Interest rates increasing alongside inflation are emphasizing the already slow fall season in home sales, according to the October 2022 Market Trends Housing Report from the Colorado Association of Realtors.

In one month, new listings of single-family homes for the metro-Denver area decreased more than 25% and lowered 20% statewide. The market maintained a healthy quantity of active listings with almost record-high pricing in the last year. However, buyers are changing their perspective and being cautious in their parameters for contracts and closings, the report said.

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Still, single-family home active listings are up by 66% in the Denver area from last year, and up 56% in Colorado overall. Townhome and condo active listings are up by about 32% in Denver and statewide compared to October 2021. Average days on the market are 32 days in Denver and 42 days statewide. Average prices for townhomes and condos are about $415,000 in Denver and $424,900 statewide. Single-family homes are $595,792 in Denver, where as statewide single-family homes are $550,000.

“Stuck. That’s how realtors describe this market. Sellers are stuck in the prices of the past and buyers are stuck with the fear of what the future may hold,” Boulder-area realtor Kelly Moye said in a press release. “Sellers are learning to price to 2021 numbers and buyers are learning to leverage motivated sellers by requesting concessions to buy down their interest rate. Both seem to be working to keep the market rolling in what typically would be a slow time of year.”

Interest rates and inflation continue to be at the forefront of the minds of realtors and the buyers and sellers they represent, according to Steamboat Springs realtor Marci Valicenti.

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“Buyers are weighing four key economic concepts-scarcity, supply and demand, costs and benefits, and incentives in their decision making. The rise in interest rates has eliminated some would-be buyers who may now feel caught in a rental trap where they realize no financial nor non-financial benefits,” Valicenti said in a press release. “Current interest rates are at 30-year historical averages – however, rapid interest increases, along with inflation are unsettling to many.”

Valicenti said sellers that want to successfully sell in existing market conditions will likely find themselves pricing more according to condition and location to sell, as buyers are perceiving value before they will buy.