denver real estate: Seeing Green on Your Denver Home Appraisal - 10/07/11 04:21 PM
If you’re a Denver homeowner who’s upgraded to energy-efficient appliances or features, you may finally get some payback. The Appraisal Institute, one of the largest associations of real estate appraisers and a leader in green valuation, has developed a new form to help analyze and value green features in a home.
 
At present, green features are seldom part of an overall home appraisal. So this form has been issued as an optional addendum to Form 1004 which is used by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Housing Administration for mortgage lending. It’s also used widely by appraisers who … (2 comments)

denver real estate: Highlands Ranch: Denver’s Unique Family Suburb - 09/30/11 10:26 PM
Of the many Denver suburbs, Highlands Ranch is one of the more unique places to call home.  After 30 years, Highlands Ranch residents continue to have a great life in this lovely area which has been recognized by many national magazines as one of the top places in the country to raise a family.
 
Highlands Ranch is not actually a city.  Managed by the Highlands Ranch Community Association (HRCA), it’s an unincorporated community in northern Douglas County, CO. The county provides law enforcement and other necessary functions while residents handle more local issues. But regardless of its “official” status, inhabitants … (3 comments)

denver real estate: Denver Metro Area Expects Job Growth in 4th Quarter - 09/28/11 08:38 PM
If you live in the Denver Metro area and are searching for a job, you have a better shot of success than many in the country.  The Manpower Outlook Survey shows that employers in this area will continue to hire at a “steady pace” from October through December of 2011.
 
Of the companies interviewed for the survey, 16 percent will hire more employees and only 7 percent will likely reduce staff size.  About 73 percent of companies will keep staff levels current, and 4 percent don’t yet know what they will do.
 
For Denver residents this means a … (2 comments)

denver real estate: DENVER REAL ESTATE MARKET UPDATE - SEPTEMBER 2011 - 09/25/11 01:11 PM

 
Market Metrics:
 
June was the first month in 2011 where closings exceeded $1.0 Billion, followed by July, and now in August, 3,973 homes closed at an average price of $260,821 which resulted in $1.0 Billion in sales volume for the month.  Wow, three months in a row with over $1.0 Billion in closings.  In spite of the national media, the real estate market is still quite active in Denver!
 
Monthly Market Recap:
 
 
As you can see above, inventory of single family homes is down sharply from a year ago, about 25% lower.  But sales are … (0 comments)

denver real estate: Prepare Your Denver Home for a Puppy - 09/23/11 09:31 PM
If you’ve decided that your Denver home needs a puppy to make the family complete, be sure you know what you might be (quite literally) stepping into. That lovable face and wiggly bottom can be the cause of anger and tears when important things are chewed up in a fit of puppy enthusiasm or mistaken for the lawn outside.
 
Before the new addition comes home, plan to make your house puppy-proof. Just like baby-proofing, this will keep your dog from getting sick or injured by household objects. It will also keep your blood pressure from rising over damaged Denver property.
… (5 comments)

denver real estate: Existing Denver Homes Cost Less than New Construction - 09/18/11 01:24 PM
If you’re in the market for a Denver home, you’ll find a better bargain in an existing structure than in new construction.  According to the National Association of Realtors’® Economic Outlook, the cost of newly constructed homes will continue to rise and fewer brand new homes will be built in the coming years.
 
Partly to blame is the increasing cost of building materials. Construction workers must still be paid (on average about $38 an hour) despite cost increases, so if homebuilders hope to make a profit they can’t lower the price of their homes. They’ll simply stop building and reduce … (2 comments)

denver real estate: Be a Savvy Investor in Denver Rental Properties - 09/16/11 09:02 PM
Because buying a home has always been a good investment, many people believe that investing in Denver rental properties must be even better. The truth is that owning rental properties means lots of time, money and challenges. To be a profitable landlord in the Denver area, there are several things you need to remember.
 
Cheap Doesn’t Always Equal Good – You bought that Denver home for a song. But if your investment property is falling apart or located in an undesirable area, you’ll have a hard time finding renters. Generally less-developed areas charge lower rents, as well.  Check the rental … (2 comments)

denver real estate: Denver Foreclosures Offer Home Buyers Unprecedented Opportunity - 09/12/11 11:20 PM
If you are risk of foreclosure in Denver or even considering buying a distressed property, you might be interested in recent news. According a newly released article by Rismedia, foreclosures are currently taking a record 20 months to complete There are now approximately 4.1 million loans for which a payment has not been made in over 90 days, and are now in foreclosure. 1.9 million loans are 90 days or more delinquent, but have not reached the foreclosure stage. Because foreclosures are talking longer, that means that a house in foreclosure now will not likely experience a new occupant until the … (0 comments)

denver real estate: Denver Real Estate Offers Good Opportunity for Landlords - 09/10/11 12:04 AM
If you're willing to put in a small amount of time to learn about Denver real estate, and are interested in becoming a landlord, you have the potential to create a strategy for long-term wealth.
 
The demand for rentals continues to rise, thanks to the millions of former homeowners who experienced foreclosure and are now forced to rent. And depending on who you read, an additional wave of foreclosures may be looming, creating increased demand for rental units.
 
Now is an ideal time for investors to purchase Denver homes. Mortgage rates are at a nearly all-time low and home … (3 comments)

denver real estate: Relocate to Denver: A Top 10 Best City for College Grads - 09/03/11 02:14 PM
Are you a recent college graduate looking for a place to put down roots? CareerRookie.com and Apartments.com just compiled a list of the “Top 10 Best Cities for College Graduates,” and Denver was fourth on that list. Only Hartford-New Haven, Cleveland and Boston outranked the Denver area.
 
One reason the top 10 cities were chosen was because they provided recent college graduates with the best chance to effectively launch their careers. The report painted a realistic picture of the Denver job market as well as the cost of living for each of the 10 cities, based on criteria important to … (0 comments)

denver real estate: Put Your Denver Home Buyers in the Right Mood with Color - 09/01/11 11:19 PM
We've all seen those home improvement programs that use a new coat of paint to upgrade a home's interior. Painting is a great way to improve the Denver home, especially if you plan to sell. It's also a relatively inexpensive project to tackle that can make your home look fresh and clean. A fresh coat of paint is not only refreshing and uplifting, it also helps get rid of that stale, musty odor in older homes with older paint jobs.
But were you also aware that changing a home's color can change your mood? If you're thinking of selling your home, … (2 comments)

denver real estate: 10 Tax Tips for Individuals Selling Their Denver Homes - 08/27/11 08:13 PM
As a real estate agent/broker, I steer clear of giving you tax advice when selling your home, as giving the wrong information might cause a lawsuit! The best policy is for you to talk with your tax advisor for specifics, but this list of IRS home-selling tax tips is a good starting point for understanding this complex issue that can be involved in Denver home buying and selling.
 
Here are the IRS's top 10 tax tips for home sellers:
 
If you have owned and used your home as your main residence for two of the five years prior … (4 comments)

denver real estate: DENVER REAL ESTATE MARKET UPDATE - AUGUST 2011 - 08/25/11 04:15 PM

 
We now are seeing year over year numbers improve substantially as the 2010 stimulus closings are mostly out of the picture.  I believe that the Low Inventory is the real story.  If you have a Denver home that shows really well and is priced correctly, there is a buyer out there for it!  I have found that some of the bank owned homes now show better than many of the normal re-sales.  The banks are starting to get it, and are making their homes show well. 
 
July was the second month in 2011 which resulted in at least … (0 comments)

denver real estate: Will the S&P Downgrade Affect Interest Rates for Denver Homebuyers? - 08/18/11 12:05 PM
You may have heard or seen the news that Standard & Poor recently downgraded the United States’ credit rating for the first time in history. There has been a great deal of talk about how this will affect the country, but will it have any effect on people who are thinking about buying or selling a Denver home?
You can watch this video with Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist with the National Association of REALTORS® for more information, but what this basically means is that the cost of borrowing money is going to increase. It’s not clear when this could begin happening, … (0 comments)

denver real estate: Great RE/MAX News for Denver Homebuyers and Homesellers - 08/15/11 02:25 PM
The customers have spoken!  I'm pleased to announce that buyers and sellers now realize what we have always known…RE/MAX agents are the ones that consumers trust most when it comes to navigating a sometimes challenging real estate market. In the 2011 J.D. Power and Associates Home Buyer/Seller Study released recently, buyers and sellers award RE/MAX the highest rankings in customer satisfaction. I’m also happy to share this video with you from RE/MAX CEO Margaret Kelly as she talks about the study’s results.
 
The study uses three factors to measure overall satisfaction in the home-buying experience: agent/salesperson, office, and variety of … (0 comments)

denver real estate: Provide Access to Help Sell Your Denver Home - 08/12/11 10:14 AM
Once you have your home priced right and showing like a model home, one of the best things you can do to help sell your Denver home is to make sure it’s accessible for showings. You want to make sure that showing agents have the ability to show your home whenever it is convenient for prospective buyers. Sometimes there are valid reasons why you may restrict the hours your home is open, such as someone who is sleeping during the day, but otherwise the showing agents should have access when buyers are available. If you limit the times when your home … (0 comments)

denver real estate: How Denver Homesellers Can Attract Buyers - 08/06/11 12:22 PM
We’re getting a lot of up and down news on the economic front these days that may be making some potential homebuyers reluctant to jump into the real estate market. If you’re trying to sell your Denver home, here are a few ideas you might consider that could make your home stand out from the others that are available.
 
Some Denver homeowners are offering home warranties than can cover repair or replacement costs on some home appliances such as air conditioners or water heaters. This might remove one money concern for buyers if they are worried about additional costs once … (3 comments)

denver real estate: Is Relo Rebounding in Denver? Denver Relocations Picking Up - 08/04/11 02:03 PM
The gap between talent and available jobs has caused firms across the country to get a bit more competitive. A recent RIS media article penned by Steve Cook seems to indicate an uptick. According to the article, up to 50% of recruiters and hiring managers have started to reach outside their local market to find the right talent.
 
Steve quotes a new national survey by Dice Holdings, Inc., a company that specializes in career websites, which “found that slightly more than half (51 percent) of employers and recruiters anticipate hiring more professionals in the second half of 2011 than in … (0 comments)

denver real estate: Gen Y Could Be Great for Denver Home Sellers - 07/27/11 11:56 PM
If you’re wondering where the demand for the next wave of homebuyers will come from, look no further than “Generation Y.” Economists at the University of Southern California Lusk Center for Real Estate are reporting that “Gen Y” will drive the housing market recovery over the next ten years. This group is also known as the Millennial Generation (or Millennials).
This large, well-educated group of 15-32 year olds may seem young now, but they’re quickly up and coming. There are now almost as many “Gen Yers” as there are Baby Boomers. In the metro Denver area, the Census Bureau estimates there … (3 comments)

denver real estate: Denver Real Estate Market Update - July 2011 - 07/25/11 09:26 PM

Market metrics (based on June data):
In June, 4,080 units closed at an average price of $266,493 which resulted in $1.08 Billion of closed dollar volume.  This is the first month in 2011 where the closings exceeded $1.0 Billion.  On a Year-to-Date basis, 18,835 units closed at an average price of $254,151 which resulted in $4.8 Billion of closed dollar volume.

Monthly Market Recap:
*Note: Absorption Rate is also known as Month’s Supply of Inventory and represents the number of months that would be needed to deplete the current active listings inventory at the current sales rate.
Remember: Real … (2 comments)

 
Final1 Rainmaker_large

Marianne Bandy, CRS, GRI, CDPE

Parker, CO

More about me…

Denver Homes - The Bandy Team - RE/MAX Pros

Address: 9200 E. Panorama Cir. , Suite 140, (near SW corner of I-25 & Dry Creek Rd.), Englewood, CO, 80112

Office Phone: (720) 870-0862

Cell Phone: (303) 746-7799

Email Me

News and information related to living in Douglas County and Parker, Colorado. Go to our website at http://www.BandyHomes.com to search all homes and real estate for sale in Parker and the entire Denver metro area. Save your searches & favorite properties, make notes, get email alerts of new Denver listings matching your criteria. Virtual tours, mapping, multiple photos of Denver properties.


Listings

Links

Archives

RSS 2.0 Feed for this blog

Find CO real estate agents and Parker real estate on ActiveRain.