The number of metro Denver home sales last year came in just under the record reached in 2015, but the sales volume hit a new peak with an 11.4% gain in median prices.
According to Steve Danyliw, chairman of the Market Trends Committee at the Denver Metro Association of Realtors, the low inventory is a major factor in these double-digit appreciation rates.
In 2016, 64,950 homes were listed for sale versus 65,878 in 2015, according to the latest market trends report from DMAR. Listings spent an average of 34 days on the market last year versus 31 days in 2015, and buyers closed on 55,634 homes, just short of the 56,062 homes sold in 2015.
Even though less units were sold, the homes that sold were worth more making the sales volume reach a new record of $22.2 billion, up from $20.3 billion in 2015 and $17.6 billion in 2014.
The median price of a single-family home sold in metro Denver ended the year at $377,450, up 8.5 percent from December 2015. For condos, the median price sold reached $257,500 in December, up 14.4 percent from a year earlier.
Year-to-date through December, the median price of a home or condo sold in the metro Denver area was up 11.4%, while the average price was up 10%, making this the second consecutive year of double-digit price increases.
Higher mortgage rates could push some buyers on the fence and will likely slow down the pace of price gains this year.
Since 1985, metro Denver has ended the year with an average of 13,702 listings for buyers to choose from. Last month ended with only 4,265 homes for sale, down 23.6% from November and the lowest tally for that month in records going back to 1985.
