August Market Update

August broke most of the records set in July and then some. The strong buyer pool pushed average home sale prices to over $604,000 and kept inventory at a record low. At the end of August, there were 5,496 active listings, down 41% from last year. Additionally, 11% fewer homes were added to the market in August versus July. This lack of inventory puts the power in sellers’ hands. This can mean multiple buyers vying for the same property and we see many homebuyers paying over asking price for single-family homes and nearly full price for condos. This frantic pace can be partially credited to transplant numbers that are expected to be record-breaking all over Colorado.

When analyzing the market, a metric use is months of inventory. This number refers to how quickly the market would sell through the currently available listings if no more listings were added and the rate of sales continued. For example, single-family homes in the $500,000 – $750,000 range have the lowest inventory with only .66 months of inventory, 50% fewer homes then August of 2019. This is a stark contrast to the 5.3 months of inventory of condos priced over $1,000,000. With this many months of inventory, the luxury condo market is a part of the Denver market where sellers and buyers sit on a more even playing field.

The Denver luxury market, on the whole, is bustling. Denver’s luxury market is 93% single-family homes. While luxury inventory rose about 63%, pending contracts rose 107%, and sold homes rose 53% over August 2019. So even though there is more inventory than there has been in the past they are still moving quickly and at increasing prices.

As the Denver market powers into September, it is hard to expect what is next. Make sure you are working with an agent that understands your priorities and can help you decide your next steps.