Life Style Denver by Gretchen Faber

Denver Colorado Real Estate | October 2009 Market Statistics

I'm a little late this month with the real estate market statistics for Denver.  It's been a busy month!  Good news for buyers, sellers and real estate brokers. Denver sales continue to show bifurcated results - low to mid range homes selling like crazy, higher end homes still languishing a bit. Inventory numbers are down from September - over 18% down.  Days on market is down too, indicating increased sales rates.   Inventory naturally adjusts this time of year, but sales paces have...Continue Reading!

Homebuyer Tax Credit Extended

The "first-time" home buyer tax credit was extended and modified today by Congress. While there has been much debate here among Denver real estate brokers about the cost of the credit, there is no doubt that this move will help to continue to stimulate the recovering real estate market. Homebuyers will now have two tax credits available. The original $8,000 for first time buyers - actually for buyers who haven't owned a home in the previous 3 years.  As well as a...Continue Reading!

Help ~ We Can’t Find A Good House!

I'm working with a lovely family who is relocating to Denver in a few weeks.  We can't find them the right house and their move date is looming. They want to be here and settled by December. After a 4 1/2 day marathon of 56 houses, we kind of narrowed it down to two possibilities. These buyers are looking in a fairly significant price point.  Not uber high-end, but enough to buy a very nice home in a very nice location. Theirs...Continue Reading!

Denver Colorado Real Estate | September 2009 Market Statistics

In August, Denver had 20,225 active listings available on the market. In September, we were down to 19,834. With inventory naturally shrinking as we round into fourth quarter, Buyers are left with choosing a currently available home or waiting to see what might come on the market in coming months.  It's not likely that many new properties will be listed from Halloween through the new year, and many buyers are faced with choosing between buying a home they've seen or waiting...Continue Reading!

What the Fed Wants Buyers to Do

The Federal Reserve kept the Fed Funds Rate low again yesterday in their monthly meeting.  This rate is used for banks as a benchmark for their overnight lending to each other, and is a short-term rate. Mortgage rates track with the bond market, and not the Fed Funds Rate, however, conventional wisdom suggests that the Federal Reserve governors feel that inflation isn't yet a risk, and that rates should remain low to keep the recovery moving forward. With rates low for, "an...Continue Reading!

Gretchen Faber Named 2009 REALTOR of the Year at the Denver Board of REALTORS

DENVER – Gretchen Faber, managing broker of The Kentwood Company at Cherry Creek, has garnered the prestigious “Realtor of the Year” award from the Denver Board of Realtors (DBR). Faber was honored during the DBR’s 121st Annual Inaugural Celebration held September 11th at Coors Field. The recipient of the coveted award must exemplify sincere dedication to the real estate profession, possess strong leadership skills that are reflected in his or her business achievements, be actively involved in civic...Continue Reading!

Denver Colorado Real Estate | August 2009 Market Statistics

When looking at trends in anything, you want to take in the big picture, and then boil it down as necessary. Real Estate in Denver is certainly showing a definite trend in the amount of inventory available. Month after month this year, we've experienced a depletion in homes for sale.  In August, we're at a low we haven't seen since at least 2004, (my reporting doesn't go back any further than 1/05.) There are only 3 months in these past 5...Continue Reading!

Mortgage Caution – Delays in Closings Will Happen!

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...Continue Reading!

June 2009 Denver Real Estate Market Statistics

In a real estate market the size of Denver's, you might be surprised to learn that we only added 119 new listings to our inventory since last month's real estate statistics were released.  We added 121 new single family listings and we sold 2 more condominium listings than were added. Our average days on the market has been reduced by 5 and our average sale price rose by $15,412. The single family residence average price rose $21,246, but the condominium average...Continue Reading!

Denver Real Estate Prices Rise 1.5% Since May

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...Continue Reading!