Denver Real Estate down slightly in September
Friday, 28 November 2008 by Dave
It looks like Denver is following the rest of the country in what is the first report this year where every major city in the S&P/Case-Shiller report has had a price decline. Note that the report is on a 3 month lag and these numbers are for September. Per the Denver Business Journal:
The closely watched S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, a Standard & Poor’s product that examines prices in 20 metro areas, revealed an across-the-board decline in prices.
The 20-city composite index was down 1.8 percent in September, while prices in Denver fell by 1.3 percent. None of the 20 cities posted any price gains, although two did in August.
The index shows that nationally, home prices are down 17.4 percent from a year ago. In Denver, the drop is a more moderate 5.4 percent.
Given that the financial turmoil didn’t set in until October I find this report somewhat surprising and it certainly doesn’t bode well for the coming October reports and beyond. I expect the combination of the traditionally slower holiday selling season and the increased percentage of bank-owned & short sale properties making up our inventory to have a double whammy effect on the numbers reported from Case-Shiller and others through the end of 2008.
The one potential saving grace may be mortgage rates. As of Wednesday, I had clients looking at 5.375% with no points on a 30 year fixed. If rates are able to stay at or around 5.5% for any length of time we should see a spike in sales that may help oppose the downward pressure on prices locally.
One last thought: try to keep things in perspective when it comes to price declines in Denver Real Estate. We’re talking about 5.4% declines year to date per Case-Shiller. That isn’t of the magnitude that everyone is going to be adversely affected. As I’ve posted previously on this blog, some areas of the front range are really suffering while others are staying strong. Real estate is local and getting a professional to assess your situation is key if you’re in a spot where you’ll need to sell your home in the short term.
