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Mortgage Rates Fall, May Ends with More Homes for Sale in Metro Denver than any Month in the Past Five Years
U.S. long-term mortgage rates fell for the sixth consecutive week at May’s end, with the key 30-year loan running at an average of 3.82 percent and its lowest level since September 2017. The declining rates have been a boon to potential buyers in the spring homebuying season, and the opportunity to refinance mortgages jumped the first week of June.
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said the average rate dipped from 3.99 percent the last week of May. By contrast, a year ago the benchmark rate stood at 4.54 percent. The average rate for 15-year fixed-rate home loans declined in early June to 3.28 percent from 3.46 percent.
The metro Denver housing market ended May with more homes for sale than any other month in the past five years. According to the Denver Metro Association of Realtors (DMAR), May ended with 8,891 active listings, an increase of nearly 27 percent from the month before and a 38 percent increase from May 2018.
May’s inventory was also the highest the market has seen since November 2013, when there were 9,352 homes on the market at month’s end. According to a spokesperson for DMAR, sellers have been experiencing an unprecedented increase in values. Even with the added inventory, prices were still up a bit.
May saw a slight increase in Denver’s median sold price, which hit $431,000 for the entire residential market, including both condos and single-family detached homes. Denver is still a seller’s market, but homes are staying on the market longer than this time last year, meaning buyers have a little more time to haggle for a good price.
There has also been more negotiating, according to DMAR. The close-to-list price ratio dropped to 99.35 percent year to date. At this point in the last four years, the association said, sellers were getting, on average, more than the asking price. Home sellers still have control across the housing price ranges, but a little give and take makes buyers feel better.
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said the average rate dipped from 3.99 percent the last week of May. By contrast, a year ago the benchmark rate stood at 4.54 percent. The average rate for 15-year fixed-rate home loans declined in early June to 3.28 percent from 3.46 percent.
The metro Denver housing market ended May with more homes for sale than any other month in the past five years. According to the Denver Metro Association of Realtors (DMAR), May ended with 8,891 active listings, an increase of nearly 27 percent from the month before and a 38 percent increase from May 2018.
May’s inventory was also the highest the market has seen since November 2013, when there were 9,352 homes on the market at month’s end. According to a spokesperson for DMAR, sellers have been experiencing an unprecedented increase in values. Even with the added inventory, prices were still up a bit.
May saw a slight increase in Denver’s median sold price, which hit $431,000 for the entire residential market, including both condos and single-family detached homes. Denver is still a seller’s market, but homes are staying on the market longer than this time last year, meaning buyers have a little more time to haggle for a good price.
There has also been more negotiating, according to DMAR. The close-to-list price ratio dropped to 99.35 percent year to date. At this point in the last four years, the association said, sellers were getting, on average, more than the asking price. Home sellers still have control across the housing price ranges, but a little give and take makes buyers feel better.
