Latest Denver home construction trends show off at Parade of Homes

The 2024 Denver Parade of Homes — the month-long event to showcase the greatest and latest trends across the region’s newest houses — is wrapping up.

Each year since the 1980s, the Home Builders Association of Metro Denver puts on a "parade" of newly constructed single-family homes, townhouses and condominiums for sale.

This year, the association is featuring nearly 80 homes across eight counties in the Denver metro area built by 27 construction firms.

It runs until through Sunday, Aug. 25.

The Parade of Homes is free to the public through self-guided tours and virtual tours. The homes featured in the parade are for sale, but many people come to see what the latest trends are or get inspiration for their own homes, said Connie Dahl, the association’s vice president of member services.

“It does tend to be very, very popular with anybody looking for a new home or new ideas,” Dahl said.

The construction of single-family homes rebounded in the Denver metro area after high interest rates slowed development in 2022.

New construction of single-family homes in the Denver metro area was up 24% in June from the year before, according to the Federal Reserve’s economic data of building permits. Though construction of homes is still at a slower pace compared to 2020 and 2021.

This year, the trends driving construction revolve around two common themes: technology and affordability.

New home technologies

The parade featured several net-zero ready homes, which are capable of producing as much energy as it consumes, Dahl said.

These homes typically rely on solar energy and use little-to-no energy from the electric grid.

“It is super energy efficient, so you've got really low to no energy bills,” Dahl said.

A 3,302-square-foot house built by Colorado-based Markel Homes in Longmont’s West Grange neighborhood, currently starting at a base price for $994,900, is one of the parade’s energy efficient options.

The developer is a partner of the Department of Energy’s Zero Energy Ready Home Builder program and builds homes with stronger moisture control, thermal insulation, high-efficiency appliances and roofs able to hold solar panels if an owner ever chooses to install them.

Another trend growing more popular is smart homes.

There’s more homes being built with voice activation features, Dahl said, and devices like thermostats, lightbulbs and door locks connecting to WiFi.

Homebuilder Brookfield Residential equips some of its newly-constructed homes using smart technology that can be controlled by Alexa, Siri and Google Voice or a cellphone app.

Combating high cost of living

As Denver struggles with high cost of living — most single-family homes in the urban region are selling for at least $600,000 — different models of homes are rising as well.

Multi-generational houses are becoming more popular amidst new construction as more families want space for their grown-up children to live in or older parents to move-in, Dahl said.

In the Parade of Homes, builder Richmond American Homes of Colorado is featuring a 4,820-square-foot-home in Littleton’s Sterling Ranch neighborhood that has two laundry rooms, two master bedrooms and a separate entryway. The price starts at $758,950.

“It's obviously very important right now with the lifestyles that people are choosing,” Dahl explained.

Another trend to help people attain housing is affordable condos.

The parade is featuring the Burrell Condos, the Invalesco Real Estate development of nearly 50 income-restricted condos in the historic Five Points neighborhood that debuted in May.

The condos at the complex start at $205,000 and 674 square feet. The units are only available to households at or below 80% of the area median income (AMI), which is currently a maximum income between $71,000 and $119,000 depending on household size.

The condo tower is built on the Elevation Community Land Trust, a Denver non-profit organization that acquires land to develop permanently-affordable housing options. It basically sells the home but leases the land under it to the homeowner to ensure the property stays “community-owned.”

The Parade of Homes is a chance to see some of the most popular homebuilding trends in action, but it’s also trying to sell a growing segment of the housing market.

Despite the Denver metro area’s slowing housing market since pandemic highs, the region is still seeing a shortage of homes and builders are struggling to keep up with demand.

“There will continue to be demand, which unfortunately drives prices up, so right now would be a great time to come into the market with a new home,” Dahl said.

While higher interest rates have made it more expensive to take out a mortgage, Dahl said builders can offer more flexible financing packages for new homes than resale homes can.

New construction homes are also popular for being customizable and being built with the most modern standards, she explained, and the price of new homes are starting to even out with older homes – though they might be smaller.

“The architects who have designed these homes know the way that life flows through these new homes,” Dahl said. “Sometimes you can actually find a smaller home that lives bigger than a very much larger home.”