After months of suffering inventory so tight that homebuyers found themselves aggressively competing with each other, the Denver market burst open in March, showing a 50% increase in new listings of single family houses.

“We were anticipating a bump,” Steve Danyliw, chariman of the Denver Metro Association of Realtors (DMAR) Market Trends Committee, told the Denver Post, “but it was a little surprising.” Danyliw noted that there is generally a rise in listings in March, albeit not usually so significant.

Whatever the reason for the surge, the number of new listings – 4,989 in March compared to 3,251 in February – is cause to celebrate, particularly after February’s record low number of listings. (The month represented only the third time active listings have dropped below 4,000.) And while normally, such a significant increase in listings would trigger concerns that the market would be overwhelmed, this was far from the case.

“[B]uyers soaked up many of the new listings, especially on the lower end of the market, as soon as they arrived,” reported the Denver Post. Half of the new listings in March were under contract within eight days, Danyliw told the newspaper. On average, homes stayed on the market for 39 days, compared to 43 days in February.

Meanwhile, prices continued to rise. The average sold price for single family homes and condos was $425,607 in March, representing a 6.18% increase over February’s $400,844.

The market shows no signs of slowing overall, as Colorado continues to be touted nationally as a desirable place to settle. According to DMAR, for example, WalletHub recently named Colorado the 5th best state for retirees and the 15th best for raising a family. “The research firm also named Denver the 10th most recovered city since the end of the Great Recession, among 505 other U.S. Cities,” reported DMAR.