Taking a look at the Denver Metro's December 2010 statistics and comparing them, December numbers looked pretty good. Closed sales were up over November and slightly up year-over-year. There were 3,024 home closings in December 2010, a 13.4% increase from the 2,666 in November 2010 and a 2.2 percent increase from the 2,959 in December 2009.
These figures confirm what we’re seeing in the field. The market is moving counter-seasonally and growing stronger as we move into the depths of winter. That’s not the norm. Agents are busier than usual right now. That said, December under contracts were surprisingly weak.
Despite the changes in year over year closing percentages, the number of homes placed under contract fell 12.2% to 49,313 from 56,174 in 2009. In December, there were 2,692 homes placed under contract, a 13.2% drop from November and an 11.1% drop from the 3,101 homes in December 2009.
The year-over-year declines were not surprising however. We had a tax credit driven market in the first half of the year, and held on to end the year almost flat in total sales volume.
The average price of single-family homes sold rose 6.5 percent to $282,080 at the end of last year from $264,803 for all of 2009. When condos were included prices were up 6 percent to $257,000 from $242,413. And the median price of single-family homes in 2010 rose 7.3 percent to $235,000 from $219,000 in 2009. And while total homes sales didn’t top $10 billion in the Denver metro area, total sales volume was down only 2.2 percent from 2009.
I’ll call that stable even if it took tax credits, to achieve this stability. Going into 2011, the big question is: can the market remain stable (+/- 5% in year over year sales volume) without the tax credit “training wheels?” Early indications are that the market will stay upright, although a bit wobbly, without the training wheels. It may may even gather some momentum in 2011, if macro economic indicators, i.e. job growth continues to recover.
To view Denver homes for sale and sold within the past six months, visit our site COhomefinder.com.
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