Ready to Make Your Move?Market Insights
For single-family homes priced below $1 million and condos between $750,000 and $1 million, it’s still a seller’s market. Home appreciation has slowed, but prices are still rising. It’s imperative that sellers price right immediately if they’re looking for a quick sale. In August, homes that sold after price reductions spent an average of 58 days on the market while homes that sold without price reductions spent just 13 days on the market.
Homes that Sold
4,506 homes sold in September. That’s down a slight 0.68% over August and up 5.44% year-over-year. The average home spent 33 days on the market, up 6.06% from August and up 22.22% from September 2018. Buyers are negotiating more on price, general terms and inspection items. In August, 41% of homes sold saw seller concessions compared to 34 percent in 2018 and 29 percent in 2017.
Pricing
Pricing right is becoming more of a challenge. When looking at homes that have sold, prices from spring aren’t exactly comparable to the market now. The average price for a home that sold in September was $483,734, up 6.06% year-over-year, while the median price was $415,000, up 3.75% year-over-year. The average homeowner with a mortgage gained $4,900 in home equity over the last year.
Inventory
9,286 homes were for sale during September, a decrease of .68% over August and a 5.44% increase over September 2018. The average number of active listings for September is 16,500. We saw a record high number of homes for sale during 2006, with 31,450. The record low for a September was in 2015, where we had 7,516 homes for sale. If inventory continues to rise, buyers will continue to gain negotiating power.
When there are more than enough homes for sale, it’s a buyer’s market. Since buyers have more to choose from, they tend to take more time to decide on the perfect home and, in general, the market slows down. When the supply of homes is low and demand is high, prices go up and we call it a seller’s market.
The Front Range is not experiencing a buyer’s market in most price ranges and areas. Many homes are taking longer to sell, we are seeing more price reductions and sellers are making more concessions to get to the closing table. However, homes under $1 million are in short supply compared to the demand, which remains constant. Things could change and buyers could gain the upper hand. If we see supply start to rise and demand remain the same, the market will remain healthy and buyers will get some much-needed relief. There will be fewer bidding wars and fewer multiple-offer situations. Sellers will have to out-market and out-price the competition to get maximum exposure to the right buyers.
Every neighborhood and every home is different. To find out how long it could take to sell your home, call me at 720-408-7409.
September numbers based on data from the Denver Metro Association of REALTORS®