A Season for Thoughtful Moves:
September gave Denver Metro buyers more homes
to choose from and more time to consider them.
Inventory grew, homes generally took longer to sell
than they did in August, and fewer purchases moved
forward. Prices also eased month over month,
although the year-over-year picture remained more
stable for detached homes than for condos and
townhomes. As we settle into fall, the story is one
of a market requiring more patience and careful
decisions on both sides of the transaction.
September ended with 13,567 active listings, up
3.72% from August and the highest September
inventory level since 2011. That increase wasn’t
driven by a rush of new sellers: new listings were
essentially unchanged from the previous month and
slightly below last September. Instead, available
homes accumulated as sales slowed. The differ-
ence was especially noticeable among attached
homes, where inventory was nearly 10% higher than
a year ago, compared with just over 1% growth for
detached homes. Buyers have more selection, and
sellers have more competition for their attention.
That growing selection came with a longer shop-
ping window. Homes spent an average of 52 days
in MLS, with a median of 32 days—both higher
than in August. Detached homes still moved
more quickly, with a 49-day average and a 28-day
median, although both measures increased nearly
17% during the month. Attached homes averaged
64 days, while their median held at 44. The year-
over-year comparison was less dramatic: average
market time rose slightly overall, while the median
was lower. September felt slower than August,
without every measure pointing to a slower pace
than last fall.
Fewer buyers signed contracts or reached the
closing table. Pending sales declined about 6%
from August across both property types and were
approximately 13% below last September. Closings
saw a larger pullback, falling nearly 12% month over
month and just over 21% year over year, with sim-
ilar declines for detached and attached homes.
Together, those figures help explain why inven-
tory increased despite little change in new listings.
Homes continued coming to market, while fewer
were moving through the purchase process.
Prices eased alongside that slower activity. The
overall average close price declined 3.28% from
August to $700,435, while the median fell 3.20%
to $575,000. Detached homes saw larger monthly
adjustments than attached homes, whose aver-
age and median prices each slipped roughly 1%
or less. Looking back a year tells a different story:
detached prices remained relatively steady, with
the average nearly 2% higher and the median
unchanged. Attached prices were lower at both
measures, including a 6.28% decline at the median.
Those differences matter when setting expecta-
tions, whether you’re preparing to sell a detached
home or shopping for a condo.