Denver realtor says housing market shifting in buyers' favor, but interest rates won't go down

There was a time not too long ago in Denver, post COVID, when home sellers made the rules and buyers had to compete against each other for homes on the market, but not anymore.

"We're at a much different place," said Kelly Moye, a spokesperson for the Colorado Association of REALTORS. "It has changed to a full-fledged buyer's market."

That means buyers have a lot of inventory to choose from, and sellers must be more competitive. Moye says there are 16,000 homes on the market right now and only 10,000 buyers.

"Our prices have corrected a little bit. We're seeing homes stay on the market for much longer," said Moye.

She says the reason is twofold. First, the Denver market became unaffordable, which drove buyers away.

"People stopped moving here," said Moye.

That might have motivated the remaining buyers, but then came another challenge.

"The interest rates started to go up," said Moye.

Moye is also a realtor. She says a 7% interest rate is intimidating to buyers, but she also says that shouldn't deter someone looking for a new home.

"Don't try to time the market to buy when interest rates are low. You buy when you're ready to buy," said Moye. "Because we've had buyers who have been sitting on the sidelines for a year waiting for rates to drop. And what have they done? They've only gone up."

She says right now there are lots of available homes that are move-in ready because that's what sellers have to do to sell.

"Buyers who are buying it at 7% interest rate don't have the money to go fix up stuff. So, we're going to make sure that house looks perfect," said Moye.

And she says buyers should lock in interest rates at 7% now, even if they seem high.

"Those rates aren't going down. They're going up," said Moye.