DENVER — The challenges for homebuyers in the Denver metro area are only getting worse, according to a new report released by the Colorado Association of Realtors.
"The offers just [keep] getting beat out left and right," said first time homebuyer Nolan Baker Thursday after attending the first showing of a southeast Denver property.
"This has actually been probably one of our favorites," he said about the home.
But as Baker's learned, placing the initial bid in this housing market doesn't guarantee a thing.
"It definitely makes it a little more stressful as a first time homebuyer," he said.
As his real estate agent, Joy Dysart pointed out, the bids over asking price have been at an all-time high.
"We're seeing over asking up to $100,000, $160,000 and waiving all inspections, waiving appraisals, things like that," Dysart said.
Offers like this are no longer a surprise when taking into account a new report released Thursday by the Colorado Association of Realtors (CAR). The report shows only 1,400 homes were listed in the entire Denver metro area in January, which is a nearly 60 percent drop in inventory from the same time last year.
"We have tied last month for the historic, lowest amount of inventory on record," said Matt Leprino, CAR spokesperson.
Demand on the other hand has skyrocketed.
"The median property went up 19 percent in just one year with our latest statistics," Leprino said.
According to the National Realtors Association, the Denver metro ranks in the top 10 for least available homes for sale that can be afforded by a family making between $75,000 to $100,000 a year. That means a family making $100,000 a year can only afford about one in every 350 homes on the market here.
"It takes some finagling to get a property now," Dysart said.
The luxury of taking your time to decide if a home is right for you is gone. You got to move.
"The decisions are a snap decision," Baker said.