What 2024 holds for Denver real estate
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Denver housing experts predict the market will be less stagnant — but not wildly different — in 2024.
Why it matters: Many homeowners and wannabe buyers stood still in 2023, waiting for rates to drop before they made a move.
What they're saying: If mortgage rates fall, it opens the door for first-time buyers to hop off the sidelines. "And more existing homeowners will be willing to exchange their ultra-low interest rates" for a new home, Denver Compass agent David Schlichter predicts.
Yes, but: "When interest rates come down, buyers who have been waiting will come out in force," says Kelly Moye, a real estate broker in Boulder and Broomfield counties.
- And with supply expected to remain low, it "will likely push us back into a seller's market with competing offers," she notes.
Zoom out: If the economy is steady, rates could land around 6%. If the economy stumbles, mortgage rates could fall more significantly, says Greg McBride, Bankrate's chief financial analyst.
- No one can say with certainty just how much mortgage rates will change because they are impacted by inflation and the Federal Reserve.
Yes, but: Some buyers will hop off the sidelines, regardless of rates. "2023 has been a waiting game to watch interest rates but eventually, when people need to move, they will actually do so instead of waiting for rates to come down," Moye says.
- "I try to encourage buyers to focus on what they need, and what they can afford," Opendoor's Merav Bloch tells Axios.