Talk about March madness. Last month, home prices in Denver set yet another record. According to the Denver Metro Association, the average price of a single-family home sold in March rose to $522,277. That is a 3.77% increase from February, which marked the first time the average price topped $500,000. And it was up 11.7% from a year earlier. These record prices are hitting the market just as the spring buying season begins to heat up.
Denver March Market Stats
The good news is that prospective house-hunters will have more homes to choose from than in February. 6,335 new listings hit the market last month, a 36.4% jump from the new listing that came on the market in February. And buyers are out there. Some 5,674 homes were placed under contract in March, a robust 34.52% increase from February and a 4.76% increase on a year-over-year basis. Homes also sold faster in March than in February. The average days on the market was 44 in March, a 15% improvement from 51 days in February.
Denver March Market Stats
Still, there is no doubt the market still suffers from a longtime shortage of homes for sale. Currently, there is only a 1.16-month inventory of unsold homes on the market. That is a mere five weeks. There is less than a month’s inventory of homes priced from $200,000 to just below $500,000. Even the luxury market ($1 million +) has only a 5-month supply. Normally, that would be considered a balanced market between buyers and sellers. In fact, the luxury market continues to be the strongest. There were 163 luxury home sales in March, a 43% jump from February and a 20.74% increase from March 2017.
Denver March Market Stats
“The luxury market ended the first quarter like Villanova: the big winner!” exclaimed Jill Schafer, a broker with Kentwood Real Estate and a member of the DMAR Market Trends Committee.
Denver March Market Stats
Meanwhile, if you look at the entire first quarter data, buyers have purchased 10,577 single-family homes and condos, a 6% decline from the first three months of 2017. Because of rising prices, the sales volume of all homes was a record $4.85 billion in the first quarter, a 4.7% increase from the first quarter of 2017. With sky high prices and strong demand, this spring is a great time to list your home!