If you’ve been wondering how Denver’s real estate market would make it through the pandemic, here’s an early answer: it’s doing great.
The chart below shows the record surge in contracts and sales. Contracts, which surged in May, surged further in June, along with a large jump in closings. (Statistics are for listings within a 25-mile radius of the state capitol building.)
The following table shows how the first six months of the past five years compare with each other in several key metrics, demonstrating among other things that the median days on the MLS has dropped as it has done in previous years from January through June, and that the average price per finished square foot has continued to rise year over year.
At Golden Real Estate, we have detected increased interest in relocating to Colorado from both coasts. The pandemic put apartment dwellers, in particular, in more fear of catching the virus, especially those dependent on elevators. Of course, we have apartment buildings in Denver, too, and we’re seeing people from there as well wanting to be “on the ground,” able to get outside without coming in close contact with others.
Not content with simply buying a detached single-family home, some buyers are looking to buy homes on acreage. Some are moving to the western slope.
All the after-effects of the pandemic are yet to be fully understood, so it should be an interesting rest of 2020. For example, permanent implementation of working from home could trigger an increased migration from city to countryside.
One thing is clear for now — that the real estate market is going to stay active and that it will be a seller’s market, although we have observed that overpriced homes are sitting on the market more than ever. When a home doesn’t sell within the first week, it’s important to lower the price right away instead of letting the listing languish on the MLS at its original listing price.
