While inventory in the Denver housing market increased in April, the market remained tight, with prices still on the rise.
That’s the news from REcolorado’s monthly report, which showed a continuation of the tight, competitive market homebuyers have been facing for more than a year.
Home prices hit a record high in April, reaching $393,615. And while inventory rose 12% from March, buyers can’t really breathe a sigh of relief: The number of active listings (6,109) hit a record low for an April nonetheless, according to Denver Real Estate Watch.
“With demand high and homes selling at a record pace, there is no question the Denver housing market remains hot,” Kirby Slunaker, president and CEO of REcolorado told Denver Real Estate Watch.
“Homes are selling in weeks, not months, with condos and townhomes spending an average of just 18 days on the market and single family detached homes on the market for an average of just 27 days.”
With demand at all-time highs, a recent Zillow analysis might point to one of the reasons: Denver is among the top ten cities with a high concentration of wealthy millennials, those with household incomes of $350,000 or more. The city ranks No. 6 in the U.S. for this demographic, just behind Arlington, VA; San Francisco; Huntington Beach, CA; Sunnyvale, CA (tie); Seattle, WA (tie) and Pasadena, CA.
“Few housing markets are as hot as in Denver, where an influx of energy, finance and tech jobs have attracted young people to high-paid positions. About 3% of them made more than $350,000,“ notes Zillow.
Industry observers report that high prices aren’t deterring these millennials. “You can find much more affordable housing in Columbus, Ohio, or Detroit, but those aren’t the type of cities where millennials want to live,” one broker told Denver Real Estate Watch.
“A lot of them came from coastal cities and they are moving here for the quality of life and because their money goes further here. These are not the millennials who just moved out of their parents’ basement.”
Even with record high home prices, Denver remains less expensive than many other cities on the list. Median home prices in Pasadena, CA, and Huntington, CA are more than $700,000. And San Francisco and Sunnyvale, CA, both boast median home prices greater than $1 million.