via The Denver Post

By Sara B. Hansen | Published on September 12, 2024

The Denver metro’s sluggish summer selling season continued in August.

Despite active listings climbing 56 percent over August 2023, closed sales dropped last month, according to the August monthly real estate trends report from the Denver Metro Association of Realtors.

Active listings jumped from 6,858 in August 2023 to 10,724 last month. The average number of active listings for August (from 1985-2023) is 15,439, with the record high of 31,664 in 2006 and the record low of 3,582 in 2021.

Closed sales dropped 10% from a year ago, from 4,038 to 3,622.

“As Labor Day traditionally marks the end of summer, I hope it also marks the end of a rather uneventful summer of real estate,” said DMAR Market Trends Committee member Susan Thayer.

“Whether potential sellers were still feeling tied to their homes by the ‘golden handcuffs’ of historically low mortgage rates, and/or potential buyers were waiting ‘for the Fed to lower the rates,’ the summer of 2024 felt somewhat stagnant.”

The median sales price of $590,000 was down 1.7% from July’s $599,000 but up 1.4% from $581,600 in August 2023.

The days on market shot up 91% from 11 days in August 2023 to 21 days last month, but despite sellers offering more concessions, the close-price-to-list-price ratio remains virtually unchanged at 99%.

“Generally, there does not seem to be a large sense of urgency for buyers or sellers,” said Libby Levinson-Katz, chair of the DMAR Market Trends Committee.

“Buyers continue to watch the homes that have come up in their searches and may even be tempted to take a look. However, they aren’t placing offers on homes unless it perfectly aligns with their wish list.”

Higher-priced homes

Year-to-date, the sales volume of homes priced over $1 million is 13% higher than in 2023 and 114% higher than in 2021. At the same time, days on market remain at 20, and the close-price-to-list-price ratio held steady at 98%.

“Buyers feel no rush to make a move,” said DMAR Market Trends Committee member Amanda Snitker.

“The fall months tend to be a slower part of the year historically, so we expect the market to remain sluggish through the end of the year, providing buyers willing to take the plunge to find favorable opportunities. Sellers in this price segment must be patient with the timeline and practical when pricing their homes.”