Denver metro’s housing market is a bit ‘unpredictable,’ June report shows

For the first half of 2024, it seemed like the Denver area’s housing market was beginning to bounce back to its regular cycle despite higher interest rates.

As sellers became more comfortable putting homes on the market, according to the June Market Trends report from the Denver Metro Association of Realtors, buyers are still taking their time. Because of that, the month was "unpredictable," DMAR said in a statement.

“The once-predictable Denver metro real estate market feels topsy-turvy as we navigate a new landscape,” said Libby Levinson-Katz, chair of the DMAR Market Trends Committee, in the report.

The irregularities may be cutting the region's peak selling season short.

DMAR, the organization representing thousands of local real estate agents, analyzes the 11-county metro area’s housing market every month using data from the state’s largest multiple listing service (MLS) REcolorado.

But the organization is facing internal disputes over the sale of REcolorado.com, where most homes in the state are listed on the market.

Its parent companies DMAR and the South Metro Denver Realtor Association are selling the MLS in response to the national settlement case changing the rules on real estate agent commissions, but DMAR and SMDRA fired the entire board of REcolorado for publicly speaking out against the sale to a private investor.

When asked how the sale of the data could affect the region’s monthly real estate report, a DMAR spokesperson said: “So far no changes.”

In the June report, Levinson-Katz said buyers and sellers have a different view of the state of the market.

Buyers fear another 2008 crisis while sellers want the market to go back to 2021 heights. Both are misled, she added, rather the market is balancing from the influx of listings. Then there’s buyers who are still patiently waiting for interest rates to drop.

Active listings are up nearly 70% from June 2023, according to the report, but new listings fell to 5,800 from May’s high of nearly 7,000 homes — a notable trend as the selling season typically drops off later in the year when students start school and summer temperatures peak.

Despite the surge of homes in the market, closed sales are down nearly 17% from last year.

The number of days a home is on the market also climbed from 9 days to 12.

Some homes may be on the market for days, Levinson-Kantz said, but many are sitting for weeks if not months and sellers may wait longer if they don’t make concessions.

Most homes sold for at least $608,000, according to the report, up by 1.5% from last year.

The success of home sales “heavily” depends on the property, zip code and what price range it’s in, the report said.

Total sales volume fell 16% in June to $2.6 billion. In June 2023 and last month, the volume was in the $3 billion range.

“It is possible that we are simply experiencing a calm before the storm. Many consumers are holding off until the fall to align with the projection of lower mortgage rates,” Levinson-Kantz said. “While the market typically slows down ahead of a presidential election, we may find ourselves in the throes of a bustling market this election cycle.”