From Over asking to Price Cuts: How the Denver Housing Market Flipped in Just 18 Months

In early 2023, sellers did have cause for prosperity. Denver homes were going under contract within hours, sometimes days. Multiple offers. Over-asking prices. Waived contingencies. It was just a feeding frenzy and the home owners did have unprecedented leverage.

However, the story has changed by mid-2025 now. As sellers act prices are dropping the market sees homes lingering the pandemic boom's lost power returns to buyers.

We can take a timeline-style adventure into the past 18 months to understand the shift. This adventure will show how we went from overasking mania into common price reductions and what it means for buyers and sellers in today’s Denver real estate market.

As 2023 then began, the Denver Metro market was still feeling some adrenaline from 2022. Often sellers listed high then they got what they asked for or more. DMAR released the January 2023 Market Trends Report too. The report had the information that follows.

Days on market median: around 16
The percentage of closed price to list price was up to 99.8%. That is a large fraction.
Tight inventory levels remained at less than 1.5 months' supply.
Post-pandemic FOMO made buyers still dealing more willing for overpayment than missing out.

The cracks appeared just as the spring selling season then began. Interest rates climbed above 6.5%. As a result, affordability became an issue front and center.

In her May 2023 First American Title report, Megan Aller noted that:

“Buyer fatigue is real. We're starting to see resistance in price. This is in fact especially true above a sum of $750,000.
Attached homes plus entry-level listings remained somewhat competitive while demand was softening in suburban and luxury markets.
As days on market crept into the low 20s, savvy buyers began again negotiating.

The market in Denver had transitioned away from being just a seller's market by mid-summer and then the writing was on the wall. Sellers listed too high. They were sitting.

According to DMAR’s July 2023 report are the following:

Market median days increased to 27.
On a year-over-year basis, price reductions increased by about 34%.
When priced right homes below $600K still moved fairly quickly.
Megan Aller spotlighted homes labeled “zombie listings” since the pricing was unrealistic.

Q4 is usually slower now though it was almost paused. Rising mortgage rates (peaking around 7.5%) sidelined more buyers. Sellers were disappointed hoping for holiday miracles.

Here are some of the more prominent DMAR metrics from within December 2023.

Inventory months totaled 2.1. That amount is the highest that it has been in a period of over 3 years.
Nearly 48% of all active listings had experienced at least one price reduction. This is indeed an important percentage.
Luxury listings ($1M+) experienced the highest average market time because they reached almost 61 days.
For the first time since pre-COVID buyers had enough time to negotiate and to think and even walk away.

A tough message did come along with the arrival of the new year: The old rules did not apply anymore. “Overasking” wasn’t the norm. Sitting was the recipe.

The February 2024 analysis that was done by Megan Aller found this:

Listings under contract in less than 2 weeks were priced within 2% of market value.
Are listings priced beyond 5% of the market? Typically, stopped over 30 days.
Success came much more often to the sellers with offerings of concessions that covered all closing costs and all rate buydowns and all inspection credits.
The new "secret weapon" turned into smart pricing.

For pre-pandemic levels, inventory returned Spring 2024. For buyers, choices and expectations existed now.

About May 2024's DMAR report, it revealed the following:

From year to year, inventory is up by 25%.
About 30 marked the typical market days.
More in browsing, less in urgency, signaled showings for each listing got dropped.
Intentional pricing began at the point when agents and sellers were using fresh CMA reports plus historical sales data and trend forecasting for the purpose of dialing in listing prices inside of the “Goldilocks Zone.”

By summer and fall, many Denver submarkets saw buyers firmly in control. For sellers who refused to adjust expectations, chasing the market was the fate.

Megan Aller's Q3 data got revealed.

Price reductions were occurring for about 40–50% of those new listings.
Average reduction affected the starting price. That reduction totaled 4.8%.
Staging value, upgrade value, and price transparency helped sellers in selling 2.3x faster than others.
In this period, aggressive agent outreach and reverse prospecting became common as listing agents searched actively for buyers instead of waiting.

Now even in 2025, Denver's market has leveled off, so it avoids a crash. Instead, it rebalanced.

The April 2025 Market Report from DMAR offers some key stats.

Prices for homes near the median are slightly on the down side (approx. 2–4% depending on area).
Days on market average at least 35. This average is impacted by condition and location.
Inspection objections can be used more and more by buyers in order to negotiate improvements in price after the contract.
“Back on market” statuses have risen often from loan issues or buyer cold feet.
Today’s buyers are cautious in that they are present. Sellers must offer true value otherwise risk obsolescence. Stale inventory pools now are growing.

This quite balanced market now is here for you if you've been waiting.

You can now:

Homes should be compared with care.
Price and terms are open for negotiation.
Ask for fixes or compromises such as lowered rates.
To waive contingencies avoids that kind of pressure.
Still, homes that are desirable and priced correctly do move with quickness, so do beware. Being decisive, pre-approved, and in preparation is still needed.

Hoping still for the best and with overpricing it no longer works in this market.

The data is clear:

Price reductions hurt momentum.
Overpriced homes get stigmatized.
Online presence matters. Those initial impressions determine quite a lot.
It is more important than ever to be working with an agent for marketing targeted and for pricing hyperlocal understanding. You still have the ability to sell with speed and with profit if you nail it right out of the gate. Yesterday’s prices could make you lose chasing time. Money losses might happen too.

The previous year and a half showed us real estate involves more than just feelings. It is now all about the data and the timing with precision.

We now have tools, like DMAR’s monthly market breakdowns to Megan Aller’s razor-sharp analytics, that can help buyers and sellers make smarter moves in any market.

If you intend to buy or sell this year, your success will depend on your adaptation to this new normal. Price tactically. Stay informed. Always move according to a plan not just hope.

Let’s connect. Within this market, I will show to you how you can position yourself in order to achieve success plus what is now happening within your specific neighborhood.