Home resales dip 8% in Denver area, but sales prices rise

Denver Business Journal - by Paula Moore

Date: Tuesday, February 8, 2011, 10:53am MST

Read more: Home resales dip 8% in Denver area, but sales prices rise | Denver Business Journal

Home resales in metro Denver were down in January from a year earlier, largely because there are no federal homebuyer tax credits to buoy sales, but average sold price was up because of the recovering economy, according to Metrolist Inc. data.

Resales of both standard houses and residential condominiums dipped 8.4 percent in this year’s first month to 2,156 from 2,353 for the same month of 2010. Such sales were down 12.7 percent from 2,469 in 2009.

“Resales were down in January because the first-time homebuyer credit is no longer in force,” said Gary Bauer, an independent residential real estate broker in Littleton and Metrolist analyst. Bauer also provided the Metrolist data to the Denver Business Journal.

Resales, also called existing home sales, are those of homes that have sold at least once before.

Average sold price, for houses and condos combined, rose 5.9 percent in January to $252,307 from $238,155 for the same month of 2010. That price was up 18.3 percent from $213,330 in January 2009.

Selling prices increased because consumer confidence is up, according to Bauer. “People are buying a little higher-priced home,” he said.

Read more: Home resales dip 8% in Denver area, but sales prices rise | Denver Business Journal