New Zillow report shows majority of Denver homes lost value over last year

According to a report from Zillow, the Denver metro area is leading the country for the number of homes that have lost value over the last year, at about 91%. That's significantly higher than the national average of 53%.

"If you're expecting last year's market, and you're going into that, you are going to be severely surprised and possibly quite disappointed," said Denver resident Radleigh Valentine. 

Valentine is in the midst of selling one home and buying another, and the process has been less than desirable.

"I've bought 12 homes," said Valentine. "This is the first time I've ever lost money on a house. Ever in my whole life."

In an effort to downsize, Valentine still felt the loss was worth it. However, he was met with shock when he went under contract for his new home.

"It didn't appraise," said Valentine. "We did work it out, but the challenge there is that it just creates an additional stress, because for me, my house was under contract, and I'm like, oh my god, I have to close because I have to have somewhere to go."

If a house doesn't appraise, that typically means the seller has to come down on price, or the buyer has to pay the difference in cash.

"That, for me, was going to make the deal not work," said Valentine.

Although it ultimately did work out for him, the current housing market in the Denver area undoubtedly favors buyers.

"One of the ways that that's working out is, you get a new roof, and you get a new roof, and I get a new roof," said Valentine. 

"There's a lot of room for buyers to negotiate," Bret Weinstein added. "We're certainly seeing people getting deals, and that's going to be reflected in the stats."

Weinstein has been a real estate broker in Denver for over a decade and says the recent report from Zillow regarding widespread drops in home values isn't as bad as it sounds.

"We have the most homes that we've had since 2012," said Weinstein. That doesn't mean, though, that the homes that are actually selling are losing value. The homes that are selling are still remaining fairly constant, or on average, up about 3.78%. But as far as the active homes, absolutely, we're seeing price reductions. People are trying to sell."

And Weinstein believes the biggest change in the market could actually come in 2026 if interest rates drop.

"The real message is, if rates continue to drop as they have this next year, it's going to be crazy," said Weinstein. "There are so many people in Colorado that want to buy that have been holding off."