10 Fun Things To Do in Denver This 2021 Holiday Season

Light Festivals & Events

1.Christmas in Color

Drive through millions of lights perfectly synchronized to holiday music you’ll hear right through your radio. Drive-by giant candy canes, snowmen, arched pathways, and more. Take your time enjoying this lighting extravaganza - we won’t judge you if you join the kids with your face pressed against the window!

@BandemereSpeedway

2 Blossoms of Light

The Gardens’ signature event for over three decades, this annual holiday lights extravaganza transforms our York Street location into a twinkling winter wonderland. Join us for this family-friendly event that has become a holiday tradition for thousands of Front Range families. In line with our core value of sustainability, all lights used in the event are LED.

New this year! Don’t miss the spectacular new lighting feature in the O’Fallon Perennial Walk: a 200-foot-long, 17-foot-tall tunnel of animated lights, right at the start of the path. 

@DenverBotanicGardens

3. Zoo Lights

As the brilliant capstone to 125 Years of Love, our 2021 event promises to be brighter than ever—with a colorful crop of NEW installations and offerings, PLUS our most festive favorites, including nightly ice-carving demonstrations. 

With two million LED lights sparkling over 80 acres and delights around every corner, Zoo Lights is Denver’s wildest holiday gathering. Outdoor animal viewing during Zoo Lights is limited to cold-weather species such as Amur tiger, Bactrian camel, Przewaskli’s horse and most of our pachyderms. But our Tropical Discovery building will be open, offering access to 1,800 animals—including fish, frogs, snakes, lizards, capybaras and sloths—in a cozy indoor space.

In addition, El Pomar Village Hall is home to fishing cats and Asian small-clawed otters, both of which are busy hunting and playing at night. And, as always, your ticket helps create a brighter future for wildlife, here and around the world. Let’s raise a glass together!

PLEASE NOTE: MASKS ARE REQUIRED indoors at Denver Zoo for guests 2+, per City of Denver Public Health Order issued 11/24/21.

@DenverZoo

4. Luminova

Luminova Holidays Makes Its Colorado Debut
Featuring Santa, Lights, Rides and More!

Event hours are 5pm-10pm

Reservations are required and available every hour from 5pm-7pm

@ElitchGardens

5. 9News Parade of Lights

Are you ready to experience Colorado’s brightest holiday tradition? This FREE holiday spectacular features more than 40 units including extravagantly illuminated floats, giant helium-filled character balloons, magnificent marching bands, traditional equestrian units, and vibrant cultural displays. And of course, a special appearance by Major Waddles the Penguin and Santa! Join us for the live parade on December 4th at 6:00pm and check out the floats displayed throughout the month of December.

@9NewsParadeofLights

6. Trail of Lights Denver Botanic Gardens Chatfield

Tucked into the foothills under the dark sky, the glow of lights can be seen for miles. Just under a mile of walking trail, the illumination of cottonwoods, boxelders and pine trees line the pathway through the Green Farm, Crossroads, Deer Creek Discovery Children's Play Area and 1880s Hildebrand Ranch homestead. There is the option of a shorter path for those who want to take a shorter stroll. In line with our core value of sustainability, all lights used in the event are LED.

@TrailOfLights Chatfield Farms - Denver Botanical Gardens

7. Rock the Holidays at GUITAR:The Instrument That Rocked the World

This exhibit takes you on a fascinating exploration of the science, sound, history, and pop culture behind the world’s most popular instrument.    

The exhibition celebrates many facets of this iconic instrument, from its origin and continued evolution to the music it creates and the cultural impact it has. Explore STEAM concepts like sound waves, frequency, mathematical scales, engineering, and more through a wide range of hands-on experiences.    

Take in the exhibition’s collection of more than 70 instruments—ranging from the rare and antique to the wildly popular and innovative.  And don’t miss your chance to strum the world’s largest playable guitar, measuring in at 43.5 feet long and certified by Guinness World Records!    

Courtesy of Denver Westword

8. Camp Christmas

Journey through artist Lonnie Hanzon’s fantastical wonderland of lights, dazzling decorations, music, and memorabilia as you explore mesmerizing yuletide scenes spread across a six-acre landscape.

@Denver Center For The Performing Arts

9. Cirque Dreams Holidaze

CIRQUE DREAMS HOLIDAZE lights up the stage in a dazzling family holiday spectacular where a fantastical cast of holiday characters come to life presenting an elaborate wonderland, invoking the stories behind a child’s eye as they dream on the most magical of nights.

Gaylord Rockies

10. The Mile High Tree

Create a new family tradition and join in the free nightly festivities. The Mile High Tree puts on a dazzling music and lights show.

It's the largest installation of its kind in North America. The tree was created by ILMEX Illumination, a globally renowned decorative lighting production company in Spain. Madrid-based Brut Deluxe handled the lighting design using pixel-mapping technology.

Denver.org

December 2021 Real Estate Snapshot

From October to November, the market saw a staggering 33.41 percent decrease in month-end active inventory, dropping to 2,248. Throughout the entire Denver Metro area, there are currently only 1,444 single-family detached properties and 804 attached properties to buy.

Over the past five years, month-end active inventory dropped between 23.36 percent in 2016 and 27.92 percent in 2019. Theoretically, if inventory stayed the course and dropped 25 percent this year, the market would end the year at 1,686 active properties leading into 2022, which is drastically lower than the end of 2020 and would lead to the most competitive year yet. With 2,248 active listings on the market and that number expected to go down by the end of the month, expectations are set that 2022 will be a wild and competitive ride.

Despite high competition on the horizon, people continue to buy and sell relentlessly. Year-to-date, there have been more houses purchased than in any of the previous five years with the median sales price for single-family and attached properties setting records at $525,000.

“At the beginning of 2021, there were conversations about what type of responsibility we, as Realtors®, have to our clients,” commented Andrew Abrams, Chair of the DMAR Market Trends Committee and Metro Denver Realtor®. “How far from the comps are we willing to stray with the hope that the market will keep appreciating and our clients will be sitting in equity in a short amount of time? At the beginning of the year, offers six figures over asking price were common. That need subsided by the end of June and we see that it has been less common ever since.” 

While it may be common for buyers to take their foot off the gas and enjoy December festivities, this is the year to put the pedal to the metal in trying to find a property. Interest rates are low, and looking while others are not gives one a competitive advantage, which in this current market is a must.

Our monthly report also includes statistics and analyses in its supplemental “Luxury Market Report” (properties sold for $1 million or greater), “Signature Market Report” (properties sold between $750,000 and $999,999), “Premier Market Report” (properties sold between $500,000 and $749,999), and “Classic Market” (properties sold between $300,000 and $499,999). 

In the Luxury Market, Denver has more buyers ready to spend $1 million or more on their home today than any other time on record, with prices higher than ever as well. November 2021 was more of the same record-breaking trends with lowest inventory, lowest days in MLS, highest sales volume and highest average prices. In the pandemic world of the “new normal,” this is it for Denver’s Luxury Market. 

Last month, inflation drove up the prices for Denver real estate. The sales volume in the Luxury Market is the highest the market has seen in the last five years, up a staggering 69.17 percent from last year alone. When breaking it down to the attached market, luxury sales are up a whopping 145.84 percent year-over-year, likely due to the lack of interest in attached living in 2020.  

“While real estate typically sees the Luxury Market take a break as people celebrate the holidays and enjoy winter vacations, the low supply of homes are predicted to keep even the highest price points seeing multiple offers,” said Jenny Usaj, DMAR Market Trends Committee member and Metro Denver Realtor®. “Prices will soar as long as we continue on this path of low inventory. Historically, we have never seen a market with this low of inventory, increasing prices, appreciation gains and inflation. The perfect storm we are witnessing may unravel, but when and why is up for debate as we continue to keep an eye on interest rates.”

Based on the numbers today, it will undoubtedly be the most expensive season the Luxury Market has seen to date to buy a home unless a hard shift in interest rates occurs.  

The DMAR Market Trends Committee releases reports monthly, highlighting important trends and market activity emerging across the Denver metropolitan area. Reports include data for Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Clear Creek, Denver, Douglas, Elbert, Gilpin, Jefferson and Park counties. Data for the report was sourced from REcolorado® (December 3, 2021) and interpreted by DMAR.

November 2021 Real Estate Snapshot

Greater Denver Metro Real Estate Market November Trends Report Gives Buyers and Sellers A Reason For Gratitude This Holiday Season

In a year of continued turbulence, October represented a month of relative ease in the bumpy Denver real estate market, signaling gratitude across the housing industry. Across the board, the majority of statistics were seasonally consistent with what Denver has seen in years past, boding well for more households having the ability to host a Thanksgiving dinner. With prices staying consistent month-over-month, the door has opened for buyers that were previously exhibiting burnout in the home search process.

In the month-end active inventory, Denver saw that when lower numbers change, they yield higher percentages. At the end of October, there were 3,376 properties on the market, a 14.98 percent decrease from the previous month. The amount of listings also decreased by 13.28 percent, showing minimal changes in the month-end inventory.

There were over three times more single-family properties closed last month in the $500,000-$750,000 category than any other price point. However, currently there are more single-family detached properties available over $1 million than any other price point, which is far less surprising than the quantity of for sale properties between $500,000-$750,000. 

The DMAR Market Trends Committee releases reports monthly, highlighting important trends and market activity emerging across the Denver metropolitan area. Reports include data for Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Clear Creek, Denver, Douglas, Elbert, Gilpin, Jefferson and Park counties. Data for the report was sourced from REcolorado® (November 3, 2021) and interpreted by DMAR.

October 2021 Real Estate Snapshot

Photo by: @WalnutStreetPhotography

After Realtors® felt a relative slow down and seasonal return in July and August, September felt back to the normal red-hot speed in today’s housing market. Closed properties were 12.81 percent lower than last month at this time and a notable 19.27 percent lower than last September. With lower inventory and fewer homes, the balance of supply and demand stayed steady, leading to another month of competition for buyers. Months of inventory increased to .76 and while it may not have felt like a huge increase, it gave potential buyers a few more options.

Excluding the $0 to $99,000 homes, the most competitive market ranked in the $300,000 to $399,999 range. This price point had 0.51 months of inventory with a surprising 218 closed properties, showing that one can indeed still find a single-family detached property under $400,000. 

The least competitive market was attached properties over $1 million. While there were still 56 attached properties that sold over $1 million, the month-of-inventory for this category was 2.16, more than four times less competitive than the $300,000 to $400,000 and the $400,000 to $500,000 range.

“Even though prices are up over 15.11 percent year-over-year, now is still a great time to buy,” commented Andrew Abrams, Chair of the DMAR Market Trends Committee and Metro Denver Realtor®. “With interest rates low and expected to increase, plus a seasonal increase in inventory, waiting will only cost a potential buyer more money in the future. We continue to see more houses being purchased this year than any of the previous five years and this will likely hold for the remainder of the year.” 

Our monthly report also includes statistics and analyses in its supplemental “Luxury Market Report” (properties sold for $1 million or greater), “Signature Market Report” (properties sold between $750,000 and $999,999), “Premier Market Report” (properties sold between $500,000 and $749,999), and “Classic Market” (properties sold between $300,000 and $499,999). 

In September, the Luxury Market remained strong with a slight slowdown that saw 501 new listings hit the market, and inventory up 4.81 percent from one month ago and 15.17 percent year-over-year.  

While the market had a little boost in inventory, 418 of those new listings went into pending status, down 6.70 percent from one month ago, but up 5.56 percent year-over-year. Buyers still had to move quickly as the average days on market for a residential Luxury home was 21 days, down 12.50 percent from one month ago, and down 58 percent year-over-year. However, sellers didn’t mind the quick move because they received 101.28 percent over list price, down 0.22 percent month-over-month, but up 2.99 percent year-over-year. 

“The big question on everyone’s mind is whether or not we will see the housing bubble burst, but the data continues to show that it’s simply not going to,” said Brigette Modglin, DMAR Market Trends Committee member and Metro Denver Realtor®. “In the Luxury Market, we can celebrate and be grateful for a little more inventory coming into the market and buyers having a little more time to make decisions on a home.”

The detached Luxury market saw 445 new listings, with 362 going into pending status and 383 closing in September at 101.54 percent over list price. Meanwhile, the attached Luxury Market saw 56 new listings pop up, 56 head into pending and 56 close. Overall, buyers had a little more negotiating power in the Luxury attached market, with attached homes selling for 99.57 percent to list price and within an average of 25 days

The DMAR Market Trends Committee releases reports monthly, highlighting important trends and market activity emerging across the Denver metropolitan area. Reports include data for Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Clear Creek, Denver, Douglas, Elbert, Gilpin, Jefferson and Park counties. Data for the report was sourced from REcolorado® (October 4, 2021) and interpreted by DMAR.

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