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Available homes in the Denver metro surged 48% year-over-year in May, producing the highest inventory levels since 2011.

According to monthly data compiled by the Denver Metro Association of Realtors, the 13,599 active listings in May are up 14% from April and 48% from the 9,159 available a year ago.

May’s available homes are close to the historic average of 14,510 from 1985 to 2024. The record high was 30,457 listings in 2006, and the record low was 2,075 in 2021.

But while that inventory makes Denver a buyer’s market, prices remain steady as potential buyers remain cautious. The median close price in May sat at $600,000, down slightly from April’s $604,000 but the same as the median close price a year ago.

“As more homes enter the market and fewer are closing, we’re seeing a build-up of active listings rolling into the next month,” said Amanda Snitker, chair of the DMAR Market Trends Committee.

“This is where strategy and staying power come into play. Sellers need to be mindful of how their home is positioned — while buyers may finally have more room to breathe.”

Data from April’s REMAX National Housing Report indicates that Denver is among 10 major metros where conditions favor buyers for the first time in years. Denver ranks third in that report behind San Diego and Raleigh, N.C.

According to the REMAX report, multiple markets are seeing a rare combination of:

• Increased active inventory
• Longer days on market
• Stable or declining median prices
• More new listings.

Nationally, Redfin reports 500,000 more sellers than buyers, the most on record. According to the report:

• There are 34% more sellers in the market than buyers. At no other point in records dating back to 2013, sellers outnumbered buyers this much. In other words, it’s a buyer’s market.
• Redfin expects home prices to drop 1% by the end of the year. Prospective buyers may see their purchasing power increase, and prospective sellers should consider selling sooner rather than later.
• 31 of the top 50 metros, including Denver, are buyer’s markets. The report shows Denver has 16,357 sellers and 11,525 buyers, a 42% difference.

According to DMAR, May’s pending sales of 4,349 were up 7% from April’s 4,069 and 10% from 3,949 a year ago.

However, May’s 4,036 closed sales were down 3% from April’s 4,145 and 10% from May 2024’s 4,460.

The median days of 13 in the MLS remained the same as April, but were up 44% from 9 days in May 2024.

Greg Cox with Compass said that in the $1 million or more market, May’s 5% sales volume dip in that category showed continued buyer hesitation.

“This gap between pendings and closings highlights a deliberate pace: buyers are entering contracts but pausing before finalizing, likely due to increased inventory and higher expectations, as well as a potential blip in the market from tariff negotiations in April.”

Andrew Abrams with Guide Real Estate expects the number of available listings in the $750,000 to $999,999 category to continue to increase.

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“Historically, inventory tends to peak around September. This means buyers who remain patient may soon benefit from more options, while sellers may find that patience is increasing tested.”

More inventory lets buyers prioritize low-maintenance homes while sellers face more challenges.

“If their property isn’t turnkey and priced appropriately, they are left with two difficult choices,” Abrams said. “Wait for the right buyer or reduce the price to stay competitive with other available options.”

The news and editorial staffs of The Denver Post had no role in this post’s preparation.

A grand jury has indicted a Jefferson County man on 11 counts of securities fraud involving a house-flipping business he owned that allegedly solicited $4.8 million from at least 80 investors.

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Mack Jamie Sprouse, who ran Urban Veneer Holdings LLC, was arrested on June 3 and indicted two days later. According to a press release from the Colorado Division of Securities, Sprouse raised investor funds through the issuance of promissory notes that promised to repay the principal of the note and high-interest payments.

The indictment alleged that Sprouse made untrue statements and failed to disclose material facts to investors and engaged in fraudulent business practices. It also alleged that Sprouse falsely led investors to believe their investments would be secured by either Urban Veneer or collateralized by specific real estate assets.

Sprouse is not registered to offer or sell securities in Colorado, authorities said. The Colorado Division of Securities led the investigation while the Colorado Attorney General’s Office is prosecuting the case.

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A former Veterans of Foreign Wars post along West Colfax Avenue in Denver has hit the market.

Colorado’s VFW organization is asking $5 million for the 20,000-square-foot building at 4747 W. Colfax Ave., which sits on just shy of an acre.

The site sits on two sides of an alley and is zoned C-MS-5, which generally allows mixed-use buildings up to five stories. The two-story post building was built in 1981.

The nation’s first VFW isn’t a smoky bar with vets telling war stories. Here’s what Post 1 in Denver is doing instead.

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Post 501 was formed in 1920 and was the first thing locally to be named after Francis Brown Lowry, a Coloradan who was killed in action in World War I. He later became the namesake of the Lowry Air Force Base and thus the Lowry neighborhood, which now sits where the base once operated.

But Post 501 had its charter revoked last year by the national VFW organization, after the group’s statewide arm suspended the post and determined it could not be turned around.

“It is not done without a lot of due diligence and a lot of issues that we do not feel can be rectified by management of the post,” said Jesse Eastburn, adjutant/quartermaster for VFW Colorado.

Eastburn said the post officially had more than 100 veteran members, but only five were actively engaged — too few to even form a board.

Additionally, he said, there was “a lot of financial mismanagement.” The post building was rented out as event space, but leadership there failed to follow basic business practices, like ensuring the rental operation brought in more than it spent.

“It was very much financial illiteracy,” Eastburn said.

“At the end of the day, the biggest problem with 501 was they just wanted to be a bar,” he added.

The post was specifically built to be an event space, with the potential to have separate events going on each of the floors at once. The structure has a bar on both levels, a full kitchen on the ground floor and a catering prep area on the second floor. There are 70 surface parking spots.

“There is a way to reinvent this building that blends into some of the current concepts that are popular, like a beer garden,” said real estate broker Win King of King Commercial, who is marketing the property.

King has sold about eight post properties for the statewide organization over the past couple decades, and noted a buyer of 501 may be more interested in the land. It could be a good fit for income-restricted housing, he said, noting similar projects nearby.

“The preference probably from the city’s side and the community’s side is more housing … If you vacate the alley, you might be able to get north of 200 units,” he said.

The list price works out to $240 a square foot based on the existing building, and $122 a square foot based on the land.

The VFW’s priority is to get a reasonable amount from the property so it can use the funds to support its three service offices in Denver, Colorado Springs and Grand Junction. Staff there help veterans access benefits and navigate their Department of Veterans Affairs claims.

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Other Denver VFW properties have also sold in recent years. Post 2461 along South Broadway sold in 2019 because “there just weren’t enough people coming into the post to pay the bills and keep the lights on,” the post’s commander said at the time. In 2018, a post at 2190 S. Platte River Drive was sold after it too had its charter revoked.

There are now just two posts left in Denver proper, Eastburn said.

Nationally, the VFW has seen declining membership amid struggles to recruit younger veterans who served in Iraq or Afghanistan. Veterans must have served in a war, campaign or “expedition on foreign soil or in hostile waters” to join, per the VFW’s website.

Still, Eastburn said there are new posts being formed. Things like video game nights have seen success at attracting the younger generation. And the newer posts are often opting not to have a building, and instead meet somewhere like a local community center.

“They don’t have to worry about the financial strain of running a business,” he said.

Read more at our partner, BusinessDen.