As the weather heats up each year, so does Denver’s housing market.

While last year’s spring selling season — when the number of homes sales typically peak in the region — cooled due to high housing prices and rising interest rates, the market this year is showing signs of a better start.

A surge of homes went on the market in February, according to a new monthly Market Trends report from the Denver Metro Association of Realtors released Tuesday, and average prices were up 3% from the same time last year.

Many home sellers who have been holding out for more favorable conditions are not wanting to miss out on the region’s hot spring selling season, the association said.

The metro Denver 11-county area saw 1,000 more new listings compared to January. Buyers have plenty more options as active listings at the end of February were up nearly 13% from the month before and 46% from the same point in 2023. That’s a difference of 5,500 homes on the market in February 2024 and 3,800 in 2023.

“The early rush hour in the market signals the pent-up desires of sellers, who have been sitting on the sidelines due to the dramatic run-up in interest rates since last spring,” said Colleen Covell, Realtor and Market Trends committee member.

The average home sold for more than $676,500, the report said. That’s up 3.27% from the prior month, and 3% from February 2023.

Most homes were on the market for 23 days, down two days from 2023.

This pent-up demand was most evident in multi-million-dollar homes.

The number of new listings nearly doubled for condos or townhomes worth more than $1 million from January. There were 690 listings for single-family homes in this segment, up nearly 59% from the month before and 52% from 2023.

“Although the rates have decreased some from their highs last fall, they do not appear to drop below six percent anytime soon,” Covell said. “Tired of waiting for optimum sale and rate conditions, sellers decided to jump back in.”

With buyers having more choices, they’re also taking more time to make a final decision.

There were fewer sales closed in February compared to last year. The month saw 2,860 closed sales this year to 2,880 in 2023. More than 3,500 sales were pending in February, up 1.8% from the year before.

Total sales volume nearly reached $2 billion in February, the report said.

The number of closed sales for all home types was down less than .5% from 2023, according to the report. Pending sales were up 1.8%. 

With higher prices from rising mortgage rates, more buyers want their homes to be move-in ready and are willing to wait to find the right one, said the association’s Market Trends Chair Libby Levinson-Katz in a statement.

“These buyers understand that more inventory is coming to the market and that they will have options,” Levinson-Katz said. “They are also aware that they can negotiate on price and terms up-front, as well as negotiate at inspection.”