Denver’s red hot home market experienced a cooling in September, according to the latest statistics from Denver’s Metrolist. Metrolist notes that home sales decreased by 15% and condo sales by 11% in September from August. While the average price for a condo remained steady at $218,900, home prices dropped by 2%, averaging $365,800.
Listed homes remained on the market longer than the previous month, although they still sold quickly at an average of 32 days for homes and 28 days for condos.
The news of the slowing market should be welcome news to home buyers who were faced with a frenzy of competition this summer as they vied for properties, although inventory remains low:
Current listings were 11% and 16% lower in September than August for homes and condos respectively.
Industry experts attributed a similar drop in sales in August to typical yearly cycles. “As kids head back to school, we tend to see a slowing of the housing market; this year is no exception,” Kirby Slunaker, president and CEO of Metrolist, told the Denver Business Journal.
“Despite the August trends showing a slowdown in the market, many brokers, including myself, remain confident… the selling season will remain strong heading into fall and throughout the holidays,” Anthony Rael, chairman of the market trends committee for the Denver Metro Association of Realtors told the Business Journal.
Overall, home buying confidence remains strong in Denver and throughout the country, according to the Zillow Housing Confidence Index.
The confidence index for the nation rose to 64.2 over the summer, while the Denver confidence index rose to 67.1% from its January 2014 rate of 64.4%. (The index is on a scale of 0 to 100.)
Zillow credits millennial renters for the increase, noting that they are more confident about their ability to buy a home than older generations. They are also more likely to think home values will appreciate in the coming months. “It’s heartening to see younger renters express so much confidence in their ability to buy a home in coming years, because today’s renters by necessity are tomorrow’s buyers,” Stan Humphries, Zillow’s chief economist, recently told the Business Journal.