How’s the Market?

Greater Denver Metro area • December 2020

Happy New Year! Here is to hoping for a year of forward-momentum and progress. The Denver Metro Association of Realtors just released their December 2020 Market Report and the citywide trends of record-low inventory and steady price gains continue into 2021.

Here are just a few of the highlights and trends to expect for 2021:

Record Low Inventory

There were only 2,541 active listings at the end of December, marking the first time home inventory has ever gone below 3,000.

There are 31,500 homes in Highlands Ranch. On December 31st, there were only 7 attached and 10 detached homes for sale. _{(DMAR, Dec. 2020)}

Increased Home Equity

Nationally, mortgage holders saw their home equity increase by 10.8% year-over-year since the third quarter of 2019, creating a collective equity gain of $1 trillion, according to CoreLogic.

Broken down, that is an average gain of $17,000 in home equity per borrower over one year; the highest gain in more than six years.

Shifting Trends

The overarching theme for 2021 will be options and abundance, according to a recent article by the National Association of Realtors.

Home buyers are looking for kitchens that can double as an office, smarter use of outdoor spaces, including heated patios and separate pre-fabricated flex sheds for additional space. The trend is shifting away from open-concept to a more intentional use of each space.

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The median number of days an active listing was on the market last month was seven days, driving buyer competition and pushing the average sold price to $574,000 in Denver. The chart below shows the steady increase in home prices in Denver since 2017, as compared to Highlands Ranch and Centennial. There are affordable homes to be found by moving outside of the city center, but as you can see, the trend of steady price increases spans the entire metro area.