|
|
Early this year we saw a great surge in homes on the market, showings per home and a great number of homes were closed. After the housing credit ended, showings as well as homes going under contract were greatly reduced.
Lon Welsh, President of Your Castle Realty has just released numbers showing that showings have finally increased leading to more homes going under contract than we had seen earlier in the summer.
Home prices are great for the new buyers or investors interested in increasing their portfolios. If you have been sitting on the fence waiting for some good news, this may be what you have been waiting for. Be sure and check out the statistics for your neighborhood and see where you are in the real estate cycle. With interest rates at a record low, this maybe the time for you to invest or purchase a home.
After attending the Weld County foreclosure sales earlier this Spring, I went to Denver where I thought there would be more action.
They have a few different rules but the bid process is similar making bidding faster as the increases after the 1st 2 bbids are in $500 increments.
The list of what is available, comes out the afternoon before the bid date on Thursday which is held at 10:00 am currently. Get there early if you are bidding on properties to sign up for the properties you are intereted in.
Note that all bids need to be paid for in certified or wired funds at the time the bid has been won.
Sometimes it looks like all the news about housing is more in a negative that a positive light. Check out the article below and you will see that there are some great reasons for buying this year.
Interest rates remain low and this can really effect how much home you can purchase. If you qualified last year, check again with your lender and see what you can afford now. It may surprise you.
Inventory is good. The great thing is that a lot of the foreclosed homes are off the market and the homes you will view now are in a lot better shape. Sellers know they need to have their home in move in condition to compete with the other listings.
There are not as many buyers in the market now bidding up prices and you can take your time and find the home that is right for you and your family.
Denver prices seem to have bottomed out a couple of years ago, but check with your neighborhood professional to see where you stand today. This maybe the perfect time for you to find that dream home.
5 Reasons to Buy a Home Now in Denver
There are builders out there who are re-evaluating their product and price structuring. If you get there at the right time, you may be able to negotiate a great price and get all the options you want with the builder inventory that they are looking to liquidate quickly.
I went to this new Community in Vista Ridge and they have 3 homes that are in this exact position. One home is completed and you can do a quick move-in. Two others are available that you can pick your options and move in in a couple of months!
Their new product offering will be patio homes that have ranch style floor plans. One great feature of these homes is that they take advantage of Erie, CO views of the front range mountains including Longs Peak. They also back to open space making the lots appear as though they are a lot larger with no homes backing to the lots.
Anthem Ranch has similar homes at a lot higher price point so think about crossing over to the north side of the street and viewing these Erie patio homes at almost half the price.
Vista Ridge Erie Colorado Patio Homes from $200,000 and up.
Sometimes it is hard to sort through all the articles and data from the media to get the real low down on what is happening in the metro area. This group puts together a great summary for anyone from the average consumer/job hunter to those in more technical professions.
Great statistics are always hard to find and we usually use them for the specific profession that we are affiliated with. Open this up and scan through it and find out current, reliable stats that may help you in your next financial or business decision. We can never have too much useful information.
JOPMay10E…pdf
April statistics are out and it still shows that although home prices are basically flat, most areas are not seeing falling prices. Buyers are still aggressively putting in low offers so concessions from sellers are common.
A note to home sellers, currently only 30% of homes in the area are actually selling. The rest are either withdrawn from the market or may go into a foreclosure or short sale mode. It is important to list your home very competitively and have it in top shape as competition is great for the qualified buyers that are out looking.
Take a look at this article for some more positive news on the current market.
Positive Perspective for May
When people ask me “How’s the market”, the past few years have required me to get into more neighborhood specific information. In the Denver Metro area, we have found that some neighborhoods had prices falling, some were stable and others were showing price increases. Most articles that are written and delivered over to the general public are nation wide in scope. Rarely will we find area specific information targeted to the Denver Metro housing market.
I have been working with clients using neighborhood statistics that are updated quarterly that really reflect what is happening in the neighborhood they are investing, buying or selling in. It is not enough to generalize and lump everything into the same basket. Property owners and buyers need neighborhood specific information that is current to make their decisions. Don’t believe everything you see in the media. Below is a link regarding median price and how that is different from some other statistics you maybe hearing about.
http://realtytimes.com/rtpages/20100302_medianprice.htm
Everyone is a little confused about the new home buyer tax credit. Below is a great link that explains some of the questions that a lot of buyers are wondering about. If you still have questions, your tax consultant or financial advisor are the best professionals to contact. They can give you all the information regarding your specific situation. It is worth a simple call or appointment since it is a lot of money to risk if you don’t fully understand the law.
Happy home hunting this year!
FirstTimeHomeBuyerTaxCredit_Jan10_GavinHigashi
If you have been wondering what the latest trends are, here is the information gathered from our local Denver metro statistics. There is not as much inventory as we have had in previous years, consequently sales are also down. On the positive side, median sales price for single family homes has held steady now for 3 months. We are hoping this trend continues which would be a sign that we may be leaving the long down turn in home sale prices and finding a leveling off for 2010.
Single Family (Res + Cond)
- Active listing inventory was 16,456 at the end of Dec 09
- Down 9% versus prior month
- Compared with Dec 08, this represents an 16% decrease
- Under contract listings were at 3,028 units
- Down 12% compared with prior month
- Down 8% compared with same month year ago
- Sales volume (units) totaled 2,959
- Down 18% compared to last month
- Down 9% compared to Dec 08
- Year-to-date (YTD) sales are down 12%
- 47,837 units sold YTD 08 vs 42,070 units sold YTD 09
- Average sales price was $255,877, even compared to prior month
- 14% increase from Dec 08, $225,257 avg price
- Average sales price Year-to-date (YTD) was down 3%
- $249,897 avg sales price YTD 08 vs $242,413 avg sales price YTD 09
Residential
- Available inventory was at 12,263 active listings, down 10% compared to prior month
- This represents a 18% decrease from same month year ago
- Under contract listings decreased 13% to 2,371 from prior month, and were down 11% compared to Dec 08
- Sales were down 15% from month ago to 2,328 units sold
- Compared with Dec 08, units sold increased 10%
- YTD sales (units) were down 13%
- 37,988 units sold YTD 08 vs 33,114 units sold YTD 09
- Average sales price was $281,756
- Up 6% compared with Nov 09, $ $265,498 avg price
- Up 17% versus Dec 08, $270,261 avg price
- Median sales price was $221,000, up 1% versus prior month, and up 13% from Dec 08
Condo
- At close of Dec 09, there were 4,193 available units
- Down 7% compared to prior month and down 9% compared to Dec 08
- There was a 8% drop in under contract units compared with Nov 09
- Under contract listings were up 6% versus same month year ago
- 631 units sold in Dec 09, down 26% compared to prior month and down 3% from Dec 08
- YTD there were 8,956 units sold, down 9% compared with 9,849 units sold YTD 08
- Average sales price was $160,399, up 5% versus Nov 09 and down 2% compared to Dec 08
- Median price was down 4% at $131,000 compared with prior month
- Median price increased 5% from $125,000 Dec 08
Consumers are still spending money in this economy and women are a driving force behind it. Here are some interesting statistics:
- Since 2005, women have earned more college degrees in the US ; 57% of Bachelors, 60.6% of Masters and 50.5% of Doctoral level degrees
- From 1990 to 2006, women’s incomes grew by a factor of 32.9% and men’s 6.3%
The Miley/Mack research shows in the age group of 18-30 that:
- 94% of women and 90% of men rated financial independence as being very important
- 94% of women and 89% of men rated taking care of themselves as being important
- Owning a home was very important to 44% of men and 76% of women
Women are looking for a more balanced lifestyle than ever before. Businesses that provide lifestyle coaching may find that their firms may be more attractive to women. As we enter into a new decade, it will be interesting to see how these changes influence the future purchasing power balance between the sexes.
|
|
