Sellers, beware: The inventory of unsold homes in the metro area reached a record high in April and will likely keep rising into the summer.
The number of metro homes on the market hit 29,045 last month, surpassing the previous high mark of 28,043 reached in June 2004. Home inventories were up 6.4 percent from the 27,309 homes available in March.
The number of homes put under contract was 5,813, and the number closed was 4,300 in April. Both of those measures fell from March of this year and April of last year.
Despite slower sales and more homes on the market, the median price for a single-family home rose to $250,000 in April, up from $247,500 in March.
The median price paid for condos fell to $157,400 from $159,900 in March.
Home inventories typically rise from March or April through June as more sellers put their properties on the market, said Gary Bauer, an independent real-estate analyst.
But inventories are up 19.2 percent from April of last year despite the addition of 27,200 jobs that analysts had expected would shore up the housing market.
“The logjam of homes is increasing each month,” said Steve McGuire with Re/Max Professional in Highlands Ranch. “It is similar to back in the 1980s when we had a high number of foreclosures. The market was impacted greatly.”
Ed Jalowsky with Classic Advantage Realty in Denver said he urges potential sellers to be realistic about the price they can get or expect to spend a long time on the market.
Buyer representatives are telling him that about half the homes priced under $250,000 are either in foreclosure, are owned outright by a lender or the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, or are selling for less than the amount owed on the mortgage, Jalowsky said.
Jalowsky blames rising payments on adjustable-rate mortgages, which are squeezing home owners.
McGuire said rising energy prices also could be making lower-income buyers more hesitant.
Lower home prices are needed to bring supply and demand into better balance, Jalowsky predicts.
But McGuire said he doesn’t predict a significant drop in values.
Staff writer Aldo Svaldi can be reached at 303-820-1410 or asvaldi@denverpost.com.
