In 2018, compared to 2017, the number of home sales was down 5.52 percent and housing inventory was up 44.71 percent by year-end.
2018 marked a record-high home sales price reaching an average of $473,539 and median of $409,900 for the entire residential market (single-family and condos), up 8.34 percent and 7.87 percent year over year respectively.
"Sellers celebrated in the first half of the year with a crazy blur of multiple offers and fast sales," said Jill Schafer, Chair of the DMAR Market Trends Committee and Metro Denver REALTOR®.
"It was buyers' turn to celebrate when the housing inventory jumped up in May and June, causing a market adjustment in the second half of the year and finally giving them some choices."
With more competition, many home sellers had to make price reductions for the first time in years according to Schafer. She shares, "With sales down and inventory up, it might not make a lot of sense for home prices to be up, but they continued to rise."
The average price for a single-family home in 2018 was $522,839, up 8.05 percent in a year. The average price of a condo increased 9.82 percent, ending 2018 at $351,677. Home prices continue to rise in large part because people continue to move to the Denver area. According to the US Census Bureau, 80,000 people moved to Colorado from mid-2017 to mid-2018. Schafer adds that Millennials are pouring into the real estate scene as first-time homebuyers adding to the demand.
Notably, sales volume in the entire residential market hit a high too in 2018 at $26.5 billion, up 2.36 percent compared to the year prior.
