Enthusiasm for the Highlands neighborhood is shared among the staff here at The Denver Team. While our office has always been located in the Highlands, we’re excited to announce we have recently moved to our new, much larger, office in the LoHi neighborhood just blocks from many of the eateries and shops referenced in the 5280 article. The Denver Team has always been an expert on real estate in the Highlands and surrounding neighborhoods and our new office location puts us in the heart of all the changes and activity.

5280 Article 5/12:

We may not be in a citywide bull market, but there are plenty of reasons to feel pretty darn good about real estate in the Mile High City this year. This is especially true of Highlands, which has become a nationally recognized, trendsetting model for the possibilities of 21st-century new urbanism. Here’s how Highlands became the hottest part of town—and which local neighborhoods might be next.

Full Article

-Nathan

If you are interested in selling a home or are wondering about the current market’s effect on you home’s value, don’t hesitate to contact my office at 303.997.4001.

Buyers, it’s not all bad! This just started and what you buy today is likely to be worth more a year from now. Buying at the start of strong seller’s market will likely prove to be a valuable experience as you see your home’s value move north in short order.

Denver Post article 4/19/12:

New advice from the trenches on buying a home: Look early. Think fast. Hone your quick-draw skills with the checkbook.

Metro Denver’s real estate market, not long ago a buyer’s domain, suddenly has shifted to a seller’s paradise, at least in some neighborhoods and price ranges.

Realtors’ offices are rife with fresh anecdotes of sellers happily cherry-picking from multiple offers — some of them above the asking price.
How fast is the market moving? A new report shows that Denver is No. 2 in the nation for the shortest length of time that a home is listed before being sold — 33 days — far below the national average.

Full Article

-Nathan

If you are interested in selling a home or are wondering about the current market’s effect on you home’s value, don’t hesitate to contact my office at 303.997.4001.

My attention then moves to the homes I have listed for sale. Of the 16 properties on my board, 8 of them have contracts and are waiting to close. Of those 8 with contracts, 2 sold before they were listed on the MLS and 3 had multiple offers, allowing the seller to select the best offer.  Of the remaining 8 actively listed, only 3 have been for sale for more than a month, the other 5 anywhere from 2 days to 3 weeks.

Now that I have provided a glimpse of what is happening now I look back to March 2011.  My listing board was closer to 25-30 properties with 3-5 of those under contract and waiting to sell and buyers who were aggressively looking were having an easy time finding something as there was decent inventory to choose from.  Inventory levels in the past year have been cut almost in half; we are down about 42%.

To sum it up we are transitioning into a seller’s market and some may say we are already there.

-Nathan

If you are interested in selling a home or are wondering about the current market’s effect on you home’s value, don’t hesitate to contact my office at 303.997.4001.

If you are thinking of buying or selling please reach out to me as things are now much different than they were last year and substantially better than the media may portray them to be.

There are many things you can do as a homeowner to improve the chances of quickly selling your home. The saying “Don’t judge a book by its cover” definitely does NOT apply when someone is considering purchasing a home. If a potential buyer walks into a home and everything they can see on the surface of the home (the “cover” of your home) looks to be well maintained and cared for, they’re much more likely to feel confident in the condition of everything they can’t see. Unfortunately, the opposite is also true- a home that’s messy/cluttered, or in need of superficial work may get looked over by buyers even if all major structural elements are sound.

When getting your home in shape to be listed, some things you should give careful thought to are:

1. The return on investment of any repairs/modifications you are considering making.
2. The first impression a potential buyer will have when viewing the outside of your home.
3. How well the interior of your home is showcased through the maintenance you’ve performed as well as your decorating and organizational style.

ROI

Though a remodeled kitchen or major structural improvement like a new roof may impress potential buyers, that doesn’t mean you should spring to spend thousands of dollars on big ticket items. Many large improvements actually won’t increase the value of your home enough to recoup your cost of purchase and install. It’s more important to increase the overall “finish” of your home to give potential buyers the ability to imagine the home as their own. A fresh coat of paint in a neutral color is an easy investment that won’t cost you hundreds of dollars but will make your home seem much more appealing. There are any number of smaller, relatively inexpensive changes and updates you can make that have a much greater return on investment than a new kitchen. Many are listed below but if you have questions as to what buyers are asking for and expect in your particular neighborhood, feel free to give me a call.

Creating a great first impression

It’s important to improve the appearance of your home’s exterior as much as possible (while spending as little as possible) before listing. Here are some things recommended by Realtor.com you can do to help catch a buyer’s eye:

• Get your lawn looking its best – water, fertilize, mow and edge.
• Trim hedges, weed lawns and flowerbeds, and prune trees regularly.
• Check the foundation, steps, walkways, walls and patios for cracks and crumbling.
• Inspect doors and windows for peeling paint.
• Clean and align gutters.
• Inspect and clean the chimney.
• Repair and replace loose or damaged roof shingles.
• Repair and repaint loose siding and caulking.
• In Northern winters, keep walks neatly cleared of snow and ice.
• During spring and summer months consider adding a few showy annuals, perhaps in pots, near your front entrance.
• Re-seal an asphalt driveway.
• Keep your garage door closed.
• Store RVs or old and beaten up cars elsewhere while the house is on the market.
• Apply a fresh coat of paint to the front door.

Showcase Interior Spaces

The following is a list of things recommended by Realtor.com to get the interior of your home showcase ready.

• Giving every room in the house a thorough cleaning, as well as removing all clutter. This alone will make your house appear bigger and brighter. Some homeowners with crowded rooms have actually rented storage garages and moved half their furniture out, creating a sleeker, and more spacious look.
• Hiring a professional cleaning service, once every few weeks while the house is on the market. This may be a good investment for owners who are busy elsewhere.
• Removing the less frequently used, even daily used items from kitchen counters, closets, and attics, making these areas much more inviting. Since you’re anticipating a move anyhow, holding a garage sale at this point is a great idea.
• If necessary, repainting dingy, soiled or strongly colored walls with a neutral shade of paint, such as off-white or beige. The same neutral scheme can be applied to carpets and linoleum.
• Checking for cracks, leaks and signs of dampness in the attic and basement.
• Repairing cracks, holes or damage to plaster, wallboard, wallpaper, paint, and tiles.
• Replacing broken or cracked windowpanes, moldings, and other woodwork. Inspecting and repairing the plumbing, heating, cooling, and alarm systems.
• Repairing dripping faucets and showerheads. Buying showy new towels for the bathroom, to be brought out only when prospective buyers are on the way.
• Sprucing up a kitchen in need of more major remodeling by investing in new cabinet knobs, new curtains, or a coat of neutral paint.

- Inventory is at a low not seen in many years, low supply.
- Showing Volume has picked up substantially in the last month, more demand.
- Buyers are complaining there is nothing quality for them to choose from, a reflection of bullet points 1 & 2.

Unless we have a drop in demand or a flood of supply we are on our way to seeing real estate prices rise in metro Denver! It is Economics 101 the Law of Supply and Demand!

I also believe our market is turning to a seller’s market from the bottom up. Not a bad time to sell and move up if that fits with your current financial situation and goals! Sell in a stronger market than you are buying in!

I have done this once before and felt it appropriate that I do this again as these numbers all reflect in very clear terms what the market is doing. I am also seeing all of the other tell-tale signs that our market is headed toward appreciation; things like buyers agents complaining that there are not any good properties to choose from, the showing companies indicating showing volume is increasing rapidly, and properties selling at the top of their
individual markets (some not in the pristine condition you would expect).

So here is a line by line explanation:

Line starting with Active
- This shows that in December of 2010 buyers had 18,257 homes to choose from when looking for property, 1 year later there are 40% fewer homes to choose from, just 10,993 active homes from sale. I can tell you there are fewer than the number reflects as there are many short sales/pre foreclosures in here that have pending contracts and the status has not been updated! In short we have very low inventory, also known as supply

Line starting with Under Contract
- This shows a 5% increase in properties that have accepted contracts that are waiting to close. In short you can read this as a 5% increase in demand year of year from December 2010 to December 2011.

Line starting with Sold
- This shows a 4% increase in closed transactions year of year. In short you can read this as a 4% increase in demand year of year from December 2010 to December 2011. This correlates nicely with the under contract line.

Line starting with Avg Days on Market
- This shows a 7% decline in the amount of days it has taken to sell a home year over year. In December 2010 it took 115 days to sell a newly listed home on average. In December 2011 we dropped to selling a home in an average of 107 days. It makes perfect sense that with decreased supply and increased demand that homes will move faster. They should start selling for more, right?

Line starting with Avg Sold Price
- As mentioned a sentence ago we should start to see prices increase due to the simple laws of supply and demand. If supply has been decreased and demand increased prices must go up! This line shows the beginning stages of this starting to happen. Prices increased from December 2010 to December 2011 by 1/3 of a percent.

With the December 2011 MLS numbers explained I am willing to go on the record now that by the time we get year over year numbers for the summer months we will see increases close to 5%! While I do not have a crystal ball I do spend 50+ hours a week involved and paying attention to the Denver Real Estate Market! I am certain that things are improving!

My response to the inquiry was that the Denver Market is definitely worth watching. I have noticed a shortage of inventory well below anything I have come across in my 7 years as a realtor and property owner. By my calculations there is close to a 3 month supply of inventory – a full blown seller’s market no one is talking about. The more traditional method of calculating this puts the inventory closer to 4 months, still a very strong market
(neutral is about 6 months of inventory). Anything under 6 months would be perceived as a seller’s market and above 6 months a buyer’s market. 3-4 months inventory is very low! I have also noticed prices starting to inch up, especially noticeable on the low end of the market, sub 150K.

If you’re interested in knowing the value of your home, a great way to monitor appreciation is by signing up for Market Snapshot. Market Snapshot is a free tool that tracks listing and sold prices of homes in your specific neighborhood (or the neighborhood of a home you have your eye on). Every month, Market Snapshot will use MLS data to estimate your home’s current value and send you an update.

Sign Up for Market Snapshot

I feel like I may sound a little like a broken record, however it is exciting to see the real estate market show signs of substantial health and strength.  Since the New Year I have heard or witnessed the following signs firsthand that are all encouraging:

1. Unemployment is down to 8.5% on a national level!
2. In December 2011 we added 200,000 jobs, the most in a month in close to 3 years!
3. Inventories in the Denver Market are at the lowest levels I have seen them since I started my career in real estate 7+ years ago.  The laws of supply and demand will now kick in and we will see appreciation! I am already seeing 10-15% rise or more in prices under $100,000.  Full disclosure – this is my sampling of less than 20 properties.
4. My showing coordinator, RERC, who handles about 30% of the showings in the metro area reported the following: 1/6/12 was their busiest Friday since May 20, 2011.  1/10/12 was the busiest Tuesday since September 27, 2011!  Not bad considering January is supposed to be slower than May and September.
5. Buyer agents tell me they are busier than they have been in months and most everyone complains of a limited inventory making for a poor selection for their buyers.
6. The news article I sent a few days back, if you missed it the first time it is well worth the 4 minutes to see it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9frmEv-vPA&feature=share

In short, I am seeing enough signs that I can be confidently optimistic that 2012 will be our first year of appreciation in that last several years across the entire metro area.  As always there are pockets and neighborhoods that do well despite the overall market trend.

Here is to a prosperous 2012!

-Nathan

-Nathan