With higher rates, the assumption stood that homeowners wouldn’t want to sell their homes in order to keep their low-interest mortgages locked.

But this year is subverting expectations for the metro Denver area’s home sales market.

There were more than 9,000 homes on sale at the end of May across the region, according to the Denver Metro Association of Realtors Market Trends Report, up 75% from last year. Active listings were also 150% higher than 2022, when mortgage rates had yet to peak.

“It was widely projected that inventory would remain flat throughout 2024, as long as there wasn’t a huge drop in mortgage rates,” said DMAR Market Trends Committee chair Libby Levinson-Katz in a statement. “However, that doesn’t seem to be the case, as sellers have been not only stepping but jumping off the fence to enter the market for a variety of reasons.”

Most Denver metro homes sold for at least $600K — hitting milestone earlier than last year

The median price of most homes sold stayed flat in May, according to the 11-county Denver region report released Wednesday — dropping .4% from April to $600,000.

Despite the flood of listings in the market, the number of sales is down from last year. The metro Denver region saw nearly 4,200 closings in May, down 5% from the year before.

“This is why it’s so important for sellers to take the time to prepare their homes for the market. Those who take their Realtor’s advice have found themselves moving to the closing table more quickly than their neighbors who have not put the time or energy into getting their homes ready to list,” Levinson-Katz said.

Homes are selling close to listing price at 99.8%.

Real estate transactions are still speedy from the pandemic’s hot housing market period. Most homes were listed for about nine days, three days longer than in May 2023.

“Consumers have been accustomed to transacting real estate quickly throughout the last few years,” Levinson-Katz said. “As a result, sellers are more willing to evaluate a price correction or negotiate with buyers at the onset for a quick sale.”