Housing costs are continuing to rise in the Denver metro market, the number of properties available is still low, and with warm weather and a loosening of COVID-19 restrictions, open houses are back and homebuyers are flooding in to compete on bids, according to the Denver Metro Association of Realtors monthly report.
The median closing price for homes in the metro area -- both attached and detached -- was $575,000 in February. It was $475,000 this time last year. Single-unit homes are currently closing at a median price of $635,000, and attached units are selling at a median price of $405,000.
At the end of the month, there were only 853 detached units available -- down 23.84% from this time last year. Things are even more competitive for people looking for attached residences. There were only 373 available at the end of the month, down 58.75 percent from this time last year. Cold comfort: They were up slightly from January.
The number of homes actually closing is down too: There were 3,201 last month, down 19.32% from this time in 2021.
Realtors continue to report people putting in bids well over asking price. Andrew Abrams, head of DMAR's Market Trends Committee, wrote that he had seen bids go for $250,000 over the asking price, though he also saw a house close at $10,000 under the asking price. Typically, the better the condition, the higher the offer.
While COVID-19 put a kibosh on open houses, realtors have begun hosting them again and are reporting as many as 50 people coming to any given showing.
Abrams recommends that people waiting for housing prices to drop or more properties to hit the market to quit stalling if they can.
"With the continued demand and lack of inventory," he said, "prices will increase and lead to another year of double-digit appreciation."
