People have been understandably concerned about buying in Denver at top market prices. We felt this way in 2015 after watching condo prices increase the years before. Nevertheless, we purchased a one bedroom condo, and two years later, the property is worth $100,000 more. We’re not alone either -- experts estimate that homeowners have gained $24,000 in home equity in the past year. Point being, the market was high, but apparently not that high or as high as it could be or could get.
We think that logic still holds true, and that even though homes are expensive in Denver right now, they stand to get more expensive. And we believe this for a couple of reasons:
Scarcity;
Employment; and
The housing costs in other cities.
Scarcity
Colorado remains a very popular place to live: on average, Denver adds 1,000 people a month and is the second fastest growing county in the state (El Paso, aka Colorado Springs, is number one.) That’s approximately 13,000 new residents each year, but the entire state currently only has 20,100 active listings. This is a 32% year over year decrease from last year. So, it seems the need is still there.
Employment
The Colorado economy is still very strong: we added 62,000 new jobs over the year and claim the lowest unemployment rate in the country: 2.3%. Further, this growth is supported and sustained by a lot of different industries: marijuana, tech, outdoor, aerospace, etc.
Housing Costs in Other Cities
And, finally, let’s consider other cities. We’re not saying these other cities are 1:1 with Denver, although Seattle and Portland certainly draw a similar demographic, but we mention them because they are examples of western cities with high cost of living points… and there’s no reason to think that if these cities can get median housing prices at this cost, Denver cannot.
San Francisco: $1.2 million | Seattle: $653,400 | Portland: $415,900
And, because I know you’re curious: Denver’s median home price is currently $380,200.
We get it. It’s not cheap, but if you are thinking about buying a home, now is the time to act. It could serve as a great investment and save you on housing in the future.
Call us, email us, text us, invite us to brunch. Whatever your deal is, we love talking real estate and we don’t love pressure, so if you have questions, please reach out.