Getting your player ready...
May was a cruel month for Denver-area luxury home sales.
The number of sales and the median sales price of luxury homes dipped in May from April as well as from May 2010, according to an analysis released today by Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage.
A total of 47 homes changed hands for more than $1 million last month, down 14.5 percent from the 55 in May 2010 and down 23 percent from April. The median sale price of million-dollar homes also edged lower to $1.25 million, down 2.3 percent from last year and 4.5 percent from the previous month.
Other indicators showed a mixed housing picture: Seven multi-million-dollar homes sold last month, up from five a year ago but down from eight in April. Homes on average sold faster last month at 215 days, down from 243 days the previous month but up sharply from 122 days a year ago.
The figures were derived from Multiple Listing Service data of all homes sold for more than $1 million last month in the Denver area.
“The luxury market, like the overall housing market, has been searching for direction as the year progresses,” said Chris Mygatt, president of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Colorado. “We’ve seen some positive improvement in some months and then the market softens the next month.”
Mygatt said comparisons with a year ago are difficult because the market last May was still benefitting from the federal tax credit, which has since expired. Although the credit wasn’t aimed at the upper priced homes, the tax break indirectly helped fuel sales for move-up buyers who sold their entry-level and mid-priced homes. The tax credits required buyers to place a home under contract by April 30, 2010.
One encouraging trend, Mygatt noted, is that the inventory of unsold homes on the market has been falling this year, which is good for the overall health and the long-term prospects of the market. “After rising much of last year, the steady drop in inventory could bode well for better months ahead,” he added.
Some key findings from this month’s Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage luxury report:
The most expensive sale in the Denver Metro Area last month was a five-bed, six-bath 7,023-square-foot home in Boulder that sold for $3,125,000.
Denver County boasted the most million-dollar sales with 13, followed by Boulder with eight, Cherry Hills Village with seven, and Parker with five;
Sellers on average received 91.3 percent of their asking price, down from 93 percent a year ago and 92.2 percent the previous month;
Contact John Rebchook at JRCHOOK@gmail.com
