2010 February

Cafe Rio - Fast and Fresh Mexican Fare

February 21st, 2010 categories: Restaurant Reviews

We aren’t your typical fast food family. It’s a rare day that we’ll pick up a meal to go, once a month maybe.

Yesterday, coming off of 9 days sick in bed with bronchitis and the cupboards bare, we headed out to pick up Duke from Doggie Camp and grab dinner at the new Cafe Rio on South Colorado Boulevard and Cherry Creek Drive.

Yes, they bought my review - all of the food was free!

My son noticed the sign that said “Free Food Today!” We both mused that they were probably giving tasting samples, or maybe a few tortillas gratis with your order. No - they were comping everyone’s meals!

As we moved through the line I started to worry that they would call us out for ordering three items when there were only two of us. (My husband was at home waiting for his smothered burrito.) They did nothing of the sort.

In fact, it was like an Amway rally of Mexican fast food. The staff were all extremely cheerful, periodically shouting out cheers in unison and wishing everyone a happy day with big smiles on their faces. At the end of the line I owed $2.50 for the tax on an otherwise free meal.

And for fast food, the meal was excellent. The food is fresh and flavorful. Their cooking style and use of spices is just a little different from other fast food Mexican places.

So on our next foray into the realm of fast food, we’ll definitely stop by Cafe Rio again.

Real estate season is picking up and heading into high gear. I’ll be working with several families relocating to Denver in the next few months, and I’m sure that on those hectic days of 20+ properties we’ll swing into a fast food joint or two. I’ll recommend Cafe Rio to any buyers with a south of the border hankering and a yen for something new and different.

If you’re considering relocating to Denver, you can start your property search at www.GretchensDenver.com, where nearly every active property is found in one location with an interactive map to help you narrow your search.

Denver Colorado Real Estate | January 2010 Market Statistics

February 8th, 2010 categories: Market Trends

What are real estate brokers working on these days in Denver? Listings. Sellers are getting their homes ready for the market, and our increase in number of available properties illustrates just that.

We’ve added 1,009 properties in the past month. 767 new single family residences and 242 condominiums. And more are on the way. I predict that the natural growth in inventory this time of year will continue to increase through the spring and may flatten out a bit over the summer.

This is good news for buyers who feel they’ve seen everything but nothing on the market fits their needs. Buyers who are in this boat must understand that they won’t be able to bargain like they once could. With the floor back under our real estate market and Days on the Market continuing to shrink, the bargain has already been factored into the price. On average, properties are selling nearly 12 days faster than they did a year ago.

Another interesting point to notice is average price - up nearly 13% for single family residences from last year. However, the prices were down from December to January. Sellers in December were realists and wanted to get their property sold and closed.

One final interesting tidbit - look at number of properties that went under contract last month. We’re down from last year! What does that mean? It means that sellers, even with all of the good news above, need to stay realistic about their chances to sell their home. We look to written production to forecast what is pending. There were fewer offers written this January than January 2009. So with the increase in inventory, sellers have only two ways to compete - price and condition. You must stay on top of what the market is telling you. And what your broker is telling you! As I’ve said in the past, you can’t market your way out of this.

Do I appear to contradict myself? That’s because every house, every nuance of the transaction, even the players in the deal are all distinct from other deals. Real estate is local, hyper local. One house might be well priced and in analyzing comparable sales should sell for near the asking price. Another house might be very over priced, and based on a similar analysis should be reduced. We also try to quantify for location issues, non-finished basements and improvements. Pricing isn’t an exact science, it’s a bit science and analysis and a bit of a meeting of the minds. This past month 2,353 people had a meeting of the minds in Denver, Colorado.

Gretchen Faber writes LifeStyleDenver. Visit Gretchen’s web site for property searches, mapping and relocation information.