denver housing market warning issued: 'price cuts are everywhere'
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By Giulia Carbonaro | Published on April 8, 2025
After years of explosive price growth during the pandemic, the Denver housing market is finally beginning to shift in favor of buyers, with real estate analyst Nick Gerli noting price cuts in the city "are everywhere."
Why It Matters
The homebuying frenzy that characterized the pandemic years, unleashed by relatively low mortgage rates and the rise of remote work, had a profound effect on the Denver housing market, sending prices through the roof. The median price of a home in the city was up by almost 35 percent in February 2025 compared to February 2020, Zillow data showed.
Now, inventory in Denver is above pre-pandemic levels, and mortgage rates are finally falling, giving potential buyers more purchasing power. As a result, the market is beginning to shift, and prices are declining.
What To Know
Denver is one of the most expensive housing markets in the country, with home prices reaching almost $600,000 across the metro.
The Colorado capital "saw a surge of buyer demand during the pandemic, which led to falling inventory, climbing prices, and a pickup in time on market," Hannah Jones, the senior economic research analyst at Realtor.com, told Newsweek.
"Home price growth peaked at 19.9 percent year over year in February 2022 before falling through much of 2023 and all of 2024. Despite easing, listing prices are still 13.5 percent higher than pre-pandemic in general, but 43.8 percent higher per square foot, explaining some of the buildup in inventory," she continued. "Essentially, buyers get much less for their money than they did pre-pandemic in Denver, and given high mortgage rates, many have taken to the sidelines."
Things are beginning to change in the city thanks to a slowdown in demand—partially due to employers' back-to-office orders and the end of the pandemic, growing inventory, and lower mortgage rates.
"Denver received an influx of people moving in during early rages of the pandemic, particularly in the outer suburbs," Gerli, the CEO of Reventure App, told Newsweek. "However, since then, migration into the metro has slowed significantly."
In the year ending in March, home prices fell an average 5.6 percent year over year, Realtor.com data showed. Similarly, in 2024, home prices fell an average 5.5 percent year over year. "Based on this recent market behavior, it is likely that home prices will continue to ease slightly annually," Jones said.
The average Denver home value was $552,056 as of February 28, according to the latest data available on Zillow, down 1.2 percent from a year earlier.
As of the same date, the median list price of a home in the city was $546,300, while the median sale price was $538,800, with 19.5 percent of homes sold for more than their list price and 59.4 percent sold under it.
According to a report by the Denver Metro Association of Realtors (DMAR), there were 9,764 condos and single-family homes available for sale at the end of March, up 14.2 percent from February and 67 percent from a year earlier. In the same month, the median close price of a home in Denver was $599,000, down 0.17 percent from a year earlier, according to DMAR.
Buyers finally have more options and are able to negotiate more with sellers, but they don't necessarily have much more purchasing power. With the volume of sales relatively unchanged, sellers are being forced to meet buyers where they are at and slash their original asking prices.
Supply is growing because of two factors, according to Gerli. "One: a big influx of new seller listings; and two: subdued buyer demand," he said. "Denver is one of the least affordable markets in the country, and that lack of affordability is taking a toll on the market in 2025."
Gerli recently wrote on X, formerly Twitter: "Denver's housing market is beginning to correct. Housing supply has surged to 91 percent above the long-term average. And price cuts are everywhere."
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U.S. Housing Market Data Suggests 'Breaking Point'
By Giulia Carbonaro
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After years of explosive price growth during the pandemic, the Denver housing market is finally beginning to shift in favor of buyers, with real estate analyst Nick Gerli noting price cuts in the city "are everywhere."
Why It Matters
The homebuying frenzy that characterized the pandemic years, unleashed by relatively low mortgage rates and the rise of remote work, had a profound effect on the Denver housing market, sending prices through the roof. The median price of a home in the city was up by almost 35 percent in February 2025 compared to February 2020, Zillow data showed.
Now, inventory in Denver is above pre-pandemic levels, and mortgage rates are finally falling, giving potential buyers more purchasing power. As a result, the market is beginning to shift, and prices are declining.
What To Know
Denver is one of the most expensive housing markets in the country, with home prices reaching almost $600,000 across the metro.
The Colorado capital "saw a surge of buyer demand during the pandemic, which led to falling inventory, climbing prices, and a pickup in time on market," Hannah Jones, the senior economic research analyst at Realtor.com, told Newsweek.
"Home price growth peaked at 19.9 percent year over year in February 2022 before falling through much of 2023 and all of 2024. Despite easing, listing prices are still 13.5 percent higher than pre-pandemic in general, but 43.8 percent higher per square foot, explaining some of the buildup in inventory," she continued. "Essentially, buyers get much less for their money than they did pre-pandemic in Denver, and given high mortgage rates, many have taken to the sidelines."
Things are beginning to change in the city thanks to a slowdown in demand—partially due to employers' back-to-office orders and the end of the pandemic, growing inventory, and lower mortgage rates.
"Denver received an influx of people moving in during early rages of the pandemic, particularly in the outer suburbs," Gerli, the CEO of Reventure App, told Newsweek. "However, since then, migration into the metro has slowed significantly."
In the year ending in March, home prices fell an average 5.6 percent year over year, Realtor.com data showed. Similarly, in 2024, home prices fell an average 5.5 percent year over year. "Based on this recent market behavior, it is likely that home prices will continue to ease slightly annually," Jones said.
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The average Denver home value was $552,056 as of February 28, according to the latest data available on Zillow, down 1.2 percent from a year earlier.
As of the same date, the median list price of a home in the city was $546,300, while the median sale price was $538,800, with 19.5 percent of homes sold for more than their list price and 59.4 percent sold under it.
According to a report by the Denver Metro Association of Realtors (DMAR), there were 9,764 condos and single-family homes available for sale at the end of March, up 14.2 percent from February and 67 percent from a year earlier. In the same month, the median close price of a home in Denver was $599,000, down 0.17 percent from a year earlier, according to DMAR.
Denver Colorado
The downtown Denver skyline, photographed from the Jacquard Hotel rooftop, on November 15, 2018. Raymond Boyd/Getty Images
Buyers finally have more options and are able to negotiate more with sellers, but they don't necessarily have much more purchasing power. With the volume of sales relatively unchanged, sellers are being forced to meet buyers where they are at and slash their original asking prices.
Supply is growing because of two factors, according to Gerli. "One: a big influx of new seller listings; and two: subdued buyer demand," he said. "Denver is one of the least affordable markets in the country, and that lack of affordability is taking a toll on the market in 2025."
Gerli recently wrote on X, formerly Twitter: "Denver's housing market is beginning to correct. Housing supply has surged to 91 percent above the long-term average. And price cuts are everywhere."
What People Are Saying
Nick Gerli, the CEO of Reventure App, wrote on X on Sunday: "I think a couple of things are going on in Denver. One is that the market's job growth and migration have really slowed. So there is structurally less homebuyer demand. As well as less renter demand. Secondly, the mortgage lock-in effect is now beginning to ease, which is propelling a massive backlog of new listings to the market."
Hannah Jones, the senior economic research analyst at Realtor.com, told Newsweek: "The steady decline in home prices and climb in inventory suggests that Denver's market is returning to balance. There were 8,500 on the market in March, the highest March level in the data's history (back to mid-2016). Though inventory has built up, prices are still elevated, especially on a price-per-square-foot basis, suggesting that buyers are waiting to see prices fall further before getting into the market."
Amanda Snitker, the chair of the DMAR Market Trends Committee, said in comments accompanying a report on the Denver housing market: "Five years later, the Denver Metro is experiencing the 'after'—a market returning to balance, though shaped by high interest rates. This market stabilization has come with lower buyer demand, higher inventory levels and stagnating prices."
What Happens Next
According to Gerli, home values could drop by 8 to 10 percent over the next 12 months "if the current trend holds" with growing inventory, widespread price cuts and an increasing number of days homes spend on the market before going under contract.
"When this happens, it's a clear indication of a buyer's market, and increased downward price pressure," Gerli wrote on X.
Inventory and price cuts are so high in Denver at this point, "declining prices are inevitable," the real estate analyst said. "However, if mortgage rates were to drop significantly, that could slow the pace of price declines."
Jones confirms that "an uptick in buyer demand or decreasing supply would change the current market dynamic."
"There were 33.3 percent more new listings in March 2025 relative to a year prior. If new listing activity pulled back, perhaps as sellers see less opportunity in the market, inventory levels could dwindle, which could put some upward pressure on prices," she said.
Jones added, "Additionally, an uptick in buyer demand, such as in response to falling mortgage rates, could lead to more buyer competition and steadying prices."