A North Park Hill home for sale, June 5, 2023.
Kyle Harris/Denverite
The Denver housing market ended the summer much as it began – sluggish.
Homes are taking longer to sell, pushing up the number of houses waiting for a buyer, according to the Denver Metro Association of Realtors. Inventory was up 56 percent in August compared to the same time last year, the association said in its monthly update on the city’s housing market.
People looking to buy a home are pulling back with interest rates stuck at the highest level in decades. And it’s not just in Denver. High mortgage rates have put the brakes on hot housing markets across the U.S.
“Generally, there does not seem to be a large sense of urgency for buyers or sellers,” Libby Levinson-Katz, chair of the DMAR Market Trends Committee and a Denver real estate agent, said in the report. “Buyers continue to watch the homes that have come up in their searches and may even be tempted to take a look. However, they aren’t placing offers on homes unless it perfectly aligns with their wish list.”
On top of that, more deals are falling apart after a contract is signed, according to Levinson-Katz. That could be due to buyers getting cold feet, failing to sell their current home, or having trouble securing financing, she said.
For people who are willing and able to buy in the current market, it’s paying off to play hardball. The slowdown in home sales statewide led to more seller concessions this summer, according to DMAR. More than half of all transactions included concessions, which include things like sellers paying closing costs and making home repairs, as an attempt to woo hesitant buyers.
The housing market is poised for change in the months ahead with the Federal Reserve likely set later this month to lower interest rates for the first time in more than two years. The cost of a 30-year mortgage, the most common type of mortgage, is already falling as lenders anticipate the central bank’s move.
