DENVER – If you’ve been on the market for a new home but haven’t been able to beat all-cash offers from investors or other buyers, things may soon work in your favor.
While we may not be there quite yet, Denver’s July housing report shows the market is shifting away from a seller’s to a buyer’s market.
“I think the name of the game right now is patience,” said Andrew Abrams, chairman of the DMAR Market Trends Committee in a recent interview with Denver7. “While the feeling is that things are slowing down – which is true – they're not slowing down to a pace that's going to like really shift the direction of the housing market and instead, it's just going to be stable.”
In this 360 In-Depth report, we’ll dive into:
- The latest trends from the July housing report
- What the numbers mean for buyers and sellers
- How much newcomers are outspending locals for homes
- Which ZIP codes are more/least expensive to buy a home in
- A new Denver program aimed at helping low-income families found housing
Things appear to be cooling off when it comes to the housing market, according to the monthly report from the Denver Metro Association of Realtors (DMAR).
There were 4,279 homes and condos sold in July, a 21.23% drop from the previous month and a 31% decrease from the year before. The number of active listings increased by 21.53% from June and 81.48% from a year ago.
Homebuyers who haven’t been able find a home will have an easier time now, as there were seven times as many homes in the market in July than at the start of the year, and twice as many since the end of April.
There were 5,650 active home listings by the end of July – a 20.62% increase from June and 96.32% from a year prior. Condo listings were at 1,711 by the end of the month, a 24.62% increase from the month prior and up 45.25% from July 2021.
Those looking to buy will also notice prices are also starting to come down, with the median price for a home going for $650,000, a 3% drop from June but up 8.47% from July 2021.
If you’re not in the market for a home just yet, condos are also a little less expensive, with a median price of $408,000 at the end of July – a 5.12% drop from a month prior.
On average, homes are on the market for 13 days. Back in April, homes took about 8 days to sell.
So what does that mean for buyers and sellers?
Abrams said the higher interest rates the country is seeing due to inflation concerns are the main driver in shifting trends, which is making sellers come up with creative ways to sell their homes.
“One of those is to buy down that interest rate for a potential buyer and therefore, make their monthly payments less. Then, it’s a closing cost that the seller can take on and everyone can win.”
As for buyers?
“Right now is a good time to buy,” Abrams told Denver7. “Interest rates even dipped a little bit from the last few months and so with prices starting to level off a little bit, (with) interest rates also leveling off now, it could be a great time to buy if you got burned out of the process in the past.”
If you’re buying though, be aware of the competition – and the location.
Transplants are outbidding Denverites when it comes to buying a home because they have bigger budgets to do so, according recent data released by RedFin.
The report shows people from out-of-state moving to Denver have a 11.8% advantage in their budgets over locals. Whereas Denverites had an average maximum budge of $879,964, transplants had $983,761 to spend on a new home.
Those figures come from an analysis of average maximum list-price filters for homes set by Redfin users in their saved searches.
Philadelphia, New York, Atlanta, Dallas and Portland make the Top 5 in that list.
The reason for these bigger budgets? RedFin states it’s because many of these transplants are remote workers moving in from more expensive places, “often with high hometown salaries and proceeds from a home sale.”
Those looking for a home won’t be surprised to know the Washington and Belcaro areas are the most expensive when it comes to buying a new place. The 80209 ZIP code had a median closing price of $1,025,000 – the only ZIP code with a median closing price at or above $1 million, according to the DMAR.
On the other hand, the 80247 ZIP Code – in which the Windsor and Dayton Triangle neighborhoods are located – is the cheapest place to find a home right now. The ZIP code had a median closing price of $306,5000. Surprised? Don’t be: 90% of homes in this ZIP code are condos or townhomes, the DMAR stated.
As housing – and more so, affordable housing – becomes an ever-present concern for many across the region, the Denver Housing Authority says it plans to open a lottery for the Housing Choice Voucher (formerly known as Section 8) to very low and low-income families on Sept. 15 and 16 of this year.
Loretta Owens, director of housing choice voucher programs of Denver Housing Authority, said the hope is to house 500 through this year’s lottery.
The lottery is open to people 18 years and older, U.S. citizens and eligible immigrants and those who have and have legal capacity to enter into a lease under state and local law. The following guidelines and important information apply to interested individuals and families:
- DHA will deny any applicants or any member of applicant’s household who is subject to a lifetime registration requirement under a state sex offender registration program OR has been convicted of manufacturing or producing methamphetamine in a public housing development or in a Section 8 assisted property.
- Criminal background checks will be conducted on all persons age 18 years and older.
- Participants will be required to enter the social security number for the head of household and co-head/spouse.
- Only one computer entry can be submitted per household. If you submit more than one entry, you will be disqualified. Multiple entries will be voided.
- Lottery entry is not transferable.
- Lottery entries must be complete. Incomplete entries will be voided.
- Please print the 'Lottery Number Confirmation Page' for your records.
- Report any change of address in writing to: DHA’s Front Door Occupancy and Admissions Department, 1401 Mariposa Street, Denver, CO 80204. Include name, social security number, and correct address in this notification.
- Do not pay anyone to participate in the Housing Choice Lottery.
For more information on the Housing Choice Voucher lottery, click here.
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