Submit Feedback
Member Login
Blogs Homepage
Featured Entries
Recent Entries
Recent Comments
Tags
My Starred Entries
Create A Blog
RSS FeedDenver Market Conditions January 2008 |
Posted at Denver Real Estate Blogspot by Judith Clausen
Jan. 8, 2008
Categorized in: Denver Market Info
The Denver real estate market continues to improve for homebuyers. While homes available for sale in December continued a decline that began in August, reducing inventory by 9.3% compared to a rise a year ago of .28%, median prices for single family homes also declined from $229,500 in November to $220,000 in December, a drop of 4.14%. Condo median prices increased from $139,000 in November to $140,000 in December, an increase of 7.19%.
The rate of increase of all properties going under contract dropped dramatically in December by 15.12% A year ago the rate was a positive 2.19%, a difference of 17.31%. The credit crunch following the sub-prime mortgage crisis likely was a factor, plus homebuyers taking a longer time to scour the market for their perfect property.
Denver real estate is taking longer and longer to sell, 105 average days on market for single family homes and 114 days for condos.
The percent of list to sale price has stayed steady for most of the year, varying from 97% to 98% for single family homes and for condos. But in December the rate dropped to 96% for single family homes. On average sellers of single family homes are getting only 92% of the price they originally asked for and are having to lower prices substantially before a buyer will bite. Condos are getting only 90% of the original list price, though when they finally do sell, but they're getting on average 1% more than sellers of single family homes.
The Denver market is not in the same situation as many cities. We're still riding out the effects of the mortgage crisis which led to so many foreclosures, but values haven't dropped nearly as much as the rest of the country. Values dropped about 2% in 2007 and are expected to drop another 3% in 2008. Contrast that with Orange County, California (suburban Los Angeles) which dropped 10.2% or Boston a 13.3% drop.
Many parts of the country have suffered a double whammy with the real estate bubble bursting together with the number of foreclosures rising which put a downward push on prices. Denver's bubble burst in 2001, but values remained steady until 2007 when they began to drop. 2006 values increased an average of 2.7%, while values at the end of 2007 had dropped by 2%, a difference of 4.7%.
Interest rates are still low for borrowers of conventional mortgages, below $417,000. The lender I most often recommend quotes 5 3/4% as of January 8, 2008. With the fed expected to lower rates by a full point at its next meeting, interest rates should stay low throughout 2008. It's a great time to buy!
For further information or questions contact Judith Clausen at Buyers Advantage Real Estate of Metro Denver, 303-587-3509.
Word of the Day
Ask the Experts
Question of the Day
Member Login
Join RealTown
Request Password
RealTown RSS Feed