Home sales in metro Denver slowed a bit in October and prices stayed flat for a change, giving buyers a bit of breathing room from the frenzied market that has defined much of the year, according to the latest Market Trends report from the Denver Metro Association of Realtors.

The number of closings last month, 5,169, dropped 8.5% from the number of September closings, and 20.8% from October 2020, the report shows. Average sales prices have stayed basically flat for the past two months, with October coming in at $612,719, a less than 1% decrease from September’s. This is still a healthy 9.5% year-over-year increase, and a whopping 71% increase from the average sales price in 2017, $436,798.

“Earlier in the year, expectations from sellers were that their homes would sell for substantially above asking price,” Andrew Abrams, chairman of the association’s Market Trends Committee, said in a release. “While properties are still closing above asking at 101.82% of the list price, realities have caught up with expectations. Buyers can be grateful that the extreme bidding wars are less common, and those without 20 percent to put down have a fair shot at a house and the continued low interest rates can keep monthly payments down.”

The inventory of available homes dropped yet again to 3,376, 15% less than September and 30% less than the number of metro Denver homes available for sale in October 2020.

“Across the board, the majority of statistics were seasonally consistent with what Denver has seen in years past,” according to the report.

One thing that stands out, however, is the number of homes sold year-to-date: 2021 has more than in any of the previous five years.

“It has been a tough year,” Abrams said in the report. “Realtors have had to constantly re-strategize, buyers have felt demoralized, and sellers have had to move, which is an obstacle in and of itself.”

The average days on market climbed a bit to 14 days, but that’s still 41.7% less than the average 20 days on market in October 2020.

The report covers the 11-county metro Denver market, including Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Clear Creek, Denver, Douglas, Elbert, Gilpin, Jefferson and Park counties.