2020 Year End Market Report - Year over Year Denver Metro Real Estate Market Growth

Economists, housing professionals, investors, and homeowners alike have all been rubbing their crystal balls in hopes of seeing what the coming year will bring in terms of housing prices.

The most frequent question I get is "Do you think home prices are going to go down this year?" Buyers and sellers have been asking that for years now, and the only accurate answer is to supply data about historical trends, market forces, and current numbers. I know, boring. And also not the answer you wanted to hear. Let me try again...

DENVER IS HOT, HOT, HOT AND WE ARE NOT GOING ANYWHERE!

That feels better, doesn't it! Actually, while a bit dramatic, that statement isn't entirely without data to support it. And I'll tell you why, in my professional opinion, the Denver Metro housing market (regardless of ups or downs) will continue to stay stronger than the national average:

Lack of inventory + a diverse economy

Brilliant, I know. Sometimes the obvious answer is the right one...and in our case, simple economics wins out again. For better or worse, the Denver housing market has seen an incredible surge in population. We live in a world-class destination with a booming and diverse economy, which is easily able to support (and encourage) yet more migration to the mile high city and its suburbs. And with a dramatic rise in people working from home, everyone needs a place to nest (and take zoom calls for work).

We have started January 2021 with a historic low number of properties available for purchase, and a flood of buyers scrambling to snatch them up. As long as we have more buyers looking for homes than we have homes to sell them, we're going to see the housing market stay strong regardless of other factors.

We will always have our market ups and downs. Like the tide, the housing market is a sine wave we cannot stop and shouldn't be surprised by. Learning to surf that wave like a pro though will result in not only looking incredibly cool, but will help you ensure your housing investment is just that...a true investment which has both value in use as well as long term financial stability and return.

Have you been looking for a great bargain or hoping the market would soften before upgrading into your next home? It might be time to give up the hope of a great housing crash and start looking for creative ways to find that stellar deal on your next home...because there are creative ways, and yes, you can still buy a house at a fair price.

Homeowners, this is a cautionary tale for you as well...you don't want your listing to be the one investors come to because it's under marketed. And it happens! I sold two homes last year which languished in our "incredibly hot market" for weeks; just because it's listed for sale does not mean you are going to get top dollar. Re-listing the right way we got those homes sold immediately, and netted the sellers tens of thousands more in profit. Yep, netted. That means professional services and all costs accounted for, they still took home more money when they engaged a professional to get the job done right.  

For those who like to watch the stats:

• Keep an eye on the foreclosure rate this spring - that number is already up due to Covid related job losses and furloughs, but it's possible those may convert into forbearance and never see the auctioneer. Time will tell.
  
• Keep on eye on the luxury housing market, not just in Denver but in surrounding suburbs. What appears to be a dip may actually be a lateral shift.
• Keep an eye on interest rates; they directly relate to investor confidence (among other things.)
• Make sure you are watching macro and micro trends...a macro (or birds eye) view of trends in your market will give you the context you need to decide how much weight to put on month over month fluctuation.

Re Colorado Denver Metro Area Market Watch - December 2020.