Summer cool down hits early: Denver real estate market fizzles in June

The once-predictable Denver metro residential real estate market feels topsy-turvy at the year’s midpoint, according to the monthly real estate trends report from the Denver Metro Association of Realtors.

“A once reliable market with a peak selling season in June has taken a detour,” Libby Levinson-Katz, chair of the DMAR Market Trends Committee, said in the report.

“The main culprit of higher interest rates is easy to identify. However, contrasting perspectives on the market have been summed up well by memes circulating the internet: buyers fear a repeat of 2008, sellers hope for a return to 2021 conditions and renters expect interest rates to drop back to three percent. While none of these views are true, the increasing inventory is moving our market towards a balanced market with the current months of inventory sitting at 2.78.”

Active listings rose 11.5 percent month-over-month to 10,214, a 68.27 percent jump year-over-year.

However, new listings dropped to 5,825, down 16% from May but up 3% from last year.

Closed sales of 3,678 dropped 17% from May and 17% from last year, with the total sales volume of $2.7 billion down 16% from May and 15% year-over-year.

Median days on market clocked in at 12 in June, up 33% from May and 71% from last June.

The closed median price at $608,000 was up about 1% from May and 2% from last year.

The closed-price-to-list-price ratio for June was 99.6% compared to 99.8% in May and 100% last year.

Buyers become more assertive

As more sellers compete for fewer buyers, they’re providing more concessions.

In May, 56.3% of closed transactions paid a seller concession, with the average concession being $9,250 and the median of $7,000, according to the report.

Last year, only 47.8% included a concession, with an average concession of $7,723 and a median of $5,000.

The number of contract terminations is also rising, forcing sellers to make more concessions during inspection negotiations to keep closings on track.

Million-dollar+ property sales stall

Colleen Covell, a market trends committee member and realtor at Mile Hi Modern, said June broke the historical trend of high-priced sales in June.

“Last month featured some of the most sluggish activity the million-dollar-plus market has seen in years,” she said.

The number of closings in this segment plunged almost 50% from May.

“With showing activity coming to a virtual standstill in the highest-priced segments, sellers and listing agents were left scratching their heads and asking, ‘Where have all the buyers gone?’”