The median price of single-family homes sold in metro Denver this month topped $250,000 for the first time, according to a market analysis released Tuesday. June sales of multifamily housing also hit record-high prices.
Independent Denver real estate consultant Gary Bauer conducted the analysis based on data extrapolated through the end of the month from Metrolist, which operates the metro area’s Multiple Listing Service. Among his findings:
The median price of single-family houses sold this month is projected at $251,500, up 3.1 percent over last month and 3.5 percent from June 2004. The median price of multifamily housing, such as condominiums and townhouses, is $163,307, a 2.4 percent jump over last month, and a 5.4 percent jump from June 2004.
The median price of homes sold in metro Denver for the first six months of 2005 reached its highest level in the seven years that Bauer has been tracking median prices.
Completed sales of multifamily homes reached 1,219 in June, another record.
Unsold homes on the market in June fell 7.9 percent compared with the same month last year, a good sign for home sellers.
Despite the rise in home prices, metro Denver owners are seeing relatively flat appreciation. Bauer considers that a sign that the local market is in better balance than others across the country – such as Las Vegas and San Diego – where real estate prices are soaring and investors are putting homes up for sale even before they’re built.
Appreciation on median prices recorded in the past 12 months is 3.2 percent for single-family houses and 1 percent for multi-family homes, Bauer said.
“We (in metro Denver) still don’t have a tremendous amount of consumer confidence, and we don’t have a tremendously large employment influx,” he said. “Add to those the fact that there is limited inflation here, and I can’t help but have a nice, comfortable feeling about where the market stands today.”
Other real estate experts said they, too, are pleased with market conditions.
The June sales reflect a nice mix of homes sold, noted Jerry McGuire, a broker associate of Re/Max Professionals in Highlands Ranch.
“You don’t see high-end or low-end sales skewing these numbers,” he said.
Christine Tatum can be reached at 303-820-1015 or ctatum@denverpost.com.
