Denver real estate market still largely remains a seller’s market despite Coronavirus Fears.

Denver real estate market still largely remains a seller’s market despite Coronavirus fears. In March, sellers withdrew 761 homes from the metro Denver real estate market, which was significant compared to 284 homes that were withdrawn in January.

For historic perspective, March 2003 had 477 homes withdrawn and this was at a time when there were 23,967 active listings. Sellers withdrew homes possibly from fears of contaminated homebuyers walking through their homes, or concerns about their jobs and the economy.

In March, 30.24% more new listings came on the market, which pushed the number of active listings at month’s end up 19.46% to 5,776.  Notably, that is 8.20% fewer active listings than the same month last year. Houses were selling 23.68% faster, in an average of 29 days, down from 38 days in the prior month. The average close price for all single family homes and condos was $513,526, setting a new record high and the first time the average close price for both segments topped the half-million dollar mark.

Looking at April’s numbers, Denver real estate market saw a major decline with home showings dropping to a record low mid-April due to the Stay-at-Home order. However, with virtual showings, masks, booties, hand sanitizer and determination to help clients, 3,280 homes were put under contract and 4,679 listings came onto the market. That’s impressive considering the restrictions and uncertainty in our world, but COVID-19 did make an impact.

By the numbers, in April there were 4,679 new listings on the market, down 29.81% month over month and 37.82% from the same month last year. At month’s end, 3,280 homes were under contract, down 29% month over month and 45.79% year over year. The number of homes sold, at 3,603, was down 24.34% month over month and 30.78% year over year. Total sale volume in April was $1.8 billion, down 25.69% over March and 29.73% year over year.

There was plenty of positive news, while many worry about the economy and their stock portfolios, Denver real estate market remains a good investment. The close-price average was down only 1.79% at $503,231 from the record in March of $512,386 for both segments, but that’s still up 1.52% year over year.  Active listings at month’s end increased to 6,855 at the end of April, up from 5,776 in the previous month. That’s an 18.68% increase month over month, but 2.24% less than April 2019. For comparison, the number of active listings at the same time in 2019 was 7,012 and in 2016, 2017 and 2018 it was in the low five thousands.

Even with the increase in active listings at month’s end, the 11-county Denver real estate is still a seller’s market in all price ranges except for the luxury market, which are homes for $1 million or greater.

On March 9th, home showings in the Denver area started dropping from a 2020 high, according to ShowingTime, to a low on Saturday, April 18th. As the Market adapted, home showings started to increase. When Colorado’s Stay-at-Home switched to Safer-at-Home on April 27th, approximately 3,500 showings were scheduled, more than any other Monday in 2020. The number of showings have continued to increase every day since.

Although there were a slight decrease in the average close price, homebuyers realized this wasn’t a time for low-ball offers, big discounts or taking their time to make an offer. Home sellers received on average 99.96% of their list price in April and sold their homes in an average of 20 days, compared to 29 last month.