colorado: Buyers Beware - The Best Deals Aren't Always at Foreclosure Sale!
- 02/15/10 12:16 PM
An agent in my office is attending the Denver County and Arapahoe County foreclosure auctions regularly. He has an investor client looking for properties at foreclosure sale. We had an interesting discussion last week. Many buyers think that they need to buy a foreclosure to "get the best deal." There are a few things buyers should know: You must bring cash to the foreclosure auction. There are no mortgages. You won't have the opportunity to inspect the property. They are truly sold "as is." Investors are breathing heavy over the foreclosures in Denver these days. Our market is hearalded as the (2 comments)
colorado: Mortgage Caution - Delays in Closings Will Happen!
- 09/06/09 12:18 PM
A broker in my office came to me yesterday with some questions about a seller’s recourse if the loan doesn’t fund at closing. Colorado is a “table closing” state, and our contract expressly states that the buyer must attend the closing with all moneys and documents. This means that if a closing is at 4 p.m. on a Wednesday, as this broker’s closing was, the buyer and the buyer’s lender must perform under the terms of the contract at 4 p.m. This lender had a lackadaisical attitude, ignored the new HERA/HOEPA regulations and essentially didn’t do his job. He was told (2 comments)
Denver real estate is in recovery. We’re the baby sapling, taking root and growing strong. The thing is, we never totally crashed and burned like other cities did. Prices went down for sure and according to yesterday’s S & P - Case Shiller Report, we’ve seen depreciation of 4.9% since this time last year. Compare that with Phoenix, down 35.3% year over year. Since last month, Case Shiller reports that Denver’s prices have appreciated 1.5%. That’s an awesome bounce. Some analysts think this may be a seasonal adjustment, and may not signal a recovery. I disagree. Our available inventory (4 comments)
Denver’s new Zoning Code is currently in the community feedback phase. The new code has been in the works for several years, and Denver’s Zoning Code Task Force and the Community Planning and Development group are currently seeking public input. There have been several community meetings to review the code in specific neighborhoods, and you still have the opportunity to attend any of the remaining meetings. The changes to the code will be quite drastic in some instances. Currently in Denver, we have R1 (single family), R2 (duplex or carriage house), R3 (multi-family) as our primary residential zoning (2 comments)
Yay! The market statistics are out for the month of April. This is always my favorite blog post of every month, and I wait with baited breath for the Metrolist stats to be put up on their site. These statistics are based on homes listed for sale in the Denver MLS, and do not reflect private sales, many foreclosures or much new construction. In April, our inventory remained about equal to what we had on the market in March. Combined single family and condo listings were at 20,628 in March and 20,705 in April. Sales have dropped from a year (0 comments)
Downtown Denver has seen several developments taking shape. Once particularly interesting building is Spire. Developer Randy Nichols is building a mid-priced condo development aimed at the average price range for a downtown buyer. The development is rapidly rising across from the Denver Convention Center and includes cool amenities like loaner cars and a doggie park on one of the decks. With 41 stories (483 feet high) and 503 homes (714 bedrooms), Spire will be one of the tallest residential buildings in the Western United States and the first new residential high-rise to be built in the central business district of (4 comments)
You’re thinking about buying Denver Real Estate and you’re ready to hire a broker to represent you. What you need to know is that we have very specific rules here in Colorado about disclosing and explaining the rules of Agency to our clients and customers. There are 3 very important reasons to understand the Colorado Agency Rules before you get started: 1. Is Your Broker a Coach? I like to explain to people that an Agent (a Buyer Agent or a Listing Broker) is like a coach. We have a fiduciary obligation to represent your best interests, negotiate on your (0 comments)
colorado: Reduce the Price of Your House When Rates are Falling?
- 04/02/09 02:50 PM
We’re in a recession. The worst since the 1930’s. Have you heard that yet? So have I, but guess what - we’re still selling homes in Denver! I’ve said it before, Denver is weathering the storm better than many other areas. It’s not only me and other exuberant Realtors pushing an agenda - read it in the NY Times and see it on NBC - Denver’s stability is news. Still, our higher priced homes are taking longer to sell and have fewer showings while they’re on the market than the mid-priced homes. Medium priced homes that are overpriced relative to their (0 comments)
You may be interested in making an offer on a property that is listed in the MLS as a “short sale”. My highly educated, former physician father recently asked me exactly what that term meant and how it differs from a “foreclosure.” His question offered me a glimpse that our Realtor-lingo isn’t always understood by the general public. In Denver, we’ve seen many more homes come on the market lately as short sales. Here’s a list that could help you if your dream home happens to be a “short sale”: 1. Make any offer you deem reasonable. When a house (1 comments)
colorado: Building a New Home Wonderland in Denver
- 03/15/09 08:22 AM
I’ve been reading the news about home builders throughout the U.S. cutting back, downsizing or going out of business altogether. Here in Denver, Colorado we’ve lost Village Homes, John Laing, and more. McStain is hanging on by a thread. The downturn in real estate is taking its toll. I hate to see builders leaving our city and the resulting job losses, but it may be a good thing for construction to slow down a bit - and for builders to realize that their business model is as important as throwing up houses. One local builder that seems to be weathering the (0 comments)
It’s that time again! Time to review the performance of Denver’s real estate market in February. Stocks are plunging, national employment numbers are falling and yet our real estate market seems to be weathering the storm. We may be on shaky ground, and we are still seeing some prices falling, but deals are coming together and most buyers are able to find financing at great rates. In fact, 4,183 homes were put under contract in the month of February - a 9.19% increase over January. We’ve added inventory since last month, and currently have 20,059 properties on the market. The (0 comments)
colorado: Knowing When It’s Time to Buy a Move Up House
- 02/24/09 01:23 PM
In today’s real estate market, there is a very compelling argument that it’s a good time to buy a move up property. You say, “I can’t sell now, I’ve lost money on my house.” Assuming you’re not upside down and owe more than the house is worth, you may not be losing as much as you think. Say you’ve lost 20% in value - as shown in the first slide - your “loss” compared with the loss the larger property incurs wouldn’t be as high. The percentage decline is a function of the value of each of the homes. If your (1 comments)
colorado: Your IRA and 401k Can Buy a House! Five Ways to Become a Landlord on Someone Else’s Money
- 02/15/09 05:22 AM
You know that this would be a great time to get into investing. You know that mortgage rates are down. You know that the millions of people losing their homes to foreclosure can’t stay on their mother-in-law’s couch much longer. And you know that sellers are bargaining when a buyer finally does walk through the door. Why not buy a rental property? Yes, I know. You’re thinking: I don’t have any money for down payment or fix up costs I don’t think I’d make a good landlord My credit score is too low to qualify for a loan My investment adviser (2 comments)
Denver real estate sales seemed to take a hiatus in January. While January is typically a slow month for closings, this was softer than usual. Buyers and Sellers were truly jarred by the economic cliff we fell off. As the plummet felt faster and faster in November and December, people hunkered down and focused on family and the holidays. Remember, closings in one month are a result of contracts written the previous two months. January 2009 was slow because at the end of 2008 people were waiting. Waiting for the new administration, waiting to see what their 401k looked like, (0 comments)
Where do you think we currently fall on this graph? Somewhere between Panic and Depression? Inching toward Hope judging from Denver real estate’s showing activity in the past 14 days? Too many buyers will wait until we pass Hope and head into Optimism. That may be the right time to move homes, but it won’t be the time for maximum return on investment. Homeowners should remember that their primary residence is first and foremost a place to live, raise the family, make memories. Second - it is an investment. Investors looking for rentals, or an extremely well-calculated fix and flip, (2 comments)
colorado: Denver, Colorado - Stability in Home Prices Predicted
- 01/18/09 01:11 PM
The PMI Mortgage Insurance Company, located in Northern California, issued their quarterly “Market Risk Index” this week. Denver, Colorado is listed among 10 U.S. cities as those posing minimal risk of housing prices being lower in two years than they are today. This report doesn’t make assertions as to whether housing prices will rise, but it’s a good bet that stable or rising prices are more likely in our future than lower prices are. Combine this news with historically low mortgage rates, and you see what a great time is is to get off the fence if you want to buy (4 comments)
colorado: Denver Colorado Real Estate | December 2008 Market Statistics
- 01/12/09 01:30 PM
Prognostications from the kitchen table That’s pretty much what we do, real estate bloggers - peer into our crystal balls, ignore the strictly bad news and go with our gut. But our gut involves real world experience. We’ve either got buyers in our cars or we don’t, we’re either listing properties or we’re not. If we are driving buyers around and we can find good inventory to show them, then we can say that for that market segment we see demand. Seasonally Adjusted Listen to the statistics you hear from “national” publications, and you may not be aware that there is (2 comments)
When you’re selling your home in Denver, you may want to have the correct label on the house for it’s architectural style. I’ve seen homes that were clearly Victorian labeled Tudor, or Mid-Century Modern called International Style. Denver Real Estate is replete with fabulous architectural styles, and remember, marketing is everything. Your Bungalow may or may not be Arts and Crafts. My home is a Tudor style, something my husband and I said we didn’t want when we were looking for a home. We tended to gravitate to clean lines and a more modern, warm feel. Our house was built (0 comments)
colorado: Heard on the Street - Denver Real Estate and the Mall
- 12/18/08 01:19 PM
It’s just 8 days until Christmas, and even fewer until Hanukkah. What have I been doing? Baking cookies for 80 people. The agents in my office are hungry for cookies, and I’m accommodating them in their time of need. I’ve also been asking around, observing and trying not to shop unless absolutely necessary. One of my father’s favorite Christmas movies is A Christmas Story. He watches it every year and laments that he’ll miss it this year since he’s on a boat in the Antarctic channeling Ernest Shackleton. But I digress… In A Christmas Story Ralphie tries to convince his parents (3 comments)
colorado: Denver Colorado Real Estate | November 2008 Market Statistics
- 12/17/08 02:32 PM
It’s that time of the month to reflect back on Denver’s residential real estate sales. Denver real estate is up and it’s down, it’s selling and stalling. It depends on who you ask, what their circumstances are and what price range they’re in. We’ve had several instances of multiple offers in my office this past month. This seems to be happening when the price is set correctly or even a little aggressively, when the house shows perfectly and when the price is between $250,000 and $500,000. Remember sellers - You’re not only in a pricing war, you’re in a beauty contest. (3 comments)