National media are beginning to talk about a transition from a seller’s market to a buyer’s market, as home prices dip with rising mortgage rates. But don’t expect that shift to happen anytime soon in Denver.

The median price of a single-family home in Denver stood at $723,750 in July, down from $750,000 a month ago. But that’s still an 11.5% increase from a year ago, according to a report released this week by the Colorado Association of Realtors.

“The numbers indicate that this is still very much a seller’s market,” said Martin Schechter, who released the association’s Market Trends Housing Report.

Months of supply, the key metric dividing a buyer’s from a seller’s market, is running 1.9 months in the Denver area, up 72% from a year ago, but decidedly in seller’s market territory. Agents typically see a six-month supply as the dividing point between buyer’s and seller’s markets.

“Homeowners are still seeing appreciation and buyers are still paying a higher price,” said Schechter. June is often the month when prices hit their annual peak, he added.

The state’s inventory of homes rose 30% from July of last year, but single-family inventory in Denver County was up only 22%. Inventory of condos and townhomes in Denver actually dropped by 12.5% year-over-year, according to the report.

“The current market peaked in April, but it’s still a seller’s market,” said broker-agent Jennifer Markus, who recorded $55 million in sales last year for Kentwood Real Estate DTC, often in the market’s higher reaches.

Prices, she says, are neutralizing to 2021 levels. “Now, rather than getting 10 offers, we’re getting three. And if the home is in the $3 million to $5 million range, we’re getting one offer,” Markus added.

“The market isn’t oversupplied,” said Chetter Latcham, president of Shea Homes Colorado, which builds homes in Castle Pines, Parker and near Chatfield Reservoir in Douglas County. “There’s still a pricing problem, but there isn’t an asset bubble.”

“Current conditions are creating near-term inventory, and that presents an opportunity for those who had been priced out of what was a white-hot market,” Latcham said.

In Arapahoe County, the median-priced home sold for $605,500, up 12.1% from a year ago, the report said. In Boulder County, the median single-family price was $827,000, up 4.7% from this time last year. And in Douglas County, the median price stood at $730,000, up 11.3% from the year-ago period.

Kentwood’s Markus said a monthly drop in price underscores the unusual rise that coincided with the pandemic and seemingly peaked in April. “Homes are sitting longer, and for some reason sellers seem to think they’ll be worth more next year,” she said.

Rates, Markus added, are likely to rise again this fall. “The caveat is that buyers are becoming very discerning. If a house is perfect, it’s still selling for top dollar. And if something isn’t updated, they’re sitting.”