Denver realtors need to be cautious when pricing homes, trade group says

Tons of new homes are hitting the market, but prices have kept rising. For now.
2 min. read
A home for sale in Washington Park West. Jan. 4, 2024.
Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite

If you've looked for a Denver area home in recent years, you've likely noticed that there just haven't been many to pick from on the market. That's turning around.

The number of new homes on the real estate market has been rising fast, jumping by more than 118% since 2022, according to a new monthly report from the Denver Metro Association of Realtors.

The report looks at real-estate data from April in the Denver Metro, including Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Clear Creek, Denver, Douglas, Elbert, Gilpin, Jefferson and Park counties.

"The increase in inventory is a very welcome turn of events for buyers who have been dealing with historically low inventory for years," said Libby Levinson-Katz, the chair of the Denver Metro Association of Realtors' Market Trends Committee. "Additionally, it's a nice surprise as many sellers have been hesitant to list their homes in favor of maintaining their low two to five percent interest rates."

Even with more supply on the market, home prices continue to rise.

The median price of a house was $665,000 at the end of the month, up by $25,000 from April of 2023.

The median price of an attached property, like a condo or a duplex, was at $419,000, up $9,000 from this time in 2023.

There has been a slight slowdown in how long properties are sitting on the market month-over-month. Zoom out, and that's stayed flat over the past year, at seven days — still a fast turnaround and a sign that people are buying.

But more supply likely means changes are coming, and the real estate industry is making adjustments in how it puts new homes on the market.

"Inventory will continue to climb through May, so pricing conservatively has never been more important," Levinson-Katz wrote. "Buyers on the hunt for their next property will likely choose the one at fair market value, with very little work needed. This is not the time to push the price or to place a home on the market to see if you can obtain the price you hope to achieve."

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