Metro Denver’s housing market just face-planted out of the gate in January, and The Denver Post laid it out in black and white. Closings fell to a January level not seen since 2008, even with mortgage rates lower than a year ago.
Here’s what happened, where: Metro Denver buyers closed 1,919 homes and condos in January, down hard from December, while new listings surged and homes took longer to sell. Meanwhile, the median single-family price still sat at $615,000. Affordable? Sure, if your definition of affordable is “bring a six-figure down payment and a prayer.”
The Bullet Point Brief
- January closings: 1,919 homes and condos, down 40.6% from December and nearly 20% from January 2025.
- Pending sales rose to 3,060 in January, up 47.2% from December, suggesting activity could pick up soon.
- New listings jumped to 4,455 in January, nearly 153% higher than December and similar to January 2025.
- Active listings ended January at 8,228, up 8.2% from December and 7% from a year earlier; median days to sell increased to 53.
- Mortgage rates averaged 6.1% at the end of January (down from 6.9% a year earlier); median single-family sold price was $615,000 and condo/townhome was $390,000.
My Bottom Line
Interesting and I am trying to circle this square: prices are high, sales are low, and interest rates are down. Yet we will still hear a drum beat for affordability like it is a brand-new concept invented last week by a consultant with a Canva subscription.
Let’s not pretend this is normal. When rates ease and sales still crater, that tells you confidence is shaky, budgets are tapped out, or both. The market is basically saying: we’re not paying that, not right now, not at these terms. Reality doesn’t take petitions.
After 7 years of Democrat control, I think the allure of Colorado has disappaited. That’s not a statistic, it’s a gut check, and a lot of families are doing it at the kitchen table while looking at a $615,000 “starter” home.
And my guess is, the dems will blame Trump. Translated: when the policies don’t pencil, they will hunt for a villain instead of fixing what’s broken.
If you need a narrative to sell it, it probably isn’t working.
Here’s the fix: stop treating housing like a morality play and start treating it like math. Cut the red tape that slows building, quit stacking mandates that jack up costs, and let local communities solve local problems without Denver’s one-size-fits-nobody rulebook. Show me the numbers, and we can argue like adults.
Folks Source: The Denver Post
