A Denver home is attracting quite the crowd and fueling an early start to the spring buying season. In just three days, a property reportedly had nearly 100 potential buyers who toured the home, which is listed at $500,000. The home is a three-bedroom, two-bathroom home, and there’s nothing particularly unique about it. But the home shows just how competitive the Denver market has gotten.
“There is simply just too much demand right now,” Martin Mata, the Redfin agent showing the home, told CNBC. “There is just not a lot of affordable housing here in Denver, and we have a really good economy so a lot of people are still moving here.”
Denver’s inventory has been tight against strong buyer demand. There were 26 percent fewer homes for sale in January compared to a year ago. The low supply is driving competition higher, and potential buyers are learning that it may take months before they win an offer and get a home.
The threat of rising interest rates is also sparking some buyers to urgently and quickly find a home before borrowing costs rise more.
“It’s kind of the off-season right now, but I’m still experiencing a decent amount of competition,” Brittany Storoz, who has been looking for a home in Denver for the past few months, told CNBC. “I thought I was at a higher price point where it would be a little bit easier for me to get a place without a lot of competition, but I’ve put down two offers so far and both times been beaten out by cash offers.”
Home shoppers, like Shannon Knight, say they’ve been looking for a home to purchase for about seven months. She and her boyfriend continue to rent until they can find a home.
“I think that our biggest concern is before interest rates, just being priced out,” Knight told CNBC. “So we will look at a place for sub-$500,000, and it will go on the market and have 100 showings a weekend, and it’s just impossible for us.”
Source: “Why Nearly 100 People Toured One Denver Home in Three Days,” CNBC (Feb. 5, 2018)
