According to the latest home price indices from S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller, a closely followed measure of home price appreciation, metro Denver marked its fourth consecutive month of 20% plus year-over-year home price gains in October.

Metro Denver home prices were up 20.3% in October compared to the same month a year earlier, according to Case-Shiller. That follows annual gains of 21.2% in September, 21.5% in August and 21.3% in July.

Those numbers are intense; however, October’s monthly change from September plummeted to 0.2%, half of September’s monthly pace, a quarter of August’s pace and a little more than a tenth of the monthly pace seen in July. It represents the slowest monthly increase measured in metro Denver since December of 2019.

To put this year’s rates of appreciation in Denver in perspective, annual home price gains entered the double-digit territory in January and by April were accelerating faster than the prior record annual rate of 15% set back in February 2001. By July they were at full thrust, roaring above 20%.

Denver’s 20.3% annual rate of home price appreciation is above the U.S. rate of 19.1% in October, but it lags behind many other metros. Phoenix was the leader in October with a 32.3% year-over-year price increase, followed by Tampa at 28.1% and Miami at 25.7%

Selma Hepp, deputy chief economist at CoreLogic, noted in the report that the slowing of home prices is most notable in colder and more expensive areas, as well as middle-tier priced homes where homebuyers may have less wiggle room in their budgets. Low-tier priced homes are still in higher demand as entry-level buyers and investors continue to compete for the very limited supply.

While homes in Denver are in high demand, once purchased they certainly have proven to retain (and grow!) their value. If becoming a homeowner is a goal for you in the new year, contact Metrowest, we’d love to discuss you options.