Today’s real estate market is booming in Denver, there is no denying that and everywhere you go people are talking about it. But with a booming market comes challenges and with challenges comes frustrations and with frustrations comes disappointment. We are in a seller’s market right now meaning that sellers have more power when it comes to selling their home. Buyer’s, on the other hand, have a much harder time when it comes to finding a home they love and not having 15 other offers on the table to compete with. I ask my clients one very important question when we start working together and that is this: Are you prepared to be in the real estate market today?

I’m not asking that question to scare anyone away or to make people reconsider their desire to buy/sell a house, I am saying it to let my clients know they need to be super realistic when they enter the market, especially my buyers. I want them to be ready to not get the first house they fall in love with, or the second or the third. I want sellers to be prepared for when they accept what they think is the perfect offer, there’s a 25% chance something will happen and the contract will fall through. I want buyer’s to understand that even if they offer $30k over the asking price that isn’t a guarantee they will win the home.

Currently in Denver there are a few big things going on that make this real estate market challenging. The first would be a historic low inventory of homes on the market and especially homes in the right price range. Denver has people moving here daily and we are having a hard time keeping up with the demand from buyers. That’s another big issue, the buyer demand is so high and especially for homes that are in the $300-$400k range which is the place all first time homebuyers are landing as well as many others. For anyone looking in that price range I always tell them, it will be a battle but I will fight for you the whole way and make sure everything is right and held up on my end to get you the home you want. Another issue is that houses just are not being able to be built fast enough. You may drive around and see a lot of scrapes and new builds but many people want to live around the city and the home range just isn’t there for the demand.

Because it is a sellers market, many sellers put their homes on the market on a Thursday or Friday with a deadline for contracts by Sunday night leaving buyers feeling rushed and overwhelmed. Buyers are also frustrated with high demands by sellers like opting out of inspection and appraisal contingencies which leaves the buyer with less protection should something be found wrong.

All of these stresses can add up to people pulling themselves out of the real estate market hoping that things will eventually die down. I hate to say it but with the rate at which Denver is going, that is never going to be a case here. We may level out of course but slowing down is not in the books. The best suggestion I can give to buyers and sellers is do your research before you decide to buy or sell your place. Understand the realities of today’s market, invest time and energy into knowing what could happen and the biggest thing, hire yourself a really good realtor who knows the market. A realtor can be your best friend through the process and is really there to handle all of the ups and downs. If you are thinking about getting into the market, go ahead and give me a call, I would love to set up some time to sit down and discuss what your wants and needs are and how I can help attain those.