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!

Denver Real Estate – Double Dip, Single Dip?

Today's S & P Case Shiller Report proved interesting to more than just real estate junkies.  The highly-watched, monthly index of housing prices showed a double dip housing recession in many U.S. housing markets. Denver bucked the trend. Barely.  We're not in a double dip - this month.  At least not with this most recent report (showing data from March 2011.)  Denver prices were down 3.8% over March of 2010.  In February 2009, our low point, prices had fallen 5.7% over...Continue Reading!

Denver Colorado Real Estate Statistics | March 2011

Real Estate is like a box of chocolates.  Sometimes you get nuts. The nuts have been our foreclosures, our short sales, our underwriting issues and our tough appraisals. Real Estate is like a roller coaster.  Sometimes you go up, and then you fall fast.  It takes longer to go up than come down. Interestingly, last year's tax credit made our first half of the year incredibly busy. Then third quarter we fell off a cliff.  It was so quiet!  We all went to...Continue Reading!

Denver Colorado Real Estate | February 2011 Market Statistics

Prices are down.  The February market statistics are plain. Last year, when prices were down it was because lower end homes were selling. The "mix" of homes was skewing to starter homes, reflecting a "reduction" in prices. The past few months, we've actually seen a firming up of the high end in Denver (although there is still about 5 years' of inventory in Cherry Hills Village.)  With luxury homes rebounding, the reduction in prices can only mean one thing. Prices have come...Continue Reading!

Top 5 Reasons Why Home Sellers Need to Position Themselves for 1st Place

There are many reasons to position your home to be the next in line to sell.  Here are the top 5: 1. You've put your house on the market.  That means it's time to sell! You've decided to move for a variety of reasons.  Maybe a job transfer, maybe a move up or down, maybe a tightening mortgage payment.  Regardless, Sellers can't rely on the old theory, "I'll just put it on the market and see what I get." ...Continue Reading!

Are the real estate doldrums behind Denver?

Denver real estate is like Denver weather, changeable, unpredictable, and not like anywhere else in the country. Today's forecast was for sunshine, temperatures in the high-50's and slush everywhere.  The bitter cold and snow of last Sunday and Monday are past, the famed Denver sunshine is back.  Denver's forecast is for more sunshine tomorrow.  Get out to one of Denver's famed parks this week.  Cheesman Park has a great view of Downtown, Washington Park has two lakes and City Park is...Continue Reading!

Denver Colorado Real Estate | December 2010 Market Statistics

The end of 2010 has passed us by, and we're well on our way into 2011!  This week, we'll get to see 1.11.11, and there are other cool binary days on hand this year. The wrap-up for 2010 doesn't pose too many surprises.  The inventory went down last month, a normal seasonal adjustment.  The average sales price was down too.  Showings have trended more to the $200,000-$400,000 homes in the past couple of months in our office.  A shift away from...Continue Reading!

A New Generation Of Homebuyers is on the Scene! Part 2

In Friday's post, I was discussing whether Generation Y will value home ownership the way Baby Boomers have. There was much discussion at the recent Realtor's convention about this topic.  In the airport, waiting to fly home to Denver, a group of us were discussing it again.  A little while after we settled in to wait for the flight, I felt a tap on my shoulder and an, "excuse me..." Rachel Krill, a Realtor from Yuma, Arizona said, "I couldn't help but...Continue Reading!

A New Generation Of Homebuyers is on the Scene! Part 1

I traveled to New Orleans last week to attend the largest real estate conference in the U.S. The National Association of Realtors annual convention had 20,000 in attendance this year. This is always an interesting event.  I meet brokers from around the globe and throughout the U.S.  Talk this year was about the latest tech tools, virtual vs. traditional brokerage, short sales and foreclosures - and whether the next generation of adults will value home ownership. There were several experts citing statistics about...Continue Reading!