As published in DMAR Market Trends, July 2023

Sellers who experienced hail damage should make timely claims and hire insured and licensed roofing companies to make repairs. Realtors® can help connect homeowners to trusted local professionals.

Annual inflation in Metro Denver for May was reported at 51%, down from 5.7% in March. Metro Denver is experiencing higher inflation levels than the nation, which reported year-over-year price growth of 4%. In June, the Federal Open Market Committee paused its schedule of interest rate increases as price increases stabilize around the country but is expected to raise rates again in July.

Residential building activity is recovering after a dip during the first few months of the year. In May, 2,394 residential units were permitted in the Metro Denver region up 1.3% from May 2022, and up 18.0% from April 2023. Multi-family units drive the rebound which year-to-date increased 10.6% to 5,965 units permitted in 2023.

Retail sales in Metro Denver, which includes food service, grew by 7.8% in the first quarter of 2023 over the same period last year. Retail sales grew fastest in Douglas County, which reported an increase of 24.7%. Statewide, total retail sales grew by 6.8%. It is important to note that while this data does not control for inflation, both Metro Denver and Colorado reported sales growth above the rate of inflation. As we head into summer, investors are becoming increasingly conservative. With interest rates uncertain, money is not flowing as freely as it used to.

91.8% of U.S. homeowners with a mortgage have an interest rate below 6%. 82.4% of mortgagees have a sub-5% rate, 62% have a sub-4% rate and 23.5% have a sub-3% rate.

As the total number of U.S. homes for sale dropped 6% from last years—the largest decline in 13 months—there are 39% fewer homes for sale now than in June 2018.

400 chief investment officers, equity strategists, portfolio managers and CNBC contributors who manage money believe stocks have entered a new bull market, and the U.S. economy will skirt a recession in 2023.

June was the third consecutive month of year-over-year national home price decline after a 131-month streak of record increases according to the National Association of Realtors®.

First-time buyers comprised 28% of home sales in May, a slight decrease from 29% in April but an increase from 27% in May 2022.

A new survey from the National Association of Realtors® shows that a substantial demand for walkability persists for Americans of all ages.

MORTGAGE NEWS
Mortgage rates finally saw a month of less volatility averaging 6.9% throughout June. Despite being higher than desired, this stability increased mortgage purchase applications by 10.5% for the month.