Key findings from the May 2017 research report include:

• New and active listings in May were up approximately 10 percent across the state over the prior month. However, year-over-year active listings are down more than 32 percent.

• Median sales price for a single-family home in the Denver metro area inched slightly higher in May to hit another record high: $407,000.

• Statewide, the median sales price for a single-family home hit $365,000, while the condo/townhome median sales price dipped slightly to $267,000 but is still 10 percent higher than a year ago.

• Low inventory remains a driving factor in the market as there were just over 20,100 active Colorado listings, down 32 percent from a year prior. In the Denver Metro area, there were just over 7,900 active listings, down 34 percent from a year ago.

Despite flat to modest improvements in the months supply of inventory, 2.1 months across the state and 1.5 months in the Denver Metro area, the overall inventory is down more than 34 percent across the state and in the Denver metro area as well.

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. – June 12, 2017 – Despite the start of the spring season and anticipated upticks in the state’s overall housing market activity, record low inventory, strong buyer competition and healthy sales once again fueled a seller’s market in May, according to the latest statewide housing report from the Colorado Association of REALTORS^® (CAR).

Median sales prices stayed relatively flat in May across Colorado at $340,500 but are up more than 8 percent from last year. In the Denver metro region, overall median sales prices remained flat between April and May; however, they too are up 5.5 percent from the same time last year. The median sales price of a Denver metro area single-family home edged up to another CAR Market Trends report record high of  $407,000, while condominium/townhome median sales prices dipped $1,900 to $268,000.

Statewide Median Sales Price 2017

Metro Region Median Sales Price 2017

Although new and active listings were up more than 10 percent from the prior month, there are far less active listings (-32 percent) than a year ago across the state and -34 percent in the Denver metro region.

Statewide New Listings

Metro Region New Listings

Statewide Active Listings

Metro Region Active Listings

The month’s supply of housing inventory remains right at about 2 months across the state and is more than 34 percent lower than one year ago. Balanced markets range from a 4-7 month supply.

Statewide

In the Denver metro region, inventory supply is closer to 1.5 months overall and as little as 1.1 months for townhome/condominiums.

Denver Metro Region – Months Supply of Inventory

As expected in current market conditions, the average days a for-sale home stayed on the market continued to drop. Statewide, the report shows a 45-day average for single family and townhome/condo units, down 3 days from a month ago, while the Denver metro market saw that average dip to just 22 days from the time a house goes on the market through closing.

Here are a few quotes about the most recent housing market conditions from Colorado Association of REALTOR^®  research spokespersons representing regional markets:

“We had the pleasure of seeing more listings come on the market in Boulder and Broomfield counties but they were gobbled up just as fast as they were listed.  With prices still increasing at a fast pace, the demand was obviously there to absorb the new supply.  We are still in a strong, seller’s market with most homes in the median price range selling in less than 30 days,” said Boulder-area REALTOR^® Kelly Moye.

“Inventory continues to cause the largest challenge for Denver County. In April we were down 26 percent from the previous year with May coming in at 29.2% below for single-family residences. What has remained unaffected is the percentage of list-to-sold prices. In May, Sellers could expect to receive 100.7 percent of their list price, 100.3 percent for condos and townhomes. With Buyers having less options to choose from, we can expect to see this competition and therefore list-to-sold ratios increase,” said Denver-area REALTOR^® Matthew Leprino.

“There were 995 new listings that hit the market and 794 homes that sold. This is a slight increase for both new and sold from May of 2016. The Medium sales price is still at $425,000. The DOM (days on Market) has dropped to nine days, down from 27 days in May 2016. Inventory is still low with only 1.2 months of supply. The median sales price for townhomes/condominiums is at $254,000. There were 289 new listings and 272 townhomes that sold.

“There seems to be more single-family homes and townhomes coming on the market in the last two weeks, however, they are still under contract within a few days. The homes that are on the market from $350,000 and under have multiple offers and are still receiving offers over asking price. The homes above $425,000 seem to be sitting a bit longer on the market, however, they still do not last long,” said Golden-area REALTOR^® Barb Ecker.

“The I-76 corridor is shaping up to be the next ‘New Frontier’ as it expands the metro region and stretches east toward Colorado’s plains. From where it splits into Hwy 85, development is happening on both sides of the interstate.  In the Brighton area, commercial development, including restaurants and retail, continues to pop up at the Prairie Center located at I-76 and Eagle Blvd. On the residential side, active listings are limited and many home buyers are turning to new construction. With seven active residential builders in the area, there is no shortage of new construction taking place and it ranges from affordable housing to high-end custom homes.  While the average sale price of a metro region home topped $475,000 in the month of May, the average sale price of an Adams County home was just over $365,000, and in Weld County it was $354,910. With home prices on the rise, this ‘New Frontier’ may be appealing to many homebuyers,” said Brighton-area REALTOR^® Jody Malone.

“The Telluride area market was up 43 percent in dollar amount of sales for May and the number of sales were up 34 percent over May 2016. That makes the year-to-date sales up 46 percent in dollars and up 16 percent in the number of sales. In the last 12 months, the upper 25 percent of our market has started to percolate. Inventory below $2 million is limited but inventory over $5 million has a good selection. A single-family home in the Town of Telluride sold in the last thirty days for $1300 per square foot. That’s the first time we’ve reached that price point since the 2005-07 sales era. Our summer sales season has started early and most brokers are very busy,” said Telluride REALTOR^® George Harvey.

“The Pueblo Market continues to stay strong with our sold units up 5.1 percent, and median pricing up 16.8 percent. Despite an uptick in new home permits, inventory continues to be an issue as our active listings were down 38.4 percent.  The $220,000 and under market is strong and we continue to see multiple offers,” said Pueblo-West REALTOR^® David Anderson.

The Colorado Association of REALTORS® Monthly Market Statistical Reports are prepared by Showing Time, a leading showing software and market stats service provider to the residential real estate industry, and are based upon data provided by Multiple Listing Services (MLS) in Colorado.  The May 2017 reports represent all MLS-listed residential real estate transactions in the state.  The metrics do not include “For Sale by Owner” transactions or all new construction.

The complete reports cited in this press release, as well as county reports are available online at: https://coloradorealtors.com/market-trends/

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CAR/SHOWING TIME RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The Colorado Association of REALTORS® (CAR) Monthly Market Statistical Reports are prepared by Showing Time, a Minneapolis-based real estate technology company, and are based on data provided by Multiple Listing Services (MLS) in Colorado.  These reports represent all MLS-listed residential real estate transactions in the state.  The metrics do not include “For Sale by Owner” transactions or all new construction.  Showing Time uses its extensive resources and experience to scrub and validate the data before producing these reports.

The benefits of using MLS data (rather than Assessor Data or other sources) are:

Accuracy and Timeliness – MLS data are managed and monitored carefully.

Richness – MLS data can be segmented

Comprehensiveness – No sampling is involved; all transactions are included.

Oversight and Governance – MLS providers are accountable for the integrity of their systems.       Trends and changes are reliable due to the large number of records used in each report.

Late entries and status changes are accounted for as the historic record is updated each quarter.

KEY METRICS GLOSSARY

New Listings –This is a measure of how much new supply is coming onto the market from sellers.  For example, Q3 New Listings are those listings with a system list date from July 1 through September 30.

Pending/Under Contract – This is the most real-time measure possible for homebuyer activity, as it measures signed contracts on sales rather than the actual closed sale.  As such, it is called a “leading indicator” of buyer demand.

Sold Listings – This measures how many home sales were actually closed to completion during the report period.

Median Sales Price – This is a basic measurement of home values in a market area and basically states that 50 percent of the homes sold were either higher or lower than the Median Sales Price.

Average Sales Price – This is another basic measurement of home values in a market.

Percent of List Price Received – The mathematical calculation of the percent difference from the list price and the sold price for those listings sold in the reported period.

Days on Market – A way to measure how long it is taking homes to sell.

Affordability – Uses median sales price, prevailing interest rates and average income to measure local housing affordability.  A higher number is usually interpreted as greater housing affordability.

The Colorado Association of REALTORS® is the state’s largest real estate trade association representing more than 24,000 members statewide. The association supports private property rights, equal housing opportunities and is the “Voice of Real Estate” in Colorado.  For more information, visit https://coloradorealtors.com.