What is a “normal” real estate market? The National Association of REALTORS defines it as a market with no more than six months of inventory. Last October (2007), the metro Denver real estate market had nearly 32,000 active listings and only 3500 homes were selling on a monthly basis. For months, media gloried in reporting the bad news of Denver’s buyers’ market that had nine months of standing inventory. Values were sure to plummet!
Today, November 7, 2008, the Metro/Mountain Denver real estate market has 23,120 active listings, and 4504 listings sold last month. That gives us a 5.1 month supply, which qualifies as a healthy market, and for those of us agents who are actively working with buyers, we know that our choices are reduced. So is the amount of time that a buyer has to “think about” a decision to purchase. This IS a healthy real estate market.
Here are some other interesting tidbits: “The Media” is quick to point out that foreclosed properties have played a major part in reducing the market’s median price in the last year from $234.2 to $206.0. This is true. Of the 4500 Denver area homes that sold last month, more than 2000 of them were Bank REO’s! But check this out: the average “days on market” for a an REO property in the Denver metro market – 15 DAYS! What’s more is that they are selling for an average of 101% of their list price! Hardly a buyer’s market statistic.
For those real estate investors reading this, I know that I’m preaching to the choir. Many of the properties that we feature in this blog go under contract within a week of their listing. That’s why, from time to time, we’ll write sneak previews of some of the properties that we know are ABOUT to be listed by the REO companies we represent, and if any of you wish to have more information about these properties before they officially hit the market, we will be happy to share it and if a property makes sense to add to your portfolio, we are usually able to make it happen before the competition gets there.
I’ve written about Denver’s Highlands neighborhood before, and how it has been relatively insulated from devaluation. That’s not to say that foreclosures haven’t occurred there. We have two REO’s that are about to be listed: One is on Alcott Street, the other is on Navajo. Both are 2 bedroom / 1 bath and approximately 1,000 square feet of living space. They will be listed within the next two weeks. Market value for each is estimated at $230,000 and I would be surprised if either was listed for more than $160,000. Neither will be on the market for long after it is listed, so if you want a preliminary shot at these properties, give us a call at 303 650 2866 or contact us at MyH-O-M-E.com
Posted by: Dave Perlowski
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