The Denver-area housing market has been on a tear.

Denver Panorama Fall 2013

The market recently wrapped up three quarters of record-breaking housing activity. By a number of metrics, the Denver housing market has surpassed where it was during the same time a year ago; it has even topped where it was during the go-go housing boom days of 2005 and 2006, a distinction only one other city, Dallas, can claim.

While housing markets in cities such as Phoenix and Las Vegas, were crushed during the Great Recession, recently they have been showing year-over-year appreciation north of 20 percent — roughly twice Denver’s appreciation.

Yet, those cities have not yet returned to where they were when they peaked seven or eight years ago.

By the numbers, here is a snapshot of some records set in Denver:

In the first nine months of the year, there have been 56,063 homes placed under on the market – 25 percent more than during the same period in 2012, 42 percent higher than in 2011 and 6.2 percent higher than in 2006.

Year-to-date, 42,370 homes have sold and closed – 20.2 percent more than during the same time last year, 41.6 percent higher in 2011, and 10.3 percent higher than in 2006.

The average sales price of a single-family home in the first nine months was $333,508 – 10.1 percent higher than during the same period in 2012, 18.4 percent more than in 2011 and 4.7 percent higher than in 2006.

The median, or middle, sales price was $278,000, 11.2 percent higher than in 2012, 20.9 percent higher than in 2011 and 11.2 percent higher than in 2006.

However, perhaps the most staggering record number in the first three quarters of 2012 was the total dollar volume in sales. Year-to-date, buyers have purchased $13 billion in homes, 33.4 percent more than in the first nine months of 2012, 64 percent more than in 2011 and 14 percent more than in 2006.

Despite the increase in prices, homes also sold at a faster clip than ever.

Homes spent an average of 51 days on the market in the first three quarters – a 36.4 percent drop from 2012, a 52 percent drop from 2011 and 46.3 percent faster than in 2006. Can this torrid pace last? Certainly, the market is facing a lot of headwinds, from the government shutdown to unrest in the Middle East.  But owning a home is a long-term proposition with most people. Historically, most people have owned their homes for seven years, although many people buying today plan to stay put for an average of 10 years, according to some estimates.

These numbers show that buying a Denver home has been a good deal in the short-term and the long-term, even when the market had weathered the worst housing crisis in memory.

You can’t really ask much more from a housing market.

To find more information, photos, and current real estate market data for popular cities across the Denver Metropolitan Area, please visit our Metro City Info page on DenverRealEstate.com

Denver Market Watch

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