Market report

Following the record-breaking numbers that came out of 2020, the real estate market in Denver Metro could have gone in many different directions. Thanks to the continued demand for the unbeatable lifestyle that Denver Metro provides, 2021 was another great year to buy and sell homes in the Mile High City. While inventory remained low and the return of seasonal buying and selling trends slowed down in the final quarter, Denver Metro still managed to end the year with many improvements over 2020.

According to the latest LIV Sotheby’s International Realty’s Micro Market Report, which compares real estate data from 2021 against data from 2020, the number of new listings in Denver Metro decreased by 4.5%, with just 64,522 listings coming onto the market last year. Despite the low inventory, Denver Metro grew its overall sales volume by 17.5% to reach a total dollar volume sold of $37,107,652,222. 

Last year, the average price for a single family home in Denver Metro increased by 19% – bringing the average single family home price to $682,489. The average price for attached homes in 2021 was $428,825 – a 14.3% increase. While the real estate market in Denver Metro showed signs of slowing in comparison to the boom of buying activity seen in 2020, the market still finished the year with a 0.3% increase in the total listings sold.

Many individual neighborhoods within Denver Metro also saw encouraging increases in the number of residences sold throughout 2021. The most significant increase in properties sold was seen in the Golden Triangle neighborhood. Here, the number of property sales grew by 118.8%, rising from 32 homes sold in 2020 to 70 homes sold last year. Other urban communities such as Uptown, Downtown, and Capitol Hill also experienced an uptick in the properties sold, increasing by 74.5%, 60.6%, and 55.8%, respectively.

Looking at more suburban areas just outside of the city, the report shows more modest increases in property sales. For example, in Lakewood and Sloan’s Lake, the number of homes sold rose by 1.8% and 6.2%. In the popular Bonnie Brae/Belcaro neighborhood, beloved for its tree-lined streets and easy access to parks and small businesses, properties sold rose by 4.8% compared to 2020.

 Average prices have been on the rise in many neighborhoods across Denver Metro as a result of the continued demand for local homes and the area’s low inventory of available properties. In the City of Denver, for both single family homes and condominiums, the average price rose by 15.1% to reach $649,001. Properties larger than one acre in Cherry Hills Village had the highest average price in 2021. The average price for homes here was $4,264,858 last year. On the other hand, the most affordable neighborhood within Denver Metro in 2021 was Capitol Hill, where the average price for a home was $421,348.

The average days on market for Denver Metro decreased by 44% in 2021 compared to 2020 – with homes on the market for an average of 14 days. Homes in the neighborhood of Polo Reserve spent the most time on the market last year, averaging 53 days. Not far behind that, the Downtown condominium market saw an average days on market of 48 days – a 14.3% decrease from 2020. Some areas, such as City Park which hovered at around 20 days on market, maintained their average days on market. The most dramatic decrease in time spent on the market was seen in Heritage Greens, where the days on market dropped by 76.2% - leaving homes on the market for an average of just five days.

The Denver Metro real estate market continues to thrive through another year of incredible real estate activity. The continuation of the upward trends observed within this report forecasts that 2022 may be another good year for real estate in Denver Metro.