Denver home selling pace slows down again in September 2017

Denver home selling pace slows down again in September 2017 for the third month in a row. In September a total of 4,427 homes sold, compared with 5,245 in the same month last year according to the latest report from Denver Metro Association of Realtors.

Notably, even with the number of homes sold dropping, the market is still ahead of last year as year-to-date closings are up 3.22% over 2016. The number of sold listings decreased by 21.58% in September compared to previous month. Seasonal declines in Denver home selling is normal as the busy summer season ends, but we are starting to see a slowdown in overall housing market traffic even in the lower price ranges. Active listing for the month of September totaled 7,586, virtually the same as last month.

According to a sampling of DMAR Realtors members, showings are slowing down and home sellers are reducing home prices in order to get more traction. The report shares insights that escalating buyer demands during inspection are causing more homes to fall out of contract and come back onto the market. Furthermore, “back on market” and “price reductions” seem to be more common than “new listings” in MLS searches as of late.

The average home price, including both detached homes and attached condos and townhomes in September decreased by 0.52% to $429,597 and the median home price decreased by 1.06% to $375,000 compared to the month prior. Year over year, the average and median home prices in the residential market are still up 8.84% and 8.07% respectively. Average days on the market increased slightly to 27 days compared to the previous month of 24 days.

Interesting Statistics

More million-dollar homes sold in Denver last month compared to last year. There were 145 sale of $1 million + homes last month, up 10% from 131 in September 2016, however, median sale price remained at $1,325,000.

Metro Denver’s unemployment rate holding steady at 2.2%, one of the lowest in the country. Fort Collins topped the nation’s metro areas with the lowest rate of 1.8%.

What happens to the rents in Denver if Amazon’s HQ2 comes to Denver? San Francisco-based Apartment List research indicates that rents will increase an additional 8.8% over the next 10 years.

How much do Denver’s traffic jams really cost? According to a report from Washington State-based traffic data firm Inrix, Denver has 2,258 traffic hotpots that creates 16,636 traffic jams annually. Denver ranks 14th nationally with a traffic impact factor (if nothing’s done to improve traffic, what will be the total cost) of $9.5 billion.