Home buyers and sellers had reason to rejoice in January, as Denver’s housing market saw a flurry of new activity after months of decreased inventory. 

The new year started with a bang, with more than 4,853 new listings—that’s an increase of almost 90 percent from December—according to the latest Market Trends Report from the Denver Metro Association of Realtors. Additionally, both the average and median close prices were up from January 2019, as were days on the market. The average close price was $476,003, median close price was $420,000, and days on the market was 45. 

According to DMAR data, the average active listings in Denver for the month of January is 13,253 homes. Last month ended with 4,941 active listings (we’re still in a seller’s market, with active listings well below average). January 2018 set the record low at 3,869. 

The market typically sees an influx in new listings in January, and this month was no exception. Jill Schafer, chair of the DMAR Trends Committee and a Kentwood Real Estate broker, says homes were being sold faster than they were coming onto the market last month. Many homes—70, to be exact—showed as “pending” instead of as an active listing, because they sold so quickly. 

Schafer attributes the active month to a few factors: more than half the month saw above-average temperatures for January, there were (unfortunately for fans) no postseason Broncos games, and overall, there were more homes to choose from. The football factor might seem a little odd, but Schafer says in previous years, fans may have spent weekends at home rooting for the Broncos rather than readying their houses for the market or house hunting. “Our continued pent-up demand and more free non-football time on our January weekends started us off strong,” she says. 

The luxury market saw an inventory increase as well—up 6.92 percent for single-family homes and 8.5 percent for condos. That’s a 40.63 percent and 68.42 percent increase month over month, respectively. The number of homes sold in January’s luxury market also increased; 11.76 percent more single-family homes closed and 20 percent more condos closed. 

Brigette Modglin, DMAR Market Trends Committee member, says that there is less competition in the luxury market—in which homes are priced at more than $1 million—than other segments of Denver’s housing market. She notes that luxury sales volume wasn’t as high as expected in January 2020; it was down 46.31 percent from December 2019. Sales volume in December surpassed $300 million, while it was just over $161 million last month. 

If there’s any silver lining to the Chiefs winning Super Bowl LIV, it might be that Denver home buyers have more options right now than they did a month ago. But the market—unlike the AFC West—is still competitive, so don’t go dragging your feet.