February brought a thaw to what had been a chilly start of the year for metro Denver’s housing market, with more homes listed, more homes going under contract and more sales completed, according to an update Wednesday from the Denver Metro Association of Realtors.

“Inventory and mortgage interest rates are the two variables we continue to watch closely. Rates have fluctuated since the first of the year, but a general downward trend has been noticed. Still, rates above 6.5% mean it is a significant part of the calculation for buyers,”  Amanda Snitker, chairwoman of the DMAR Market Trends Committee and metro Denver Realtor, said in comments accompanying the monthly report.

Sellers listed 4,828 properties, an 11.2% improvement from January, and 13.8% higher than February 2024. That resulted in 8,554 homes and condos available for sale at the end of February versus the end of January, an 11.3% increase in inventory.

Compared to a year earlier, the inventory of homes for sale is up 55.2%, but remains below the historical average for February of 12,492 homes in records going back to 1985.

Falling mortgage rates appear to be encouraging more buyers to step forward. The number of closings rose 8.5% to 2,573 in February, although the pace is down 17.3% from the same month in 2024. Pending sales, properties under contract but not yet closed on, rose 22.4% from January to 3,516. Those are up 9.3% on the year.

The median price of a detached home sold last month rose 1.5% on the month and 2.47% on the year to $645,575. The median price of a condo/townhome sold rose 1% on the month and 1.14% on the year to $400,000.

In a sign that the spring selling season is on its way, a listing spent a median of 29 days on the market in February versus 45 days in January. That is higher than the median of 23 days a year earlier, but a month-over-month improvement.

The condo and townhome market, however, remains more sluggish, with listings spending twice as long on the market as a year ago — 42 days versus 21 days.