The Denver metro area continues to grow and gain prominence in the national spotlight of post-Great Recession rebounds, with impressive price appreciation taking place at mid-year 2018. While the total number of homes sold January through June 2018 saw a slight decrease year-over-year, the increase in the overall total dollar volume sold of 6.7% was due nearly entirely from price increases (up 9.8% year-over-year). New listings to the market remained relatively the same year-over year at mid-year 2018, with the inventory of available listings remaining very low. This is because of seasonal and long-term trends. Part of the long-term, low-inventory problem is the limited number of completed new construction projects. The skilled labor market is incredibly tight, and the construction industry is one of the few sectors of the economy that has not rebounded. This imbalance of supply versus demand has created the rapid gains in value enjoyed by homeowners, but has also made choices and affordability a challenge for buyers. This trend exemplifies the classic, “seller’s market,” with average days on the market seeing a 4.2% decrease, to just 23 days, and a sold-price to list-price ratio of 99.8%.
Some of Denver’s hottest sub-markets can be discerned by looking at those same
statistics at a micro level. The LIV Sotheby’s International Realty Micro Market
Report breaks down the Denver metro area into over 50 neighborhoods, including
areas typically not analyzed by broader measures. At mid-year 2018, several micro markets demonstrated increases in average sales price in excess of 15%: Baker, Berkeley, Bonnie Brae/Belcaro, Bow Mar/Bow Mar South, Capitol Hill, Cherry Hills Village, City Park South, Columbine Valley, Country Club, Golden Triangle, Homestead, Lowry, Montclair, and Polo Reserve.
Buyers should be prepared to act fast and make strong initial offers, but sellers
should not be complacent either. High quality and excellent condition homes are rewarded greatly in today’s market, but the inverse is that anything less than stellar tends to linger and may have to go through a price drop (or series of), in order to sell. It’s never been more important to do everything right in all of the four “Ps” of marketing your home – pricing, packaging (staging), photography, and promotion. (coloradorealestatediary.com)