If you thought it was tough to find a home in Metro Denver in December, you might want to temper your expectations that the new year will bring a plethora of new housing inventory.

According to the Denver Metro Association of Realtors (DMAR) January report, that lack of inventory is expected to drive double-digit percentage price increases again in 2022. That’s in addition to a record-setting year for average sales price of homes, both single family and condominiums.

The report showed there were just 1,477 homes for sale in the entire 11-county market at the beginning of January, which is a 34% drop from the number of homes available in December (2,248.) That’s also 42% less than the number of homes available a year ago.

Metro Denver’s home sales market hasn’t experienced back-to-back years of double-digit appreciation since 2015-2016 and 1998-2000, according to DMAR.

Other report highlights include:

·       The average sales price in December was $626,573, which is basically unchanged from November.

·       Year-over-year, however, it jumped 14% from the January 2021 average sales price of $548,363.

·       2021 was the 11th consecutive year for sales price growth.

·       On average, it took 18 days to sell a home in the metro area in December, up from 15 days in November. The average in December 2020 was 23 days.

·       The number of closings in December stood at 4,504, a 15.13% drop from November and 13.88% year-over-year decline.

·       For all of 2021, there was a record 63,684 homes sold, totaling $38.9 billion. In 2020, there were 63,501 closings worth $33.2 billion, and in 2019 there 58,899 closings worth $28.6 billion.

Despite the numbers, becoming a homeowner in 2022 is an attainable goal. Patience and perseverance are a must, but so is getting an experienced pro on your side to help you navigate. Give Metrowest a shout today – we’d love to help you explore your options!