Life Style Denver by Gretchen Faber

Mortgage Modification Help in Denver This Weekend

From today through Monday, June 13th, the Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America is at the Colorado Convention Center. Stop by the convention center between 8 am and 8 pm if you're a Denver area homeowner and need financial relief by modifying your mortgage.  NACA is on a multi-city tour they're calling the "Save the Dream Tour" in an effort to help troubled homeowners save their dream of owning a home and making their payments.  Their web site provides more information. Meanwhile, blame...Continue Reading!

Denver Colorado Real Estate Statistics | May 2011

We're finally comparing Denver real estate sales this year with the time after the tax credit ended last year (for under contract properties.) The number of homes under contract jumped 23% from May of 2010.  This is the first month in 2011 where we're not comparing under contract data to the tax credit time of 2010. The average sale price for both single family and condo are up over 3%, reflecting stability in the market.  While the recent Case Shiller numbers for...Continue Reading!

LifeStyle Denver Takes an Overnight Detour to Winter Park

Lovely Colorado.  You never can tell what's going to drop in on you. We like to rhetorically say about the weather this time of year, "Well, it IS springtime in the Rockies..." Yesterday began as a typically busy Wednesday.  Sales meeting, then tour, then a broker open house.  Afterward, I ran the leftovers to a friend who had severely sprained her wrist and bruised her face in a fall outside AT & T.  (Note to AT & T: why would you put...Continue Reading!

Denver Colorado Real Estate | September 2010 Market Statistics

In September 2009 there were 19,834 homes on the market in Denver which  was down nearly 2% from the month before and over 17% fewer than September 2008. Today's inventory is quite a bit higher, at 22,880 homes currently on the market in Denver. We're almost back up to the 2008 number of active listings, having posted a 15.36% gain over same time last year.  So there are still plenty of great homes on the market for buyers to choose from.  Buyers...Continue Reading!

Denver Spa Tops in Service – elements is Elegant

My friend recently received a gift certificate for a massage from her brother.  She doesn't like massage.  I, however, love to get the kinks in my neck pounded out.  So we traded -  her massage for my facial gift certificate. I'd never been to elements. This is a small storefront on 6th Avenue in Denver, and I've probably driven by 1,000 times. Last week, I stopped in.  Actually, I made a reservation, and then stopped in. I was greeted by a nice young...Continue Reading!

2009 Denver Fireworks On 3rd & 4th!

If you're planning on watching fireworks for this year's Independence Day, take note - many municipal fireworks shows are tonight, July 3rd. Here's a list of fireworks around Central Denver. We particularly love the Glendale fireworks, and plan on checking the show out tonight after a neighbor's bar-be-que. ...Continue Reading!

Denver, Colorado – Stability in Home Prices Predicted

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,...Continue Reading!

Denver, Colorado Gets a Real Estate High Five in Wall Street Journal

So the U.S. is in a recession. I got that important text message to my BlackBerry yesterday from the NY Times while I was sitting in a meeting. I was flabbergasted, couldn't believe it. Actually, I've been helping real estate brokers in my office and sellers whose properties I have listed weather this recession since about December 2007. Surprise - the official pundits tell us the recession started in.... December 2007. In today's Wall Street Journal I found an...Continue Reading!

In Defense of the Turkey

I have a friend, Diana, who happens to be a vegetarian. Not like me, a partial vegetarian who doesn't eat red meat or pork. Diana doesn't eat any meat at all. A few years ago, she told me they were going to have something called a "tofurkey" for Thanksgiving. It didn't much surprise me, Diana has introduced me to the best vegetarian restaurants in Denver, so I thought she could whip up a mean tofu turkey. We've been to Water Course...Continue Reading!

Colorado Real Estate Bloggers Talk about Denver, Colorado Real Estate

Denver and Colorado real estate agents are full of great information about what's going on in our city and state. You may not have read some of these people, and I wanted to introduce you to a few of my favorite local voices: Denver Modern Homes - Todd Carpenter isn't a real estate broker, he's more focused on the mortgage industry and being a consultant for internet communication and marketing. Todd also has a passion for Mid-Century Modern architecture, and he...Continue Reading!