Buyers looking for homes in the metro Denver market found the cupboard historically bare in January, with about 10 times fewer homes available for sale than in a “normal” market, according to a Market Trends report released Thursday by the Denver Metro Association of Realtors.

Only 1,184 single family homes and condominiums were available in the 11-county metro Denver area at the end of January, a stunning 19.84% drop from December’s already historically low level of 1,477 homes for sale, and 48.88% lower than January 2021.

“That is over 10 times less inventory than normal,” Andrew Abrams, chair of the Market Trends committee, said in the report. “Just imagine how many brick-and-mortar clothing stores there are. Once you get to 10, remove nine of them and shop there exclusively. Welcome to a buyer’s life in this market.”

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New listings year-over-year were down 17.77% in January — from 4,231 to 3,479 — and there was only a 31% increase in new listings from December.

“Traditionally, we see a 70 percent increase from December to January,” Abrams said.

“Last year at this time, there was not a lot of inventory,” he added. “This year, there’s almost half as much. This will likely translate to fewer homes being bought and sold over the course of the year as there is simply less to choose from. … Since mid-2020, we’ve seen inventory at any given moment feel inadequate.”

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A glimmer of good news for buyers existed in the most recent report: Average sales prices dropped slightly for the second month in a row.

The average price for residential homes stood at $609,132 at the end of January, down 2.7% from December’s $626,573 average. But, like December, it jumped double digits year-over-year, 11.2% as opposed to December’s 14% increase from 2020.

The average number of days on the market increased 11% from December to 20 days, still five days faster than the average number of days on market in January 2021.

The number of closings in January — 2,847 — is 40% lower than December and 11.8% fewer than the number of closings year-over-year.

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“Competition has been high, with double-digit offers being the norm,” Abrams said. “Creativity in writing offers has been instrumental for a successful outcome.”

The report covers transactions from the greater Denver metro area, including the counties of Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Clear Creek, Denver, Douglas, Elbert, Gilpin, Jefferson and Park.