What is next for Colorado's real estate market

The number of homes and condos sold in July, was a record in Denver. Something the Denver Metro Association of Realtors (DMAR) said indicates the housing market is detached from the struggles of the nation's economy. A total of 16.3 million people remain unemployed and the nation's unemployment rate stood at 10.2% in July, according to the latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. But numbers in the real estate market are trending opposite. American online real estate database company Zillow's data shows that home prices continue to rise year-over-year in all 50 major metropolitan areas, with prices surging in Denver. DMAR said the only thing that would likely slow the housing market down is another COVID-19 shutdown. Zillow data shows the May median sales of homes in Denver was $432,153, versus a national median price of $263,408. Builders are also creating new neighborhoods in the suburbs, such as Canyon Village being constructed in Highlands Ranch. U.S. Department of Commerce data shows new home construction across the country was up 22.6% in July. Leslie Burley, a realtor at American international real estate company Remax, points to three big market drivers:

• People's need bigger homes.
• Low interest rates.
• Pent-up demand after sellers and buyers both stepped away from the market last spring in the shut-down.

"A lot of us are working from home now, one possibly two members of the household are having to work from home," Burley said. "They are teaching their children at home and they need the space." That quest for more space, Burley said, is forcing another trend: a new surge in buying in the suburbs. "With interest rates at record lows, 3%, folks are getting the opportunity to buy a bigger home, and many are leaving the urban areas and going into the suburbs because, you know, more wide-open spaces and larger homes to take care of today's needs," she said.