HOUSINGNEWS REPORT
STATE SPOTLIGHT
METROPOLITAN DENVER 7 COUNTY MONTH END INVENTORY OF UNSOLD HOMES
Residential
Single Family
Condo
I think there are lot of frustrated buyers … who are on the sidelines just waiting.”
Chad Ochsner Employing broker at RE/MAX Alliance in Arvada
Source: REcolorado
year ago — the 54th consecutive month with a year-over-year increase.
average of 34.2 percent of average wages to buy a median-priced home over the past 10 years. “I do have a concern moving forward about affordability. We remain the most expensive non-coastal city except for Chicago. … That’s something we, collectively as a community, need to be aware of and address,” said Chad Ochsner, employing broker at RE/MAX Alliance based in Arvada, who said companies considering a corporate move to Colorado will likely take into account the home affordability factor. “I think it is a bit of a logjam scenario. I think there are lots of frustrated buyers … who are on the sidelines just waiting.” Construction-Defect Law Constraint Ochsner noted there has been a slight uptick in inventory in recent months, from
4,845 active residential properties listed for sale in April, to 6,858 in July, according to the region’s multiple listing service (MLS), REcolorado . “The additional inventory certainly helps. That’s the message we’re communicating to our buyers. If you’ve been pushed out of the market in the spring there are now more homes to choose from,” Ochsner said, adding that he believes a balanced supply and demand in Denver requires about 20,000 residential properties listed for sale — nearly three times the July inventory. According to Ochsner and other local experts, the inventory shortage has been exacerbated by the state’s construction defect law , which critics claim allows homeowners too easily to sue builders for
The rapid rise in home prices has pushed affordability below its historic norm in the Denver area, according to the ATTOM Affordability Index. The share of average wages needed to buy a median-priced home was higher than its historic norm in all five Denver-area counties covered in the index for Q2 2016. While the absolute share of wages needed to buy a home in Denver County (42.5 percent) is still relatively low compared to some other high-priced coastal markets such as San Francisco County (94.6 percent), King County (Seattle), Washington (47.7 percent), Multnomah County (Portland), Oregon (48.4 percent), and Kings County (Brooklyn), New York (121.7 percent), it is above its own historic
ATTOM Data Solutions • P12
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