Fewer homes were on the market in Denver last month than in March 2007, some possible good news for the local housing market.
Of 28 major metro areas in the country, Denver was among only five with a year-over-year decline in such inventory, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.
The drop wasn’t huge, 3.5 percent. But it ranked Denver third after Boston, which was down 10.9 percent and Dallas, down 4.4 percent. Atlanta and Chicago had smaller declines.
Unsold home inventories are one barometer of supply and demand in a market. Falling inventories can signal that a market may be bottoming or that frustrated sellers have pulled their homes from the market.
The 6.4 months needed to clear Denver’s overhang of unsold homes at the current rate of sales also was the lowest among metro areas.
Miami, by contrast, would need nearly three years to clear its inventory at current sales levels, while Las Vegas, Detroit and Tampa are closer to 18 months.
In another positive sign, Forbes ranked Denver as the seventh-best market among metro areas for home sellers. Forbes cited a nearly 50 percent drop in new home construction, a 20 percent decline in the number of vacant homes and a 2 percent rise in new jobs.
The top three home-selling markets are San Jose, Calif.; San Francisco; and Salt Lake City, Forbes said.
Aldo Svaldi: 303-954-1410 or asvaldi@denverpost.com
