As published in DMAR Market Trends, June 2023

With higher interest rates and uncertainty around the economy, more buyers are biding their time and waiting for their “perfect” home to hit the market before making a move.

Compared to previous years, the condo market is moving slower especially in downtown Denver.

Demand for ranch homes or “main level living” in south metro Denver is high as inventory remains low and buyers face multiple offer situations, sometimes having to pay over asking with appraisal gaps for this popular home style.

Major coastal cities are experiencing significant loss of college-educated workers, most moving to next-tier cities like Phoenix, Atlanta, and Denver.

Denver ranked fifth nationwide for the number or sellers who offered concessions at closing, with 58.1% of transactions involving seller concessions.

A two-building residential project featuring a seven- and 14-story building will replace the now-shuttered pharmaceutical plant in the Baker neighborhood at Alameda and Cherokee—the most significant project that neighborhood has ever seen.

As we head into summer, investors are becoming more and more conservative. With interest rates uncertain, money is not flowing as freely as it used to.

Nationwide, sales of existing homes are down while sales of new builds are up almost 12% from last year.

Housing payments hit a new high as mortgage rates jumped due to progress on the debt-ceiling deal. Daily average rates hit 7.12% on May 25—the highest level since early November.

MORTGAGE NEWS

Big banks are offering more competitive mortgage rates to their customers to keep more of their customers’ money in-house; however, big banks tend to miss deadlines and have stricter underwriting rules.

The national 30-year mortgage rates in May ended close to where they began at 6.88%. On the other hand, mid-month volatility saw rates move as much as 0.65%, giving buyers more instability.

In May, ADP private payroll increased by 278,000 jobs, annual pay was up 6.5% year-over-year, job openings went back up to 10.1 million and weekly initial jobless claims only ticked up. These are all signs of resilient job market and headwinds for a Fed rate reduction.