Buyers purchased a record $2.15 billion worth of homes and condos in the metro Denver area last month, but the frenzied pace seen earlier in the year is fading, according to a report Monday from the Denver Metro Association of Realtors.
The 5,695 homes sold in June represented a 10 percent increase from the number sold in May, while the number of active listings at the end of the month was also up 10 percent to 6,197.
Despite more homes available for sale, the average number of days a single-family detached home spent on the market fell to 25 in June from 28 in May. The number of days on market for condos fell to 18 from 20.
The average sold price for a single-family home increased 0.94 percent to $424,609 month-over-month, while the median price increased 0.84 percent to $362,000.
For condos, the average price declined 0.21 percent to $260,243, while the median price increased 1.28 percent to $217,999.
“There is a general feeling that things are cooling,”said Anthony Rael, chairman of the market trends committee of the Denver Metro Association of Realtors. “Things have been at such a frenzied pace, any sort of slowdown is noticeable.”
One sign of tempering is that sellers are seeing fewer offers above list price for the hottest segment of the market, homes priced between $150,000 and $350,000.
Whereas a seller might have waited knowing that four or five strong offers above the list price might come in, now they are motivated to seal the deal once one or two show up, Rael said.
While the inventory of homes for sale remains abnormally low, the added supply appears to be giving buyers more negotiating leeway and helping to calm the market.
Higher home prices combined with slightly higher mortgage rates may also be pushing some buyers to the sidelines, reducing demand.
Clear Capital’s home price index for metro Denver rose 1.7 percent between the first and second quarters. That remained the fastest increase out of 30 metro areas tracked by Clear Capital and nearly three times the national average.
But it was down from the 3.3 percent increase between the fourth and first quarters and Clear Capital is predicting metro Denver home prices will increase a slower 3.1 percent in the second half of the year.
Clear Capital, a real estate valuation firm based in Reno, Nev., predicts that San Francisco and San Jose, Calif. — areas that competed with metro Denver for the largest home price increases earlier in the year — will actually see home values decline in the second half of 2015.
Aldo Svaldi: 303-954-1410, asvaldi@denverpost.com or twitter.com/aldosvaldi
