Denver, CO real estate: buy or sell with a local AXEN agent
Denver is a city and a county at the same time. One set of offices handles your value, your tax bill and the recording of your deed, so you never deal with a separate county courthouse the way you do in the suburbs. It also means Denver writes its own rules on short-term rentals, backyard units and historic districts, and those rules stop at the city line.
Denver neighborhoods buyers ask about
Every one prices differently. Ask your agent for the latest sales in the ones you like.
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Buying a home in Denver: what to know
The rules that apply everywhere in Colorado are on the Colorado page. These are the Denver details that trip people up.
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One office does it all. Denver's assessor and treasury are divisions of the city's finance department, and the Denver Clerk and Recorder records your deed. There is no separate county building to visit, which is not true of any suburb around it.
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Extra districts can sit on top of your bill. Denver's mill levy is set each December by several taxing bodies, and the city's own list includes business improvement districts, general improvement districts and metropolitan districts. Ask for the full levy list before you write an offer.
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Some streets get a second bill. Denver runs 22 local maintenance districts. Those assessments are billed separately from your property tax, and a local improvement district statement can show up after construction wraps up.
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Historic districts add a review step. If the home is a landmark or sits in one of Denver's landmark districts, Landmark staff have to review all exterior work that needs a building, zoning, curb cut or encroachment permit. The district list runs from Larimer Square in 1971 to University Park in 2024.
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Test for radon before you close. Denver's health department says the EPA ranks Denver as Zone 1, meaning the average house will likely test above the action level, and Denver residents can order a free test kit from the city. Do it during your inspection period.
Selling a home in Denver
Your short-term rental licence does not travel.
A Denver licence is tied to the holder's primary residence, and a person can only have one primary residence. The buyer has to apply on their own, so do not price the home as if the licence conveys.
Pull any special assessment statement.
If the home is in a local improvement district, the assessment is billed apart from property taxes and can be spread over 12 yearly payments. Get the payoff figure before closing.
Show the backyard unit paperwork.
Denver allowed accessory dwelling units citywide from December 2024. If yours was built before that, have the permits ready. An ADU cannot be sold off as its own property.
Denver real estate questions
Can I buy a house in Denver just to Airbnb it?
No. Denver requires a short-term rental licence and the home has to be your primary residence, the place your habitation is fixed and your usual place of return. You can only have one primary residence. Renting only for 30-plus days at a time needs a residential rental licence instead.
Why is Denver's tax bill simpler than the suburbs?
Denver is one city and one county, so the assessor and treasury sit inside the city's finance department. Still check your levy list, because it is set each December by the school district, the council and any special districts, and improvement district assessments arrive as separate bills.
Can I add a backyard unit?
Usually yes now. Denver passed citywide ADUs in November 2024, effective that December, allowing them in all residential areas, about 70% of Denver's land, up from 36%. Each zone has its own setback, height and bulk rules, and HOA or metro district bylaws still apply.
How many unrelated people can live in one house?
Denver's rules define a household as any number of people who share meals, chores, rent and expenses, pick their own members and jointly occupy the whole unit. Rent-by-the-room setups count as congregate living and are not allowed in single-unit or two-unit zone districts.
What is a local maintenance district?
It is a small area that pays for its own extra upkeep through an assessment billed separately from your property tax. Denver has 22 of them. Ask whether the address is in one, because it is easy to miss when you are only looking at the tax bill.
Buying or selling in Denver? Talk to a local agent.
An AXEN agent who works in Denver answers your questions for free. No cost to talk. No pressure to sign anything.