Douglas County single-family sales fell 25.3% in September; townhouse and condo sales rose
Median prices fell in both categories, while single-family sales ranged from a steep drop in Highlands Ranch to a gain in Lone Tree.
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Douglas County recorded 378 single-family home sales in September, down 25.3% from a year earlier. Townhouse and condo sales rose 9.2% to 71, while median prices fell to $735,500 for single-family homes and $455,000 for townhouses and condos, according to the September market update from the Denver Metro Association of REALTORS.
Inventory moved in opposite directions. Active single-family listings fell 13.7% year over year to 1,616, while active townhouse and condo listings rose 11% to 314. New listings declined in both categories: 10.2% for single-family homes and 24.8% for attached homes.
Through September, single-family sales were down 7.2% year over year, while townhouse and condo sales were up 0.3%. Median prices were also lower year to date in both categories: down 1.3% for single-family homes and 0.1% for townhouses and condos. The year-to-date figures show that September’s increase in attached-home sales followed a nearly flat year for that category.
Countywide totals mask differences among communities. In Highlands Ranch, single-family sales fell 54.1% to 45, even as the median price rose 10.3% to $838,500. Townhouse and condo sales there rose 50% to 15, while the median price fell 16.9% to $480,000, the community’s report shows.
Lone Tree moved the other way for single-family homes: sales increased 35.7% to 19 and the median price rose 33.5% to $1.041 million. Its townhouse and condo sales fell 20% to four, with the median nearly unchanged at $590,000, according to the local update. In Parker, single-family sales fell 23.7% to 116 while attached-home sales rose 19% to 25. Castle Rock reported declines in both categories: 19.7% to 106 single-family sales and 11.8% to 15 townhouse and condo sales, the Parker and Castle Rock reports show.
These figures count homes that closed during September. The market reports caution that one-month results can be volatile because of small sample sizes, a particular consideration in Lone Tree, where 19 single-family homes and four attached homes sold. Median prices describe the homes that sold, not changes in the value of an individual home, and the reports do not adjust prices for seller concessions or down-payment assistance.
Freddie Mac’s weekly survey put the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate at 7.03% on Sept. 24, compared with the 6.67% August average cited in the Denver metro report. The rate figures provide broader market context but do not establish why sales or prices changed in Douglas County.