Breakfast in Denver

It’s been awhile since I’ve written about a great local restaurant. Lately, I’ve been concentrating on real estate information. The recent stressful developments all over the news makes me think that getting a fine cup of coffee and a great breakfast treat would be a welcome distraction.

Devil’s Food is just the place. Located on Gaylord street, Devil’s Food is a bakery and restaurant serving up imaginative fare at a low key pace. I went there recently with a client and while we talked about Denver real estate, we enjoyed an omelete, fresh fruit and yummy bakery goods. The service is neighborly and easy going. Attentive but non-intrusive.

Parking is usually easy to find, but occasionally you’ll need to drive around the block once to get a space. Leave 5 extra minutes to park and walk a block or so, if needed. Walking along Gaylord street is fun, you can window shop all the way to breakfast.

There is a wonderful bakery case at Devil’s Food for picking up to go items. You’ll find not only breakfast treats, but desserts to take home for a special occasion. It’s probably a good thing you walked a block…

The Washington Park neighborhood appeals to both urban buyers, and people who love the feel of a homey neighborhood. The park, the neighborhood shops and restaurants, people walking dogs and pushing strollers give you a sense that not much has changed from 30 years ago (aside from all of the new construction adding more livable space to the homes).

The markets will go up and down and we’re definitely in for interesting, and quite possibly stressful, months ahead. Remember that a great stress-reliever is taking time to stop and smell the roses, a meal with a friend and a chocolate brownie.

If you are interested in other restaurants on Old South Gaylord Street in Washington Park, you should visit Washington Park Grill.

Spoken by Gretchen Faber | Discussion: 2 Comments »

3 Open House Requirements

It’s time to hold an open house and your real estate broker has scheduled the date and time. You may not realize that there are a few essential preparations you need to be making prior to that day.

1) Clean as if your life depended on it. My sister and her husband called me recently as they left an open house. They’d admired this home for a few years, and when it was finally held open, they were excited to see the inside of the house. This is a $2.4 million home in Denver. They entered the house and the carpet was filthy, there were stains throughout the house on all of the floors. The ceilings, light fixtures and ceiling fans were covered in cobwebs. Needless to day, they left diasppointed. The sellers should have spent the day before cleaning and getting ready for their chance to shine. Instead they fell flat.

2) Remove personal items. There are people who will visit an open house just to obtain private information, jewelry or prescription medications. Hide or remove valuables and medications. Security lock your computer and keep bills and personal mail out if sight. A few years ago, a client had recently endured knee surgery. During our open house the pain medication he’d been prescribed was stolen. The open house was very busy that day, and I had no way to keep my eye on everyone so the pain pills walked out the door with someone.

3) Think of the 5 senses. Buyers like a house that is light and bright and has plenty of fresh cut flowers, smells like vanilla or cookies, has soothing soft music and feels like home with an abundance of textures in fabrics and finishes. You can even appeal to visitors’ taste buds by offering them some cookies or chocolate.

Keep your house ready for showings at any moment. It’s more likely that buyers will see your home with another real estate broker who has set up an appointment rather than at the open house. But you never know, so help your broker who’s taking Sunday afternoon to hold an open house and make your home shine.

To view Denver Real Estate, relocation information and Denver maps visit GretchensDenver.com.

Visit the Park Hill home tour Sunday, September 28th and stop by our open house at Montview and Grape.

Spoken by Gretchen Faber | Discussion: 2 Comments »

Denver Real Estate Stats – August ‘08

It’s that time again! Time for Denver Real Estate Statistics, and I’ve got a great deal of information this month. The chart is provided by MetroList, metro Denver’s MLS provider.

For the past several months we’ve continued to see inventory declining – number of homes on the market going down. What that tells us is that we’re on the road to a more balanced market. As fewer and fewer homes come on the market, you’ll notice that homes are beginning to sell faster. That’s due to the fact that buyers are now competing for homes where they once could just move on to another if an offer didn’t pan out.

In the chart, you can see that the inventory level has decreased nearly 4% since last month and over 20% since this time a year ago.

Prices have also continued to decline from last year, but are up from last month. The drop from a year ago is the result of several factors: continued foreclosures, difficulty in securing loans and sellers’ more realistic pricing. As prices drop and inventory reduces, we’ll begin to see a shift from a buyer’s market to a balanced market. As always, the pendulum tends to swing broadly, so we’ll eventually swing to another seller’s market. That may not be for quite awhile – it’s especially dependent on what happens in the larger economy.

Speaking of the larger economy

Nearly everyone has heard that the U.S. government has placed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the mortgage finance companies, into a conservatorship. The hope is that this move will stabilize the mortgage markets, the fear is that this isn’t the end of the financial crisis and that the U.S. taxpayers have just assumed an enormous amount of debt.

Whatever your political leanings, the fact is that mortgage rates have declined since Monday. Today’s quote was 5.5% to 5.625% for a 30 year conforming loan. The lowest we’ve seen in awhile. With the convergence of lower rates and price depreciation, today’s buyers may very well look back on this time and feel thankful that they purchased when they did.

Denver’s place in this

As I said, lots of interesting information this month. Stay tuned for the September report!

To view Denver homes for sale, see Gretchen Faber’s web site at www.gretchensdenver.com

Spoken by Gretchen Faber | Discussion: 3 Comments »

Lowry Glory Days is this Weekend!

Where else can you combine the  Denver lifestyle in a new-classic neighborhood along with some good old-fashioned family fun?

Lowry, Denver, ColoradoLowry, Denver, ColoradoAt this weekend’s Lowry Glory Days festival.

The Lowry neighborhood is a prime example of infill development at its best.  The old Lowry air force base was recomissioned in the 1990’s and turned into a premier area for Denver residents who prefer newer construction but still want to remain city-close.

Check out the many open houses that agents are likely to have going on.  If you don’t find what you’re looking for, you can look for open houses in other areas of Denver on my website.

Have a terrific weekend!

Spoken by Gretchen Faber | Discussion: No Comments »

Turn a Small Remodeling Budget into Big Results

You may have heard your real estate broker remark on a home’s improvements or updates. The typical real estate wisdom suggests that a home should be remodeled every 6 to 7 years. In Denver, there are many older homes being renovated and updated both for the current enjoyment of the owners, but also for future resale.

Is your home ready for an overhaul?

There are improvements you can make to your house on a limited budget that can still make a huge difference. Take your budget, plan the work you’d like to get done under the best of circumstances and then start shopping around. Once you have ideas of pricing or bids for work, you can pare down the projects to the essentials, and what can wait for a year or two.

Remember to avoid fads unless you have a really unique property or are prepared to redo it before putting the house on the market. It’s always best to choose a classic, but not too bland look for your newly remodeled home. Keeping your home remodeled and updated isn’t just essential in terms of keeping up with neighborhood values, it’s essential in terms of not losing value. Over time, a dated and stale looking home will actually begin to lose value with respect to the rest of the neighborhood, so you should plan to get busy – no matter what the size of your budget is.

Spoken by Gretchen Faber | Discussion: 3 Comments »

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