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Here’s the July 2007 data from Metrolist (the Denver Multiple Listing Service provider).

There were 3,899 Residential sales for the month of July. That is down 4.11% from June, but up 2.63% over July 2006. Under Contract listings follow the same trend: down 3.47% from June, but up 6.94% from a year ago.

These figures probably account for the change in the number of Active listings. At 22,643 homes on the market, it’s 0.57% more than June, and 3.41% less than a year ago. So overall, the trend is in the right direction.

A trend that is negative, however, is that the average sold price is down both from June and from a year ago (5.62% and 3.86% respectively). Contributing to that fact is the relationship between the sold price and the list price. Homes are selling for 97% of the final listing price, and 91% of the original list price.

In other words, on the average a home is listed too high for the market and the list price is reduced one or more times before it sells. When it does sell, the discount off the list price is 3%, but when compared to the original list price the discount is 9%. The fact that homes were listed about 6% too high originally contributes to the length of time on the market (90 days for July sales).

Trends for Condominium-type properties (including townhomes and patio homes as well as hi-rise condos) is similar to that for single-family Residential homes, but the number of listings is only about 1/3 that of Residential properties: (7,629 Active, 1,253 Under Contract, 1,081 Sold in July).

What are we to learn from this? (1) The Denver real estate market is fairly strong, but there are still a lot of homes on the market relative to the number of homes selling each month. (2) This is not the time to “test the market” by trying to get a higher sale price than homes sold for last year. Your home will sell in a reasonable time if it is priced right to begin with (and if it is in sharp condition, of course—there is too much competition to get a good price for a home that needs a lot of work). (3) If you want or need to move, it’s a good time to do it even though you may not get “top dollar” for your home. You also won’t pay “top dollar” for the home you will buy.