The coming year will bring good news for both Denver area homebuyers and sellers, if a prediction by the University of Colorado’s Leeds School of Business is on target. Buyers will find relief in a slower-paced market in 2016, according to Leeds’ research, while sellers will still enjoy high demand for homes.

Ongoing population growth will continue to fuel demand for real estate in the Denver area, said one Leeds research associate, noting that factors such as “in-migration,” and a healthy job market “make a real estate bust in the Denver area unlikely in 2016.”

Richard Wobbekind, senior associate dean for academic programs at Leeds, underscored this optimism in a conversation with the Longmont Times-Call.

“Colorado will remain one of the top growth states nationally in 2016,” he said. “We benefit from being a very desirable state where people want to live and work, allowing us to attract top talent.

“…We are forecasting a slightly slower growth rate for 2016, but still a very good growth rate,” he added.

The latest statistics from REcolorado also show continued market strength. REcolorado reports a rise in both active (up 6%) and new (up 15%) listings from November 2015 over a year ago, as well as a 13% rise in the number of homes under contract compared to last year. This is good news for buyers, who have faced low inventory and highly competitive bidding situations in the past several years.

Meanwhile, despite increased supply, average sold prices remain high, rising 2% in November over October and 12% over November 2014.

While the recent numbers show a drop from the previous month (active listings decreased 19% and new listings decreased 37% from October to November), that’s typical for this time of year, experts say.

“As the winter weather moves in and thoughts turn toward the holidays, the housing market typically sees a month-over-month cooling trend during the fourth quarter,” Kirby Slunaker, president and CEO of REcolorado, told Denver Real Estate Watch.