The Current State of Denver Real Estate - September 2024
Based on the chart above, you can see that number of homes going under contract did increase substantially, year over year with an increase of nearly 30%. Interest rates had started to tick down during the month of September with the hopes that the Federal Reserve would reduce them even further with the election right around the corner. The number of new homes coming onto the market also increased by 11% as did the inventory levels, which now indicate a supply of 14.4 weeks. Home prices decreased slightly as did the number of homes actually closing, since September’s closings actually reflect the activity from August, which was slower than years past.
The month of October is turning out to be quite interesting. The increase in pending home sales for the month of September gave sellers a glimmer of hope and many sellers saw their homes go under contract. However, despite an announcement by the Federal Reserve of a 50 basis point interest rate reduction, rates have actually gone up approximately 1% and are back up around 7%. Although historically, that is still relatively low, the fact that home prices have increased so dramatically since 2020, have left many potential new home buyers on the sidelines. To buy a median priced home, a new home buyer needs to make well over $150,000 to qualify and that’s with very limited debt and a 20% down payment. Affordability is still a major factor in the Denver Metro area.
As with most things, real estate continues to be local. Various neighborhoods continue to reflect different levels of competition and pricing increases or decreases. As a whole, prices for detached properties decreased by 6% when compared to August, and prices for attached properties stayed relatively flat month over month. There is still nearly a $225,000 difference between the median price of a single family home versus an attached home. I think the market as a whole is continuing to hold its breath until after the election. Depending on the outcome, there could be some wild swings. Buckle up!
