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By Cassidy Ritter | Published on February 5, 2021

We may have started a new calendar year, but Denver’s real estate market didn’t change—prices are still high, and inventory remains low. And, to no surprise, January was another record-breaking month in several categories.

In January, single-family homes in the Denver metro area sold for a record average $626,159, up 18.7 percent year-over-year. The previous record was set in October with homes selling for an average of $625,100. The average price of attached properties—condos and townhomes—also jumped to $397,792, exceeding $395,000 for the first time, according to the Denver Metro Association of Realtor’s Market Trends Report.

“Denver’s housing market is strong; we know that. Historically Denver runs a six percent gain in home values and teeters on a sellers-market in any year. This season, however, the housing market continues to hit extremes,” says Nicole Rueth, a DMAR Market Trends Committee member.

Andrew Abrams, chair of DMAR’s Market Trends Committee, says he expects to see high appreciation through the summer. However, it’s hard to predict after this summer, Abrams says.

“I do think there will be, at some point, a normalization, where we’re not seeing double digit appreciation,” he says. “We’re seeing so many offers on every house that instead of seven offers, if it goes down to two, that would be a more normalized form of appreciation.”

The increase in prices is a matter of supply and demand. The metro’s ended January with 2,316 homes on the market, marking the second time Denver had fewer than 3,000 active listings. The previous record-low was set in December 2020 with 2,541 active listings.

However, there were still homes to be sold. More than 4,200 homes were put on the market in January, up 39 percent from December but down 13 percent year-over-year.

“The name of the game for the market was speed,” Abrams says. “There were plenty of houses hitting the market, but you had to be very quick to react to them, quick to make a decision, and quick to be aggressive in order to get a house.”

Even with low inventory, 3,015 homes sold last month, and most properties sold for over list price, too. Abrams says the desire to sell homes is still not as high as the desire to buy. Most people move for a lifestyle change but COVID-19 makes people worry about the logistics of moving, he says.

With low inventory across all price points, the metro area continues to see a seller’s market, including luxury properties prices at $1 million and above. Last month, there were 2.22 months of inventory for luxury single-family homes and 3.65 months of inventory for luxury attached properties. Median days on the market for luxury single-family homes was 44 days and attached luxury properties sat on the market for a median of 42 days, according to the report.

“Luxury buyers were jumping for joy in January because they may not have had to compete quite as much as in other segments of the market,” says Brigette Modglin, DMAR Market Trends Committee member.