FOX31 Denver

Denver-area home prices on their way back up

A sold sign stands in front of a house in Brighton, N.Y. Average rates on long-term mortgages continue to fall to new record lows, as the key 30-year loan dropped below 3% for the first time in 50 years. The stagnant economic recovery in the face of the coronavirus pandemic is keeping inflation tamped down despite pent-up homebuying demand. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, File)

DENVER (KDVR) — Spring homebuying season is pushing Denver metro home prices higher after months of steady decline.

The March market report from the Denver Metro Association of Realtors describes a strong start to the house-hunting that typically ramps up in March and April. There are more homes for sale than there have been since last fall, they’re selling more quickly and they’re selling for higher prices.

The median sales price for a single-family detached home in the Denver metro was $620,000 in March – a 3% increase from the February price.

This is the second month in a row in which Denver area prices have risen following a prolonged slide.

Prices last year peaked at $680,000 for a single-family home. They fell every month but one, bottoming out at $595,000 in January. The price had ticked up modestly to $600,000 in February before rising again in March. Condo and townhome prices, meanwhile, haven’t risen markedly but refuse to fall either, hovering at the $400,000 – $410,000 range they have maintained since last summer.

Homes are selling more quickly. A home in the Denver metro sat on the market for 39 days in March, the shortest sale period since last November.

Sellers are more active in listing homes now. There were 3,561 new listings in March, the most since last September.