DENVER – After two months of declines, home prices in metro Denver inched back up slightly in October, according to the latest numbers from the Denver Metro Association of Realtors.
DMAR reported the median home price for residential properties – both single-family detached homes and condos -- was $380,000 last month.
October’s increase doesn’t represent much of a jump – $5,000 compared to September – and it’s the same median price as August, so one could argue that prices are essentially holding steady for the time being.
Compared to the same time last year, however, prices are up 8.88 percent.
The real story for October may be the incredibly low inventory. After inching upward for months, the number of active listing plummeted by more than 16 percent to a record low for the month -- just 6,312 listings. The historical average for October is more than 16,000.
“The inventory number was a little scary in October and it was not what we were hoping to see,” said Steve Danyliw, Chairman of the DMAR Market Trends Committee. “In addition to fewer listings coming to the market, low housing inventory was also due to the surprising treat of higher-than-expected homes under contract. Even with cooling temperatures, homebuyer demand remains strong.”
It’s normal to see a slowing in the market this time of year and the speed with which homes are selling reflects that; the average number of days on the market is climbing. After hitting a low of 27 days in June, it took homes an average of 38 days to sell in October.
Denver’s luxury real estate market continues to thrive. 158 homes homes worth $1 million or more sold and closed last month, an increase of 32.77 percent compared to the month prior. Luxury sales are up nearly 50 percent compared to the same time last year.
The most expensive home sold in the metro area in October was a four-bedroom, six-bathroom single-family home in Denver.