DENVER IN TOP 10 NATIONALLY FOR $1 MILLION HOMES
Denver ranks No. 10 in cities with the highest share of million-dollar homes, according to a new report by LendingTree. But for those following recent real estate trends, this revelation may not come as a surprise.
A recent report by the Denver Metro Association of Realtors found that the year-to-date sales of luxury homes for the first half of 2018 was greater than the number of sales during the same time period in the past few years in the Denver metro area.
Jill Schafer, an agent for Kentwood Real Estate and DMAR committee member, said she expects to see this trend continue.
“I don’t see it slowing down,” she said. “I think we’ve had a bit of a seasonal slow down, but I just don’t see it changing.”
Of the top 10 cities with the highest concentration of milliondollar homes, Denver is the farthest city inland, according to the LendingTree report. The majority of the top 10 cities line the coasts, with several clustered in California.
San Jose ranks No. 1, with 53.81 percent of homes valued at $1 million or more. It is followed by San Francisco (40.03 percent of homes) and Los Angeles (17.23 percent of homes).
The cities with the most milliondollar homes tended to have more expensive housing markets, with median home values exceeding $300,000, according to LendingTree. In May, a report by Metrostudy found that just 1 percent of homes in metro Denver were priced at less than $300,000.
Schafer believes the increase in million-dollar homes can be attributed to the rising cost of goods and the metrics of supply and demand in the city.
“People want homes, they’re more expensive to build, there’s fewer of them to buy and they’re having to pay more,” she said.
Consumers’ adjustment to the rising costs is perhaps one of the most fascinating parts of this trend, Schafer said.
“I think it’s interesting to me to see what used to be such a barrier marker and now that doesn’t seem to be there nearly as much,” she said. “Now people are saying ‘It’s over a million dollars? We’ll figure it out’ or ‘We have it figured out,’ and I think they aren’t as shocked as they used to be.”