when it comes to home ownership and this will continue driving demand across price points. Recent studies indicate that over 73% of Americans believe now is a good time to buy a home!
As always, we are up-to-date on the latest market happenings. Please don't hesitate to contact me whenever you or someone you know is considering buying or selling a home!