Metro Denver Real Estate TrendsBy Lon Welsh, Metrolist Director and Charles Roberts, DMAR Director; Your Castle Real Estate

Here's a riddle: how can it be both a buyer'smarket and a seller's market at the same time?It sounds like a paradox but in fact it perfectlydescribes our current Denver Metro real estatemarket. Here's how.

In the market below $300k where 80% of thehomes are sold it's a blistering seller's market.There are only three months of inventory sit-ting on the market right now, where six monthsis considered a normal, balanced market. Thereare simply more buyers than sellers right nowand this is translating into multiple offers on list-ings, sales prices often well above asking prices,and marketing times plummeting. Particularlyhot is the market below $225k which has onlytwo months of inventory. It's not uncommonfor a listing to have 10 showings and a full priceoffer in the first week. Even in the $300k - $500kwe're hearing report after report that buyers aregetting out bid and multiple offers are becom-ing the norm.

There are a number of factors that havecaused this dynamic, one of which is the dra-matic reduction in the number of bank-ownedand short sale properties on the market. Thisreduction in distressed inventory has left regu-lar home sellers in a great position and contrib-uted to the sizzling seller's market.

Ok, so we know it's a seller's market. Then,how can it also be a fantastic buyer's market atthe same time? It is because according to the

Charles Roberts Lon Welsh

DENVER METRO ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS@

National Association of REALTORS@the Home. Affordability Index is at its highest recordingever. Just like it sounds, the HAl is a measure ofhow affordable homes are in a given area. It'scalculated by comparing the median price of ahome in the Metro Denver market to the medi-an worker's income level, taking into accountthe current interest rate for a 30-year fixedrate loan. What this means is that the medianincome earner can buy more house today thanever before. Why? Because home prices, whilerising quickly, are still well below their peakprices of 5-6 years ago and interest rates areat never-before-seen historic lows. Take it alltogether and the average home on the marketHAS NEVERBEENMOREAFFORDABLE.

So, while it seems like a paradox that it canbe both a great time to sell and a great time tobuy, it's true. Our job is to show our clients why.

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