Metro Denver’s housing market showed signs of recovery in June, with sales and prices up compared with last month.
Also, fewer homes were on the market in the seven-county metro area.
“I’m not 100 percent certain, and I don’t think we’ll know for a month or two, but it looks like the market probably bottomed out in April,” said Larry McGee, president and managing broker of the Berkshire Group.
The number of properties sold increased 3.9 percent from May to 4,845. But the number is down 5.5 percent from the 5,129 sales in June of last year, according to Metrolist, the multiple listing service for the Denver metro area.
“Despite the fact that we’ve had a downturn for the last couple of years, life goes on,” independent real-estate analyst Gary Bauer said. “June is a month of weddings and graduations. People are still getting married. Buying a house goes hand in hand with these life milestones.”
The median price of a single-family home in June was up 1.5 percent from May to $230,000 but still down from the June 2007 median of $263,000.
The median price of a condo rose 0.2 percent to $148,345 compared with May, but that’s still down from the June 2007 median of $157,950.
The decline in median prices from last year is nothing to be alarmed about, said Mike Cox, a real-estate consultant with Re/Max Professionals Inc.
“People are buying smaller homes, so consequently the median home price is going to be lower,” Cox said. “Does that mean value is lower? No.”
For example, the average square footage of single-family homes sold in Highlands Ranch in June 2007 was 2,422, compared with 2,224 last month. In Aurora, the average square footage of homes sold in June 2007 was 1,874, compared with 1,588 last month.
“If a home’s average square footage is 200 square feet less, even at $100 a square foot, that’s a $20,000 adjustment in price,” Cox said.
The number of homes on the market was down 13.7 percent from 30,256 in June 2007 to 26,104 last month. In May, there were 26,333 houses for sale.
The inventory-absorption rate of 5.45 months is considered to indicate a “neutral market,” McGee said.
Margaret Jackson: 303-954-1473 or mjackson@denverpost.com
