Home sales and prices in the metro area continued to soften in March as the housing market headed into the peak selling season, according to a report today from independent real-estate analyst Gary Bauer.
The median price of a single-family home sold in the metro area last month was $224,900, a 6.3 percent decline from the median price of $240,000 in March 2007.
Median condo prices declined 13.7 percent to $132,000 versus $153,000 a year ago.
The number of homes sold last month fell 13.2 percent to 3,709 versus 4,274 in March 2007, while the number of homes placed under contract fell a smaller 4.1 percent.
“Closings appear to be taking longer,” Bauer said. Tighter credit markets could explain some of that.
For the first quarter, the number of homes placed under contract was comparable — 15,343 in 2007 versus 15,550 in 2008. But the number of homes sold declined 11 percent.
The 25,516 unsold homes in March was similar to the 25,037 in February and below the 26,430 of March 2007.
Although the Denver home resale market continues to perform better than the national averages, homeowners can expect declines in values this year, Bauer forecast.
Aldo Svaldi: 303-954-1410 or asvaldi@denverpost.com
