Covid 19 Virus Slows Denver, Suburbs Real Estate

“Looks like the Covid 19 virus is beginning to infect the Denver Real Estate Market.”, according to Larry.

The Corona Virus, Covid 19, has finally begun to impact the Denver ral estate market. Last week, Colorado Governor Polis clarified his Executive Order declaring real estate services as “essential” and an exception to the “Stay At Home” requirements.

As a result, we had been busy showing and selling homes for the first few days of that Executive Order. But, now the Governor has clarified that our services cannot including showing homes for sale.

Buy A Home Without Being In It?

That’s the “Catch 22”. We can sell homes but we cannot show them. If we are acting pursuant to an existing contract, we do  everything to get to closing including inspections, appraisal, etc. But, who in their right mind is  going to Contract to buy a home without seeing it person first?

The answer is that Denver Realtors can ask buyers to review all on-line photos and virtual tours before submitting an offer to buy a home. Sometimes, we can even get a virtual walk-though on Face-time or another media. Then, we have to option to submit an offer contingent upon an in-person showing.Whew. That’s complicated.

But, it’s not risky. Because, we provide for delivery of the earnest money only after the 1 or 2 day contingency period for the visual inspection. That way, the buyers can terminate if “seeing is not believing” this is really the right home for them. This cumbersome process is going to dramatically slow the sales even further.

But, the Governor has made it clear in his Executive Order and subsequent new conferences that is his intention. We wants us only only to list homes and make offers for clients who “need” to move right now. If they can wait this out, they should.

Denver Real Estate Virus

So, how far have we fallen. Answer is, sales in Denver and the south Denver suburbs dropped dramatically in the last month. Our March home sales here hit

Green line is current listings available over the last 16 month. Blue line is under-contract sales. Includes all residential listings in Denver, Arapahoe, Jefferson and Douglas counties priced above $300,000 and below $1.5m. Source: ReColorado, Denver’s MLS

3000 homes. So far in April, only 1000 homes have sold (Under Contract, pending closing). Following the new ban on in-person showings, don’t expect that number to go up much before the end of the month.

Yes, home sales are still continuing. But, the pace has dropped off. In addition, the number of listings has remained relatively constant  since the first  of the year. Usually, the number of listings to increase in the Spring by at least a third.

Should You Buy A Home in Denver Now?

Real estate closings are still allowed in Denver. So are inspections, appraisals and things necessary to close so long as they follow signing of a contract to buy.

So what does all this mean if you want to buy or sell real estate?  It all depends on how long you think the “lock-down” will continue in Colorado. Right now, it is scheduled to expire on April 26. If that happens, I expect our “spring Rush” to begin in earnest. As usual, buyers will be competing for the best listings with multiple offers. Sometimes, those offers will need to be above list price especially in price ranges below $800,000.

But, the longer the lock-down continues and Denver Realtors cannot show home in-person. I would expect demand to buy would be reduced and more listing could come on the market. If that happens, prices might stabilize or even fall instead of going up like it always does.

So, if you are moving here from out of state, you might want to buy now or hold off depending on your opinion about how long this lock-down will last. That depends on how urgent your need to move is. For example, if you home is already under-contract in another state, you might your Denver real estate to keep from becoming homeless.

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