As 2025 heads into the home stretch, the Denver Metro real estate market reveals a significant disconnect between perception and reality.
While many see and fear a “slow” market due to buyer hesitance, active inventory has surged to a decade-high, giving buyers leverage.
Amanda Snitker from the DMAR Market Trends Committee points to economic pressures, including inflation and the record-long government shutdown, as key factors influencing the market.
According to November’s Denver Metro Association of Realtors’ report, after reaching the highest active inventory in over a decade, last month saw a typical seasonal decline, with new listings falling by 41% from October and active inventory decreasing by 16%.
Those changes suggest a standard holiday slowdown rather than a failing market, Snitker said.
Meanwhile, months of inventory increased to 3.8, a 3% increase from October, and median days on market increased 9% to 36 days.
“Looking at several years of October to November data, the pattern holds. Each year, we see meaningful declines in new listings, pending sales and closed sales as the market moves into the holidays,” said Susan Thayer, with the Thayer Group and a member of the DMAR Market Trends Committee.
“Did the month feel slow and sluggish? Yes. Is this normal for November? Also, yes.”
Price trends also reflected typical seasonality, with a slight month-over-month decline in both attached and detached home prices.
The median close price for all closed homes dropped about 1% to $585,000. The median close price for detached homes dropped about 1% to $640,000, while the median close price dropped about 2% to $380,000 for attached homes.
Year-to-date, attached home prices decreased by 3%, while detached home prices remained stable.
Looking ahead
As 2025 draws to a close, December’s real estate market will see reduced inventory and fewer transactions amid the holiday slowdown.
Many sellers will consider temporarily pausing listings through the new year and relaunch in January, when buyers have fewer distractions.
Snitker predicts the market will experience its traditional uptick in listings and activity.
“Perhaps 2025’s most significant contribution to Denver’s housing market wasn’t dramatic, it was necessary. This was the year the market needed to recalibrate expectations and reestablish what a typical real estate market actually looks like,” she said.
“After years of frenzied bidding wars, waived contingencies and double-digit appreciation, 2025 reminded us that functional markets have negotiation, reasonable timelines and modest price movements. Homes that sit for 29 days aren’t signs of crisis. They’re signs of normalcy. Buyers who can negotiate concessions aren’t exploiting weakness; they’re participating in standard real estate transactions.”
The news and editorial staffs of The Denver Post had no role in this post’s preparation.