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Good news for Colorado - fewer unsold homes on market

By John Rebchook, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published October 7, 2008 at 7:49 a.m.
Updated October 7, 2008 at 1:19 p.m.

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The number of unsold homes in the Denver-area market dropped by 21.14 percent in September from September, 2007, according to a report released this morning based on Metrolist data.

The report, by Mike Cox of RE/MAX Professionals, showed there were 23,932 unsold homes on the market, compared with 30,335 in September 2007.

“Months of inventory is decreasing,” Cox said in his report. “In September of 2007 there was 8.2 months of inventory available, while in September of 2008, there was only 5.6 months of inventory.”

The number of all homes and condos placed under contract jumped to 5,269, a 21.71 percent increase from the 4,329 homes placed under contract in September 2007.

The number of single-family homes placed under contract rose 22.88 percent from September 2007, and the number of condominiums placed under contract rose by 17.12 percent.

“It was a very surprising month,” said Gary Bauer, an independent broker who will release his own report later today, based on the same MLS data.

“There was a lot of sales activity, especially considering with everything going on in the financial and credit markets,” Bauer said. “I think there is a lot of pent-up demand out there.”

All homes placed under contract in September dropped by 5.74 percent from August. However, home sales almost always drop from August to September for seasonal reasons.

However, the median, or middle, price of a home sold and closed last month fell 11.78 percent to $216,150, compared with $245,000 in September 2007. The median price of a single family home was down 3.93 percent from August.

The median price of a condo sold was $139,900, a 5.47 percent drop from September 2007.

Comments

  • October 7, 2008

    10:57 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    Diff writes:

    Wow!
    A Tad bit of good news - but only if the trend continues!
    In the long run the current housing down turn will turn around and maybe in 3 or years, we might recover to the values of only 2 years ago.
    Now could be an excellent time to buy. If you are a first time buyer of an investor with some cash and do not mind being a landlord. there are good opportunities out there!
    Our Colorado economy over all has traditionally not been quite as sever as the nation as a whole - we lag behind a bit and for the most part do not swing as high or as low as the nation. If that holds - we may be lucky, but for sure - tougher times are ahead, before things get better.

  • October 7, 2008

    1 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    jlgraybill writes:

    Good news? What about the footnote buried at the end that "the median, or middle, price of a home sold and closed last month fell 11.78 percent". This is the telling stat, and not the inventory or sales numbers. The reasons for the low inventory numbers, is because the prices are low and the lending is tight. People that want to sell their homes aren't putting them on the market because they don't want to compete with the foreclosures and low prices. It's simple Supply and Demand Economics: as prices fall, supply falls and demand increases. That's why we're seeing lower inventories and higher sales.

    Whenever prices actually start to improve, we're going to see this the only pent up demand which actually exists...all these people who have been waiting to list their homes at a decent price. When all those homes begin hitting the marker, it will add a glut of supply, keeping prices low. I'd like to be wrong, and think that my home is going to gain in value instead of losing the nearly 12% it lost in the last year, but the fundamental principles of Economics just don't point in that direction. Disagree with me if you'd like, and believe that the market is going to make a big improvement, but please don't be shocked and scream out if it doesn't play out that way.

    Once again, it's obvious to see that Gary Bauer and John Rebchook never learned the fundamentals of Economics, and are only trying to spin things for the sake of their Real Estate careers. Be very cautious listening to their spin, and instead focus on the facts and the fundamentals (which they try to bury and push aside).

  • October 7, 2008

    3:51 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    JluvDC writes:

    They were probably all foreclosed on and sold back to the bank....

  • October 7, 2008

    3:52 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    7_ogNiOj writes:

    Because people are a) desperate and letting their homes go for pennies, or b) taking them off the market. I see no good news in an 11% decline in avg. price either. Another poorly thought out piece from the Snooze.

  • October 7, 2008

    4:22 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    BikerChick writes:

    ..
    Vested interests lie to encourage buyers. Big surprise ! Have any of you guys at the Rocky ever owned and managed a money-making private business ? Why in the world are you publishing the lies without a vigorous counter-argument ? Has the Chamber of Commerce convinced you to avoid jeopardizing your advertising income ?

    Nobody mentions the smart owners who decide NOT to put their house on the market, for cause. You guys are blind. That is THE reason for less homes on the market. Wake up !

    It is unethical and irresponsible to put a smiley face on a bad situation.

    Private home values are dropping rapidly. The slide will continue into 2011, when the value will have slipped 40%, on average. Millionaire homes are the exception, so stop using them as examples.

    Year 2006 prices will not be seen again until year 2015 for particular properties, on average. The minor spurt in Apr-Jun is attributable to emotional buying. It happens every year.

    Here's the key question; would any of you cheer-leaders advise your elderly mother, living on a tight budget, to buy a used home this year ? Duh !

    Stop the lies and report the truth. Private home values are dropping at a rate of one percent per month. That information is contained in the very report that you guys are cheering about. Anybody who buys this year will lose substantial value during the next two years. Your lies are unbecoming.

    You sound just like Ken Lay did, and you know that story.

    STOP IT.
    ..

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