DENVER – Denver’s competitive real estate market is a tough one for buyers right now: While housing inventory is on the rise, the number of homes on the market is much lower than the historical average and those homes are selling in a matter of days.
Finding available listings could be a matter of searching in the right places. Some cities in the Denver metro have far more homes for sale than others and the same goes for neighborhoods within Denver itself.
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Denver7 checked with the Denver Metro Association of Realtors to find out where the housing inventory is highest.
Denver has by far the most available listings of any city in the metro area, with nearly 1,800 as of Sept. 6. There were only about 7,300 active listings in the entire metro area in August, according to DMAR. The historical average is more than 17,000.
Here are the nine cities with the most inventory (this list includes both single-family homes and condos):
1. Denver – 1,779
2. Aurora – 703
3. Littleton – 335
4. Thornton – 256
5. Lakewood – 217
6. Westminster – 174
7. Englewood – 99
8. Commerce City – 96
9. Northglenn – 33
Looking within Denver itself, prospective buyers are more likely to find available homes in close-in neighborhoods. Cherry Creek and Wash Park both have the most inventory currently:
1. Cherry Creek – 42
2. Washington Park – 42
3. Cherry Creek North – 25
4. Highlands – 25
5. Windsor Gardens – 24
6. Berkeley – 23
7. Lower Highlands – 18
Finding available homes is just one fight in the battle. Buyers should be prepared for bidding wars, with some people offering far more than the list price and even including escalation clauses, which up their offer if another bidder comes in with a higher price.
The good news is that housing data for the Denver metro area seem to indicate that the market may be cooling down – at least somewhat. Prices have dropped slightly in the past two months and inventory continues to increase.
