Denver's real estate market will settle in 2023, experts say

1. The market will stabilize

Nicole Rueth, senior vice president at mortgage lender The Rueth Team, expects the first quarter will see slower demand, fewer new listings and lower inventory. 

"Q2 will see the transition to lower rates, more demand and more new listings," Rueth tells Axios.

• "Q3 and Q4 will see a return to normalized fall trends as buyers take advantage of homes as they come on the market."
• Home prices are expected to remain relatively flat in 2023, Zillow data shows.

2. Homebuyers will have more leverage

As the market settles, so will the "record-breaking appreciation homeowners have been spoiled with," realtor Jeremy Kane at eXp Realty anticipates.

"This will feel like a pull-back or a loss in value, when really it is just normalizing and will provide opportunities for buyers to make more logical choices when making offers on homes," he tells Axios.

3. Lower mortgage rates will unleash pent-up demand

With Redfin and other forecasters predicting a slow decline in rates, milehimodern senior broker associate Lori Abbey expects increased excitement among buyers and sellers alike.

"This should cause a lot of buyers to get off the fence and to the closing table," Abbey tells Axios. "Homes will be a little bit more affordable for buyers than last spring and demand for listings will increase with these lower rates."

4. Inventory will remain low

New construction will be key to offsetting Denver's already tight housing supply, milehimodern broker associate Rachel Gallegos tells Axios.

"With so many homeowners opting to stay put, we will see fewer move up buyers volunteering to sell and leave their low interest rate mortgages," Gallegos says.

5. Competition will heat up midyear

Increased competition will come into play toward the middle of the year and beyond, Abbey, of milehimodern, expects.

• "All in all, it will be an exciting year for sellers and buyers, both," she adds.