DENVER (KDVR) — Housing inflation should come as no surprise to Colorado’s historically tight housing market.

New data released Thursday tracked the sharpest inflation recorded in 40 years. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index says the price of all items rose by 7.9% in February 2022. The basics for basic necessities such as food, housing and energy are each crossing historic milestones.

Housing alone — the largest expense of any household — rose 4.7% in the year ending February 2022. The Colorado housing market and the Denver metro, in particular, have inflated even further.

There are fewer homes for sale in the Denver metro area than there have ever been, according to data released Thursday from the Colorado Association of Realtors. In the seven-county Denver metro area, there were 1,486 single-family homes for sale.

That number has been steadily sinking since last summer, which itself was the end of a year of record-breaking prices and housing shortages in Colorado and Denver. Last September, there were 5,200 homes for sale in the Denver metro, which was roughly half the average number of listings during the late 2010s.

As the supply has shorted, prices have continued breaking records. The median sales price for a Denver metro home was $615,000 in February, the highest ever and up 14% from a year ago.

Prices have risen faster than ever before. In Denver, sales prices rose $84,000 in just 30 days.

Homebuyers aren’t the only ones facing inflated housing prices. Denver metro rent is climbing as well.

On average, the cities that comprise the Denver metro have seen rents go up 14.7% in the last year. Every city except Brighton has seen rents climb by at least 14% since last February.

Parker’s rent climbed the most: 16.9%. Denver itself saw a 15.8% rise in rental rates.