Colorado Association of Realtors report January 2016
Sold Listings – Statewide
The median price of the 6,617 single-family homes sold in December was $305,000, an increase of 9 percent compared to December 2014 and up $4,000 from November of this year. The median price for the 2,092 condominiums and townhouses sold last month was $226,000, an increase of 14 percent compared to a year ago. Over the last six months of 2015 housing prices started to level out with smaller increases month-to-month. The number of new listings dropped significantly from November to December – down 25 percent for single-family homes and -28 percent for condominiums/townhouses. Despite these historically low figures, new listings in 2015 were an improvement over 2014.
Of great concern continues to be the low inventory of homes available for purchase in nearly every area of the state. For both single-family homes and condominiums/townhouses, inventory is at a five-year low and dropped an additional 18 percent for single-family and -16 percent for condominiums/townhouses between November and December. As a result the supply of homes is below 2.5 months statewide and considerably lower in some areas. Experts consider a 5-7 month supply to be a balanced market which favors neither buyers nor sellers.
In the Metro Denver Region (Denver, Jefferson, Adams, Arapahoe, Broomfield and Douglas counties) sales in December of both single-family homes and condominiums/townhouses improved by 21 percent over November. Compared to 2014, the 42,818 single-family homes sold in 2015 were 3 percent more while the 16,696 condominiums/townhouses sold in this region represent a 10 percent increase.
Sold Listings – Metro Denver
The median price for a single-family home in Metro Denver rose $5,000 to $343,000 in December, an increase of 9 percent over December 2014. The year-to-date median price for condominiums/townhouses jumped 18 percent compared to 2014 and settled around $223,000 for the final two months of the year.
New listings dropped 29 percent for single-family homes and -36 percent for condominiums/townhouses from November to December contributing to the ongoing problem of low inventory. As with most other areas of the state, inventory in the Metro Denver region dropped to its lowest level in five years. In December there were around 5,100 single-family homes and just under 1,200 condominiums/townhouses available representing a 1.4 month and 0.8 month supply respectively.
The Colorado Association of REALTORS® Monthly Market Statistical Reports are prepared by 10K Research and Marketing, a Minneapolis-based real estate technology company, and are based upon data provided by Multiple Listing Services (MLS) in Colorado. The December 2015 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.