Denver Metro Area Real Estate Market Review

April 2023

The first quarter of 2023’s real estate market followed many of our normal yearly trends. April, however, is proving many analysts’ predictions. With the rising interest rates, fears of an economic recession, and continued inflation, the appeal of the real estate market is waning, with investors feeling the pinch of higher interest rates and higher home valuations. Prices continue to rise despite extended periods on MLS and fewer buyers. Mortgage approval rates continue to be down. New building permits are lower this year than expected. The most telling shift in the market comes with the new listings, and it’s quite surprising! Let’s take a look at the Denver Metro Area real estate market trends.

Denver Metro Area

Both Active and New listings are down across the Denver Metro Area real estate market. Typically April sees the number of both active and new listings rise as people enter the market, planning their moves and, in turn, buying new homes for themselves. The major deterrents of this normal trend are the higher interest rates and rising prices. The median sales price of homes is still 18% higher than average pre-pandemic home valuations, selling at around $614,000 in April. Looking at last year, however, would make you think home prices are on a downfall. Last April, homes were selling at a median sales price of $660,000. Mortgage rates were somewhere between 3-4% last year at this time, right before the Federal Reserve began their inflation prevention protocols. It would appear, with the decrease in inventory, that owners are shifting their real estate strategies. They may be accepting that the market is more suited for renters than buyers and shifting their properties to accommodate. If you’re looking to buy a home in the Denver Metro Area know there are options, but there are fewer than years past. We aren’t anywhere near our lowest inventory, but owners are being smart about what to do with their properties.

Boulder County

The median price of homes sold is continuing to drop at a substantial rate in Boulder County. This shouldn’t be a surprise. Prior to the pandemic, home values in Boulder were averaging under $800k and rose to above $1 million twice over the past two years. These selling prices have dropped to a median of $850,000 in April, showing a swift return to normal home valuations for the area. Homes continue to sit on the market for longer periods of time, especially in Boulder with these higher prices. On average, a home is staying on MLS for about 53 days in the Boulder County Area, up almost 100% from last year! As we’re seeing with the rest of the Denver Metro Area real estate market, there are fewer new listings, and some of the older listings are being removed from MLS in favor of renting to the large number of people no longer looking to purchase homes.

Longmont

It does appear that Longmont is starting to be the outlier in the Denver Metro Area real estate market. As housing prices continue to drop with higher mortgage rates and home valuations, Longmont’s decrease from last year’s median sales price is lower than neighboring towns. The median sales price rose from last month to $590,000, but this is about 5.5% lower than last year. Compared to the rest of the metro area real estate trends, this is a really healthy sign for Longmont – meaning buyers are finding Longmont more affordable and desirable. The average time spent on the market in Longmont is even going down, with homes selling in around 28 days now. This is still higher than last year, but a much faster market than the rest of Denver. With numbers like we’re seeing across the Front Range, it’s no surprise that homes are selling for their asking price in Longmont, with little room to bargain. Longmont has a lot to offer families, commuters, entrepreneurs and consumers. It’s no wonder Longmont is such a hot market!

Are you interested in selling or buying in the Longmont area? Get in touch with The Wise Team today and we’ll help you navigate these shifting markets to find your dream home. Let’s start house hunting today!