When I bought my first house, 1963 S. Lafayette Street, for $33,000, the contract was a front and back handwritten piece of paper. The closing only took minutes. When I walked out of closing at our corner First Federal Savings and Loan I only had a few more pieces of paper. It was hardly enough to justify its own file folder, but I did label that folder and file it away. Today, a closing seems like it takes forever. The pounds of paper dozens of signatures and more. When the first PCs came along, we were told we would have “paperless” closings and we’d love it.

Well, we didn’t really make it any better. Sharing my wisdom this morning, things changed. With two-income families, homes became the cornerstone investment for the family portfolio. Appreciation was expected, and the legal beagles took over. Soon enough, the simple S&Ls had been raided by the unscrupulous, and a world of simplicity was lost forever.

There’s an old expression that goes something like this; “Do you have twenty years of experience, or do you have one year of experience twenty times?”. The end game is such that you want your Bucket to be Full of Wisdom. It should be something to share where someone can go to and learn from.

We share wisdom here every week. Our bucket runs over with experience, ideas, wisdom, and stories to share. This week we continued to see this evolving trend in the marketplace.

Denver’s Market Watch
New Listing (1068) This is a healthier number for buyers than last week. Choices are becoming more common for a buyer.
Coming Soon (215)
Back On Market (171)
Price Increase (53)
Price Decrease (1175) WOW! This is the a big number!
Pending (932) This is still not indicative of a late spring number. It is too low!
Withdrawn (114)
Leased (0)
Closed (1007) Much better than last week, but we are tracking this closely.
Expired (233)

Not a big week, but much stronger than last week’s Memorial Day absenteeism!

So what’s new in the larger view of Total Active Listings?

We have increased from 4,591 in January to 4,960 in February to 5,039 in March to 5,669 in April and now 7,335 at the end of May. Last year at this same time, we had about 5,440 Active Listings. This is a dramatic change in just one week. Has the “Black Swan” finally caught up to this market?

I believe the rapid increase in Active Inventory, the uncertainty surrounding mortgage interest rates, and all the other impactful topics of the day are finally slowing this market down. Buyers waiting on the sideline may find a reason to pounce in the coming weeks, but I’m afraid potential sellers have let the peak market prices slide by.

For a more in-depth and personalized review of the marketplace, please contact TheCryerTeam@Kentwood.com