Denver was among nine metropolitan areas in a 20-city survey released Tuesday that saw home prices increase in January compared with the same period a year ago.
Denver-area home prices rose 2.6 percent in January compared with the same month in 2009, the sixth-largest increase among the cities, according to the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller home-price index.
The 20-city composite dipped just 0.7 percent compared to January 2009 and rose 0.3 percent compared to December.
“We’ve pretty much stabilized,” said economist Jeff Thredgold of Vectra Bank Colorado. “Prices are reasonably flat from a year ago. It’s good to see home prices stabilizing, but it doesn’t suggest that we’re going to start seeing 5 to 10 percent gains a year like we did 10 years ago.”
Fewer cities saws month-to-month gains from December to January, with Denver prices dropping 1.3 percent.
Many industry experts are concerned that another wave of foreclosures will negatively impact housing prices.
“You’ve got to stop the bleeding before you can get out of bed and start running again,” Thredgold said.
Margaret Jackson: 303-954-1473 or mjackson@denverpost.com
