Summary

• Sales of single-family homes and townhouses/condos increased dramatically in June by 62.3% and 65.5% respectively from May 
• Increased housing demand has reduced available inventory to decade-low levels, which has pushed prices upwards
• Median sold prices of single-family homes and condos grew by 4.4% and 2.6% year-over-year respectively
• Larimer County posted impressive increases in the median price of both attached and detached homes

The month of June brought with it many positive indicators for the Colorado housing market as COVID-related economic restrictions, which negatively affected real estate and just about every other industry in April and May, began to ease, and both buyers and sellers adapted to the new reality of extra safety precautions. 

The Colorado Association of Realtors (CAR) announced in their June report that single family homes sold at rates 62.3% higher compared to May. An equally impressive jump in sales was observed in the condo market, which jumped 65.5% overall on a month-to-month basis. Prices of single family homes posted a modest increase of 1.1% year-over-year, while condo prices decreased slightly by 1.2%. Despite the decline in condo prices, the bulk of June’s real estate data suggest that Colorado’s real estate market is on an upward trajectory. 

Figure 1. shows the number of sales of single family homes and townhouse/condos by year from 2010 to 2020. (This graph is taken from the CAR monthly report.)

Among the notable trends evidenced by the report, active listings for both attached and detached homes have fallen to their lowest levels in 10 years. As shown in Figure 2., inventory of single family homes has steadily decreased over the decade, despite regular spikes in the second and third quarters. Inventory for townhouses and condos has seen a less dramatic decline since 2010, but it has reached its lowest level nonetheless.

Conversely, and partly aided by low-inventory levels, prices for both single family homes and townhouse/condos have increased overall since 2010.

Figure 3. Shows the median sold price of singles family homes and condos. On a year-to-year basis, the median price of a detached home increased by 4.4%, while prices of townhouses and condos gained 2.6%. 

Figure 4. Shows new listings across select Colorado counties for June 2020 and June 2019. A decline in new listings was observed in all counties save for Denver, where listings increased by 7%. 

Despite a 7.8% year-over-year decrease in new listings for single family homes, and 1.6% for townhouses and condos, new listings increased by 0.3% and 6.4% month-to-month for detached and attached homes respectively.

Figure 5. shows total sales activity across different counties in Colorado for June 2019 and June 2020. Unlike the number of new listings, a majority of counties reported an increase in combined sales of single family homes and townhouses/condos. Larimer County is where the highest increase occurred (17.6%), followed by Jefferson County at 7.6%. The largest decrease occurred in Arapahoe County, where sales dropped by 4.25%.

Median prices for single family homes have also increased generally across different Colorado counties from June 2019 to 2020, as illustrated in Figure 6. The highest increase was in Larimer County, where median prices increased by 18.1%; the second-highest was in Jefferson County at 9.9%. As was the case in new listings, the biggest decline occurred in Arapahoe County, where the median price of a single family home dropped by 5.3%.

With respect to the median condo price in select Colorado counties, several counties performed well in June 2020 versus June 2019, despite overall condo prices experiencing a decline of 0.2%. Median prices in El Paso County increased by 20.6%, while prices in Larimer County jumped by 13.5%. In contrast, the median condo price in Douglas County dropped by 8.6%. 

June’s housing report showed results that are, at the very least, encouraging for Colorado’s real estate market. Impressive month-to-month increases in sales of single family homes, as well as townhouses and condos, should provide relief to those who were most negatively impacted by Covid-related economic restrictions imposed in April and May. Modest price increases, partly due to record-low inventory levels, are also good news for sellers. 

These indicators all point to a return to normal activity following the doldrums of April and May, and might suggest that realtors, buyers and sellers are all adapting to a new reality in which virtual tools are being leveraged to make up for the gap left by physical distancing restrictions. As the number of confirmed coronavirus infections increases in several states, there is a chance that Colorado will reimpose certain restrictions. Despite this, virtual tours are here to stay, and will only become more prominent as adaptations continue. 

*Featured photo by Eric Francis on Unsplash