REAL ESTATE Metro Denver Sees Record Surge in Listings Buyers have 75% more homes to consider than they did a year ago By Aldo Svaldi asvaldi@denverpost.com Metro Denver experienced a record surge in active home and condo listings at the end of May, with home prices remaining mostly flat, according to a monthly update from the Denver Metro Association of Realtors. On May 31, there were 9,159 homes and condos listed on the market, a 31% increase from the 6,990 listings at the end of April. Compared to the 5,228 listings available a year ago, the inventory is up 75.2%. Historically, active listings have risen an average of 7.5% between April and May. However, this year the inventory rose by 31%, surpassing the previous record gain of 26.8% set in 2019. While May’s percentage gain was a record, the number of listings would need to triple to approach the high mark reached in 2006 and would require another 63% gain to match the historical average for the month in records dating back to 1985. Libby Levinson-Katz, chairwoman of the DMAR Market Trends Committee, mentioned that market forecasts had predicted inventory to stay flat as long as mortgage rates didn’t drop significantly. The expectation was that sellers with 30-year mortgages below 4%, and even below 3%, had little financial incentive to list their properties and pay more to borrow for a new place. Only those needing to move for reasons such as job changes, debilitating illness, or divorce would give up such favorable rates. “However, that doesn’t seem to be the case, as sellers have been not only stepping but jumping off the fence to enter the market for a variety of reasons,” she said. New listings increased from 5,979 in April to 6,966 in May, a rise of 16.5%. The annual gain in new listings, May vs. May, was 33.9%. Meanwhile, the number of closings was less impressive. Sales rose 5.7% to 4,198 last month but are down 4.4% compared to May 2023. Pending sales, a measure of future activity, increased only 1.9%. The median price of a single-family home sold dropped 0.26% from April to $660,000. It is up 0.53% over the past year. The median price for condos and townhomes dropped 2.8% to $407,250 and is down nearly 4.2% over the past year. Levinson-Katz noted that condo and townhome owners have faced a triple financial hit from rising HOA fees, more association assessments, and elevated property taxes. Higher home values have led to higher property taxes, while increased insurance premiums have been passed through via higher HOA fees. “Homeowners in the condo market are paying more to hold onto their properties. As a result, by and large, they are not appreciating as well as they once did due to buyer hesitancy to take on the financial burden,” she said. Denver Post, 6/6/24