DMAR Real Estate Market Trends Report
One-year post COVID and this unwavering seller’s market makes it clear that buyers are left making emotional decisions rather than factual ones when purchasing a home.
In March, the Greater Denver Metro housing area displayed itself as an emotional market, with nearly every statistic in the report justifying how much competition there is for buyers as well as how far they are willing to take their offers to secure a home.
Year-over-year appreciation is at 15.26 percent from $511,511 to $589,587 this March, while month-over-month appreciation is at 6.90 percent from $551,542. On par with recent months, median days in the MLS went down to four, while close-price-to-list-price ratio went up to 103.32 percent. Whether looking at detached or attached properties, it is a strong seller's market across the board.
“In a highly emotional market, it is one of the most challenging times to hone in on a price,” said Andrew Abrams, Chair of the DMAR Market Trends Committee and Metro Denver REALTOR®. “Instead of only using past sales as an indicator, one must also understand how much competition one has when submitting an offer. In other words: the data or facts are only a small piece of the puzzle. The bigger question is what are buyers willing to offer to beat out their competitors and go under contract?”
Theoretically, this month’s report shows that if a buyer waited just one month to buy a $500,000 property from the end of February to the end of March, they would have had to pay $35,000 more for that property.
Abrams continued, “As interest rates start to trickle up, prices continue to rise, and inventory continues to shrink, other consistent questions become whether the market is in a bubble and if now is a good time to buy? If you use supply and demand as a metric for the “bubble” question, it would be difficult to think that we are in one.”
Our monthly report also includes statistics and analyses in its supplemental “Luxury Market Report” (properties sold for $1 million or greater), “Signature Market Report” (properties sold between $750,000 and $999,999), “Premier Market Report” (properties sold between $500,000 and $749,999), and “Classic Market” (properties sold between $300,000 and $499,999).
As we enter the spring selling season, new listings in the Luxury Market are unable to keep up with buyer demand, in part because the report shows that as prices and appreciation continue to soar, more homes cross the threshold into the Luxury Market as a result.
New detached listings increased 28.03 percent with 402 new listings, up from 314 last month. This barely kept pace with the pending sales topping out at 399, a 26.27 percent increase month over month. As a result, sales volume was also up month-over-month 57.43 percent reflecting $558,253,910 at month-end.
Year-to-date detached new listings were up 4.23 percent from 923 last year to 962. Pending sales skyrocketed 95.98 percent year-over-year clocking in at 974, outpacing new listings hitting the market. In turn, closed sales were up 70.88 percent with 757 closed detached homes, up from 443 last year resulting and sales volume increased 79.15 percent to $1,230,567,497. Median days in MLS dropped to just 11, which is a record low for this market and the close-price-to-list-price ratio came in at 99.88 percent, representing a small 3.12 percent increase from last year.
“In the January report, I shared that the luxury attached market was a segment of the market where deals could be found, but it appears the secret is out,” said Libby Levinson, DMAR Market Trends Committee member and metro Denver REALTOR®. “Sales volume for the attached segment of the market is up 62.63 percent year-over-year to $64,182,709 and up 63.56 percent month-over-month from last month’s $39,240,156. As volume has gone up, median days in MLShas fallen from 27 days last year and even a whopping 35 days in February to only seven days in the month of March.”
The median days in MLS in March mirrored the detached segment of the market which currently lands at six days. Year-to-date the median days on market in 2019 was 63, and in 2020, it was 53, while 2021 is currently sitting at ten days.
