What is happening with Denver area home sales at this time?

Is spring here in Denver? It certainly seems like it from these warmer temperatures. We know though that can all change here from week to week and sometimes day to day. This was an informative article from the Denver Post I wanted to share with good statistical information.

As consumer confidence increased in February, so did the number of homes sold in metro Denver, according to data released Wednesday.

The number of homes sold rose 3.4 percent in February to 2,229, compared with 2,156 the previous month, according to an analysis of Metrolist data.
Meanwhile, the Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index, which had increased in January, improved further in February. The index stands at 70.4, up from 64.8 in January.
The number of homes sold in February was still down 8.5 percent compared with February 2010, when 2,436 sales closed.

The year-over-year decline is largely a result of the first- time-homebuyer tax credit expiring last year. The credit on home purchases drove about 40 percent of sales activity a year ago, said Gary Bauer, an independent real-estate consultant.
"Take that out of there, and look at what we have today, and it's really positive," Bauer said. "I'm very happy with what the numbers show. We've got activity."

The median price for a single-family home declined 2.2 percent, from $225,000 in January to $220,000 last month. In February 2010, the median price was $220,750.
The median price for a condo dipped 0.17 percent to $124,780, compared with $124,995 in January. In February 2010, the median price was $132,500.
"When you look at it as far as pricing goes, 71 percent of the condos closed this month were less than $200,000," Bauer said. "That's very positive."

With 18,685 homes on the market last month, the inventory has remained stable, declining 0.6 percent from January and 3.4 percent from February last year.
"There's always the fear that inventory will rise much faster than the market can handle," Bauer said. "We're about a month away from the start of our prime season, so people are putting their homes on the market at the right time.