Our Bloggers
Denver & Suburbs
Larry Hotz - Selling homes since 1978, Former Managing Broker and Senior Faculty Member Colorado Association of Realtors
Littleton & SW
Dennis Martin - Another Dad/Daughter Real Estate Team sells homes throughout Denver's Southwest Suburbs. Dennis also managed a real estate company and sold homes for over 30 years.
Erie, Niwot & Northwest
Paula King - a Certified Residential Specialist helping folks in Denver's north suburbsWest Denver
Melody Rivera - and Rivera Team sell homes in Highlands, Lakewood, Westminister. She is also President of The Denver Board of Realtors
John Ludwig - Lo-Do, Business District, City Park and more offer homes for "urban at heart".
Longmont & North
John Callis - Broker since 1982 in Denver's northern suburbs. Lives in Boulder.
First Time Homes
Elizabeth Hotz
- Purdue grad and broker since 2005, Liz has lived in both the City and Suburbs. She know the best places for first-time buyers.Aurora Co Suburbs
Maureen Moore
- Lives here and loves South Aurora, Maureen has been a Realtor here for 22 years.
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Why Denver?
by Kristine Holvick, The Rivera Team
OK. Every Realtor touts Denver as the best city. So, who am I to be more believable?
Well, I grew up in Denver; moved away from Denver; came back home to Denver. What I know about our beautiful city is that it offers something for everyone. It certainly drew me back. It turns out that old saying is true: "The grass really isn’t greener on the other side of the hill". But, in this case the our grass is even better than it was when I left.
We who embrace great food, perfect climate, endless trails, popular shopping venues, exciting nightlife, history, and culture
National Western
by Larry Hotz, All Denver Real Estate
January in Denver means our coldest weather and "The Stock Show" is in town. It’s a time to remember our western, ranching heritage and hopefully enjoy the first Professional Rodeo of the New Year.
Over 15,000 animals are somehow housed at the huge Coliseum Complex just 3 miles from the heart of downtown Denver. Of course, there are stock shows, live animal auctions and over 300 vendors peddling their wares to cowboys, gentlemen ranchers, locals and tourists alike. There are groomed horses prancing in smaller rings, live stock on display and even a children’s "petting zoo". Your child might want a ride on a pony or even a camel.
If you haven’t seen it, it is a sight to behold.
Greenwood Village Moves Closer to Denver
It is hard to imagine that a city can actually move. Well, it can. At least the perception of its residents. And, Greenwood Village real estate is now percieved as being closer to downtown Denver.
Why? Commuting downtown is now much easier than it was even last November. Driving downtown then during rush hour took anywhere from 35-60 minutes depending on traffic, weather and accidents. Since the new lanes on I-25 opened in mid-November last year, traffic has at least 2 additonal lanes in each direction all the way downtown. That has lowered the commute in rush hour to 20-25 minutes.
Adding to change in commutes is the new DTD light rail service along I-25. It also opened in November, 2006. Now, Greenwood Village residents have a choice of two stops at Belleview and Orchard stations. Commute time on the train is less than 25 minutes.
Lone Tree Elementary School
Some of the finest homes in Douglas County are located in the close-in suburb of Lone tree. Heritage Hills, Heritage Estates, The Fairways and Carriage Club offer luxury homes at more affordable prices.
However, the one impediment to selling a home here has always been what has been perceived as the mediocre elementary school test results at Acres Green which serves the area. All that is changing now that Lone Tree Elementary School Opens for the 2007-2008 school year.
Kentwood Company Sold
Can history repeat itself? My firm, The Kentwood Company, is in processing of transitioning to new ownership. It was acquired by Bill Moore, former Partner in the firm and former President of The National Association of Realtors, and his son-in-
law, Peter Niederman.
Fact is that Mr. Moore was a 50% partner in the elite firm in 1988 until 1998. Mr. Niederman was Chief Operating Officer of Moore and Company for many years before it was sold to NRT. It is now known as Coldwell Banker in the Denver area.
"We will not touch
Denver Market Statistics
Denver Real Estate Market Improves Slightly
The Denver real estate market continues to "level-off" according to statistics just released by Metrolist, the local reporting multi-list reporting agency.
Under contract sales increased for single-family homes increased by about 5% from the previous month. However, sales were still down 1.66% from the year ago period. That suggests that the market has consolidated much of previous losses.
One important statistic to consider is not reported. It is absorption. Absorption is the number of months it would take at current sales levels to sell all the homes currently on the market. Professional sellers such as relocation companies and lenders rely on absorption to determine the true condition of the real estate market.
Interestingly, absorption has continued to improve all this year in Denver’s market. Just single-family homes had 4.2 months of inventory (available homes vs those "under contract" for sale) in May. January absorption was over 5 months of inventory.
Condominiums always have less absorption in this market because it takes longer to sell condos than single-family homes here. The absorption rate for condos was 5.8 months in May. Absorption rate began this year at 7 months of inventory. So, condo sellers are finding slightly better sales conditions too.
An ideal, "healthy" market would have 3 months of inventory.
|
Change vs |
|||
|
May 07 |
Prior Month |
Year Ago |
|
|
Single Family (Res + Cond) |
|||
|
Active |
29,110 |
4.49 |
-4.42 |
|
Under Contract |
6,353 |
2.92 |
-1.64 |
|
Sold |
5,081 |
15.50 |
1.42 |
|
Avg DOM |
102 |
-6.01 |
6.07 |
|
Avg Sold Price |
$288,905 |
-1.40 |
0.55 |
|
Residential |
|||
|
Active |
21,505 |
5.02 |
-2.56 |
|
Under Contract |
5,045 |
3.00 |
-1.66 |
|
Sold |
3,952 |
13.82 |
1.52 |
|
Avg DOM |
98 |
-9.26 |
10.11 |
|
Avg Sold Price |
$318,904 |
-1.12 |
1.16 |
|
Condominium |
|||
|
Active |
7,605 |
3.03 |
-9.33 |
|
Under Contract |
1,308 |
2.59 |
-1.58 |
|
Sold |
1,129 |
21.79 |
1.07 |
|
Avg DOM |
118 |
0.85 |
-4.07 |
|
Avg Sold Price |
$183,896 |
0.74 |
-3.21 |
Foreclosures
“Denver leads the nation in foreclosures”. That’s what several newspaper headlines said recently.
“Luxury home sales above $1 million have suffered less in the last year. Those sales are still relatively constant with the prior year.” That’s what I said in a recent editorial.
Why are both statements absolutely true? Remember what is important in real estate? It’s an old adage but it has never been 
truer. The three most important things in real estate are “location, location and location”.
Most Denver area foreclosures are occurring in Adams and Weld counties. Those are Cherry Hills on Denver’s north side. Also, foreclosures in Denver proper have mostly been limited to the north and west sides of town. Also, the northern section of Aurora has had more foreclosures.
So, does that mean all the better neighborhoods are on the east and south sides of town. Not exactly. But, that is a fair generalization with many notable exceptions. Broomfield, Arvada, Lakewood, Highlands and other areas have been less affected by foreclosures. But, it is fair to say that the south side of town both in the city and suburbs has low foreclosure rates. Coincidentally or not, those are the more expensive section of the city.
I mostly practice south of I-70. My colleagues on my team work north of there. I rarely see foreclosures south of I-70 and when I do they hardly ever are great bargains especially given their generally rough condition. Luxury homes above $500,000 are generally in better areas that have held value during this downturn.
Still, bargains can be had. This is generally a “Buyers’ Market” but exceptions do exist. Don’t try to buy a new home in suburbs and pay less than $3 million. It just won’t happen. But, there are builders and motivated sellers all over town making deals. The trick is to determine motivation and capitalize on it.
Even though the average selling price in better neighborhoods is still 97% of asking price, many homes will sell at substantial discounts. I have been helping my clients get the best deals for 28 years. It’s just a matter of knowing the various markets around town and how to play them. I know that can be done because I do it all the time!
Artsey Arvada
A great source of information about current events, activities, opinions, want ads, etc. is the Arvada Press. Volume 3, Issue 8 has some really great real estate articles on buying, selling and lending in real estate. This same edition has an extensive list of things to see, do and experience. Of particular interest to me is the Arvada Rotary Peach Sale since you just can’t beat Palisade peaches. Every year I buy two cases and fuss and fume as I dunk, peel, slice, add fruit fresh and freeze. However, come the winter holidays, my family and I really enjoy all the frozen “fresh” peaches in pies and cobblers.
Arvada also has small secret surprises waiting for you. One of them is in Meadowglen where you find a nice Colorado size lake with homes around the walking path that encircles it. I happen to know of one on 81st Drive that has the most relaxing, serene view of that lake that lets all your cares just seep out your toes and helps you prepare to face the next days new challenges. This particular home has a lovely sun room that works for you summer or winter. There have been many winter nights I have sat on that porch with my feet watching the snow fall and done absolutely nothing. Try it. You’ll like it.
Kentwood Company Agents Sales
When you list your home with most Denver Realtors, just that one Realtor works to sell your home. Kentwood Company is different. Our Brokers average 21 years in the real estate business. Most of us remember the days when ‘old-fashioned’ brokerages would tour their own listings every week and encourage their Brokers to show and sell Company listngs first.
That is still the way it is at The Kentwood Company. We have the most productive agents in Denver according to the Denver Buisness Journal. Our agents still tour new listings every week. We still offer an incentive sell to Kentwood listings. So, we still work like a team. It may be old fashioned. But, it works for our sellers.
2006
AVERAGE VOLUME PER AGENT
BY COMPANY
FROM DENVER BUSINESS JOURNAL
|
The Kentwood Company |
$10.1M |
|
Fuller |
$7.5M |
|
Re/Max Classic |
$6.9M |
|
Re/Max Masters |
$6.2M |
|
Re/Max Professionals |
$5.0M |
|
Re/Max Cherry Creek |
$5.0M |
|
Re/Max Southeast |
$4.3M |
|
Re/Max Alliance |
$4.0M |
|
Prestige |
$2.9M |
|
Coldwell Banker |
$2.5M |
|
Keller Williams |
$2.1M |
|
Home Real Estate |
.9M |
Denver Ready To Rebound?
Press Release
Greenwood Village, CO (PRWEB) December 13, 2006 — Larry Hotz, a 28-year Denver real estate veteran, has released information showing the local market may be poised for recovery. The number of residential listings for resale homes in the Denver metro area dropped dramatically for the second consecutive month even while sales slipped slightly.
The number of homes and condominiums on the market in the metropolitan area dropped to 27,530 in November from 31,450 homes for sale just two months earlier. That is a reduction of 7.38% from October. The number of October listings had previously dropped 5.5% from September.
"This is a very good sign for the Denver market," according to Larry Hotz’s web site at http://www.larryhotz.com. Hotz is a 28-year Denver real estate broker with The Kentwood Company. "The market here has been soft due mainly to an increase in the number of homes on the market. A reduction of inventory over the last 2 months indicates this market may be at or near the bottom in this cycle. The reduction in the number of homes on the market is beginning to be noticed by buyers."
Still, sales of existing homes were down by 3.78% from the year ago period. All figures included both detached homes and condominiums. Sales declined less for single-family homes than condominiums.
Residential home sales have been the focus for the local real estate industry which has been concerned that a real estate "bubble" might be bursting. While sales have slowed somewhat over the last year, increases in the number of listings have far outpaced decreases in sales. The number of listings on the market has risen by 7063 from January to September. That increase has now been been reduced by more than 50%.
"Single family, detached homes always lead the market in any recovery," according to Hotz. "In particular, inventories of listings can decrease before sales increase. Recently, I’ve even noticed an increase in sales activity in early December. Multiple offers on listings are just beginning to show up. I’ve had two multiple offer situations in the last week. If this trend continues for the next month or two, our real estate market could be blossoming this Spring."
"There have been tremendous incentives over the last three months for buyers of brand new homes," Hotz added. "Now, even those inventories have decreased significantly. One project I visited this weekend in Highlands Ranch had sold over half of its completed homes in just the last three weeks. New home inventories are declining along with the number of resale listings on the market. The amount of the incentives has also been cut. In some cases builders are offering only half of the incentives they offered a month ago."
Hotz has been an award-winning Denver real estate agent since 1978. His web site at www.larryhotz.com has been an authority since 1997. He has been a Managing Broker for a major Denver firm and Senior Faculty Member of the Colorado Association of Realtors. He reported these figures based on statistics released by "Metrolist", the local multiple listing service.