How would you describe your world?  How would you describe your future?  How would you describe your past?  How would you describe your “perfect home”?  Tough questions for a Monday Morning, huh?  But, open Amazon and type in self help, and there will be a title for each one of these questions.

Even the Wall Street shows have a competing guest for whatever the market is doing.  If the market is up in the morning, they’ll have a guest telling us why, if it is down, they’ll have a guest telling us why.

Is our real estate market any different.  Denver’s market is bifurcated.  Some neighborhoods and some prices are still showing price appreciation.  Some neighborhoods and some price ranges are clearly demonstrating the symptoms of a slow down.  Inventory, days on market and average prices can be viewed as leading indicators, and all we have to do is follow them.

Finally, sometimes, the market fools us.  When we look at averages for the entire market, the good can outweigh the bad, and the bad can sometimes outweigh the good.  Discerning eyes are important when consuming the news about any market.

Class let’s pay attention this morning…  This week’s MLS statistics are telling once again.

New Listing (951)  As we move into the selling season, inventory is entering the market!
Back On Market (168)
Price Increase (127)
Price Decrease (612)
Under Contract (1107)  This number has been climbing at about 10% per week since 2019 started.  Demand is not shy!
Withdrawn (105)
Leased (37)
Sold (573)  This is off a bit, but this number is result of what happened that last few weeks of 2018.  Not much happens around the holidays, so not much closes in late January.  Let’s not focus on this one today.
Expired (218)

So, what does all this mean?  Well, it means we can’t judge a market by a day, a week, a month or a quarter.  We can make some judgements on a year, and we can watch neighborhoods closely and learn from the Micro and Macro numbers.  Please follow along as we blaze a trail for you to follow Denver’s Market in 2019.

Finally, if you are an explorer, head out into the market alone.  If you don’t have time to understand, learn or tame the market, hire a guide.  In the long run, you will have an easier time of it.  We will be here for you every step of the way…tc