Low inventory and high competition resulted in the toughest home-buying market of all time in metro Denver, according to a Denver Metro Association of Realtors report Monday.

In September, metro Denver broke records for the lowest amount of active listings, fewest days on market and most homes sold.

“This translates into the toughest market to buy a house in Denver Metro’s history,” said Andrew Abrams, chairman of the DMAR Market Trends Committee, in the report.

The number of active listings hit only 5,301, the lowest of any September on record. It beat the previous all-time-low by over 2,200 properties.

By the end of September, there were only 3,041 detached single-family homes available for sale in metro Denver, less than half of the inventory in September 2019. The last September low was 5,693.

Listings available for condos and townhomes also dipped, hitting 2,260, 18.2% lower than 2019.

Because of September’s low inventory, competition was high. Single-family detached homes spent a median of six days on the market, down from 16 days in September 2019 and beating the previous low record by three days.

The steep competition drove home prices up, with September also breaking the record for highest median home price.

September’s median price for a single-family home was $510,000, up from $450,000 in 2019. However, the average price of a home sold decreased from August, lowering from over $602,264 to $599,418.

New listings for residential properties totaled 6,456, up by 6.71% from 2019, and September’s closings hit 5,850, a 16.51% increase from 2019.

As for why the market is so competitive, Abrams blames COVID-19.

Abrams said the majority of sellers have enough equity to not feel pressured by potential market shifts and are likely hesitant to sell because the pandemic has made moving feel daunting.

“Buyers, on the other hand, may be spending a great deal more time at home and realizing they want more space while also looking to take advantage of the low interest rates,” he said.

Until the housing market returns to a non-record-setting trajectory, Abrams said buyers must adjust to making housing decisions quickly and paying over the listing price.