Denver Residential Market Update For January
January reflected typical post-holiday trends to the Denver residential market with fewer closings, more new listings, and longer selling times. Although interest rates continue to fluctuate within a narrow range, they have dropped down to 6.09%, heightening optimism that they will soon be below 6%. The 10-year average for expired listings in January is 770, but we are looking at 1,477 expired listings as of this January, so we are well above the long-term average. Months of inventory also went up to 5 months in January. Let’s dive into the key market data for the Denver residential real estate market to see what is happening with supply, demand, sales prices, and months of inventory for January 2026.
Supply
In January, we had 4,726 new listings hit the market. This was up 133.6% from December! It was also up 2.4% from 2024. This greatly expands the options for potential buyers.
The total amount of active listings at the end of the month was 9,665. This is down (0.7%) from December 2025. The 10-year January average from 2016 to 2025 is 6,011 listings, so we are also above our long-term average for active listings.
The most recent report for detached home construction starts is October 2025. The Denver Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) pulled permits on 631 homes. This is lower than the five year average of 862 for October. Year to date construction starts for 2025 compared to the same period in 2024 shows a (15.7%) decline.
In terms of active listings, the supply is in a better position compared to the last three years but in a worse position for new construction starts.
Demand
Showings are a great leading indicator for demand in the residential real estate market. There were 50,630 showings booked through the largest showing service in the Denver metro area during January.
This is up 12.5% when compared to January 2025. The average amount of showings for January, over the last five years, is 67,547. Therefore, we have fewer showing requests than previous years.
Denver had 2,938 properties go under contract in January 2026. This is up 47.8% compared to December 2025 and is also up 7.9% compared to January 2025.
There were 1,951 closings in January 2026 compared to 3,045 in December 2025, representing a (35.9%) decrease. A year ago, we had 2,316 closings in January 2025, so the volume of closings is down (15.8%) YOY.
The median days on market for January was 53 days. This means half of the properties listed are under contract in 53 days or less.
The list price to close price ratio decreased slightly to 98.80%, but it is still indicating that sellers are generally getting what they are asking.
All in all, demand for housing is softer when we look at showings and when we look at closings. Let’s look at the median sales price.
Sales Prices
In January, the median sales price decreased from $565,000 to $560,000. This metric includes detached and attached properties. The median price decreased (0.9%) over December and is now down (1.7%) from January 2025.
The long-term average appreciation for residential real estate is 6%. Higher prices and higher interest rates will continue to temper appreciation in the short run. Tight inventory is helping to prop up the market.
Although prices are down slightly from last year, we are encouraged to see the median price increasing as we get through the winter season and inch closer into the spring season.
Let’s look at months of inventory now.
Months of Inventory
Months of inventory is a great indicator to watch for market trends. Typically, a seller’s market has 0-3 months of inventory. A balanced market has 4-6 months of inventory, and 7+ months of inventory is a buyer’s market. In a seller’s market prices go up. In a buyer’s market prices go down.
With 9,665 listings on the market and 1,951 closings in January, the months of inventory is at 5 months or 21.23 weeks of inventory. Therefore, the inventory is balanced when compared to the demand.
All in all, months of inventory is a great metric to watch.
Final Thoughts
In conclusion, supply, demand, median sales price, and months of inventory are ideal key performance indicators to watch for market trends. Supply is way higher than the record lows of 2021 and 2022 and is also higher than the long-term average. Overall demand remains softer with high interest rates, evidenced by few closings and longer days on the market. We believe there is a tremendous amount of pent up demand happening right now and as soon as rates come down, more buyers will enter the market. Five months of inventory points to a balanced Denver residential market for now.
Here is a link to the full presentation:
