DENVER — In a market trends report released in early February from the Colorado Association of Realtors, the numbers show Denver median home prices going down by 1.2 percent in January of 2019 compared to January of 2018.
"We're seeing prices go up 3 to 4 percent in some areas, and in Denver they actually went down 1 percent so you can see there's a slowing happening," said Kelly Moye, the spokesperson for CAR. "So it's still moving forward, it's just not moving forward quite as fast."
But a report from Zillow says the median price of a home in the Denver metro area went up by 5.1 percent compared to last January. Moye says those numbers can be misleading.
And even Zillow says their estimates are a good starting point and good for historical reference, but should not be used for pricing a home.
"What people need to know is that public websites don't get their data from the MLS which is the most accurate source of information," said Moye.
For people unfamiliar with realtor speak, the MLS is the Multiple Listing Service, which Moye says is "what realtors use, and it's updated in real time every single moment for every home sale out there."
In other words, Zillow can't go in your home and know that your kitchen was updated or your roof is leaking, but a realtor can.
Moye says the numbers from CAR mean that buyers right now have more choices, unlike the last 5 years where "inventory's been at record lows."
"Well all of a sudden this January we saw listings up by 24 percent in Denver in houses, 23 percent in townhomes, so they all of a sudden have more choices," said Moye.
She says you won't necessarily get a far cheaper home, but you might be able to get the home you want.
"It's not like the prices are going down drastically or we're seeing sellers take a lot less in list price," she said. "It's just that you have more options. And when you have more options you have a little longer to look."
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