Denver May 2007 Home Sales

June 27, 2007

Greater Denver area homes continued to sell at their slowest pace in nine years in May as the median sale price fell for the seventh straight month when compared with year-ago levels, a real estate information service reported.

A total of 5,463 new and resale homes closed escrow in the Denver-Aurora metro area in May. That was up a sharp 15.7 percent from 4,711 sales in April but was still down 16.3 percent from 6,523 sales in May 2006, according to DataQuick Information Systems of La Jolla, Calif. The firm tracks real estate trends nationally via public property records

Sales of new homes again led the declines, falling 36 percent from a year ago. That compares with a 9.8 percent annual decline for resale houses and a 10 percent drop for resale condo sales. May marked the 12th consecutive month in which total home sales have fallen on a year-over-year basis. Total sales hadn't been lower in the month of May since 1998, when 5,249 Denver region homes sold. April also saw the lowest sales in nine years for that month.

DataQuick's statistics for the Denver MSA reflect sales in Adams, Arapahoe, Broomfield, Clear Creek, Denver, Douglas, Jefferson and Park counties (see MSA exclusions below).

The median price paid last month for all homes combined in the region was $237,000. That was up slightly from $235,000 in April but down 3.3 percent from $245,000 in May 2006. Last month's median was 4.4 percent lower than the area's peak $248,000 median in June 2006.

Another gauge for home prices, the median price paid per square foot for resale (detached) houses, shows a similar trend as the straight median sale price. The median paid per square foot fell 4.2 percent in May compared with a year ago – the 10th consecutive month in which that measure has fallen on a year-over-year basis. The declines have ranged from 1.8 percent to 6.4 percent.

In neighboring Boulder County, 610 homes closed escrow in May. That was up 12.3 percent from 543 in April but down 10.6 percent from May 2006. The median price paid was $315,000, up slightly from Aril but down 1.6 percent from May last year. It was the median's first year-over-year decline for any month since November last year, when Boulder County's median fell 3.6 percent. Last month's median remained 4.5 percent below the county's peak $330,000 median last September.

Denver-Aurora, CO MSA*
	# of sales			Median sale price
	May-06	May-07	%Chg	May-06	May-07	%Chg
Resale houses	3,974	3,584	-9.8%	$247,000	$245,000	-0.8%
Resale condos	952	857	-10.0%	$157,000	$150,000	-4.5%
New homes	1,597	1,022	-36.0%	$302,750	$307,000	1.4%
All homes	6,523	5,463	-16.3%	$245,000	$237,000	-3.3%

*Data not available for Elbert and Gilpin counties, which are part of the Denver-Aurora MSA

Media calls: Andrew LePage (916)456-7157 or John Karevoll (909) 867-9534

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