Denver Metro Area Real Estate Review
September 2022
The selling summer of 2022 is one to remember. As the Federal Reserve has continued to raise interest rates the real estate market continues to shift in major ways. Comparing the Denver Metro Real Estate Market to the rest of the country continues to show that Colorado is a desired state to live in, but the most recent statistics are showing interesting shifts in the desired areas to live. This may be due to the seasons ending, costs of housing in general, or other factors such as continued inflation, job opportunities, or weather/climate worries. The one thing we want to remind everyone: even as interest rates rise, there are still homes available in your price range. Don’t give up hope of finding your dream job.
Denver Metro Area Real Estate
Denver is seeing some major changes as we move into the fall. In many ways, the market looks very similar to pre-COVID trends, with a caveat of much higher interest rates. Month-end inventory is up nearly 94% over last year. This in tandem with closings down just over 30% is the state of the market moving into the fall. Buyers are now looking at new opportunities within the market. As properties begin to stay listed longer, sellers will be more inclined to negotiate their list price. The Denver Metro Area’s close-to-list-price is now 99.4%, meaning for the first time in over a year, homes are selling under their listed price. Just a year ago this was at 102.5%, with major inventory shortages and buyers everywhere. The buying craze of the past year has pushed median housing prices up nearly 8.5% to $657,284. This growth is down from just a few months ago, where we saw prices rising 12%-18% across the Metro Area. All of this can be attributed to rising interest rates, but we also have to keep in mind these trends coincide with seasonal variability in the real estate market.
Boulder County Real Estate
Boulder County is telling a similar story, but the demand for the area is still stronger, and maybe stronger than other areas in the larger Denver Metro Area. Inventory is remarkably high in the county, up 52.4% over last year. Considering that through most of the past two years Boulder County barely had more than 100 single-family homes available, it’s nice to see opportunities close to home! As ever, the median home values of Boulder County properties outstrip the rest of the Denver Metro Area. The median price of homes in Boulder sits at $830,000. That’s nearly 10% over last year’s value, but like the rest of the Metro Area this home price growth has dropped over the past few months from nearly 20%. This diminishing growth has not affected the condominium and townhouse markets, where year-over-year growth is still at 23%. Townhouses and condos sell at a median price of $540,000. Though sales have slowed down approaching the fall, Boulder County seems to be slowing down slower than the rest of the metro area. Towns like Longmont, Lafayette and Gunbarrel have great property values and accessibility to the larger nearby cities.
Longmont Real Estate
Longmont seems to be taking this shift in the real estate market very well. Home values are down from their peak in April, but we’re still seeing healthy growth in median sales prices. The current median price of a home in Longmont is $575,000. This is up 11.7% from last year. Inventory in the area is struggling to keep up with the increases of the rest of the Denver Metro Area, starting off the month with less active inventory than the previous month! If you’re looking to move to the area, now might be a great time to buy, before interest rates go up even more. 39.5% of homes in the previous month took a price reduction at close. This is up from an average of 5-10% over the past few years. All-in-all I believe Longmont is still a healthy market for both buyers and sellers, and I’m not just saying that because I love living here.
If you’re a real estate market aficionado, this is probably an exciting time for you.The fluctuation in housing price increases, inventory, and interest rates indicate a lot of change in real estate. If you’re not well versed in real estate market trends, this can seem very daunting – especially looking at that interest rate. But that allows buyers a little more power, and forces sellers to think a little more strategically about their listing. Don’t give up hope of finding your dream home, because it’s out there waiting for you. All you need is a real estate agent who knows how to navigate this change in the season. Get in touch with us today to prepare for your real estate journey.
