Is the real estate market in the Boulder/Denver area tough - you bet it is, especially if you are a seller. But if you are a buyer it is a dream come true! The number of available homes in inventory is higher than ever, and mortgage rates are at historic lows. So what are you waiting for?
Afraid you won't get as much out of your current home as you hoped? That might be true, especially if you bought your home between 2000-2006. Historically homeowners have realized 25% appreciation in their homes over every five year period since 1980. Something happened between 2000 and 2006 - that appreciation skyrocketed to 89%! No wonder our ideas of value are skewed now! We saw that bubble and thought "Hey, I want a part of that." Well, guess what? That bubble has burst.
But hey, 25% appreciation every five years is not too shabby, especially as compared to the stock market. From 2000 through 2008 the Dow lost 9.8%, the S & P lost 20.6%, and the Nasdaq lost 47.8%. Let's all get off the fence, back in the yard, and be grateful for our 25% again.
What's going on in the Boulder/Broomfield/Longmont area? Well we all know that sales are down. For February 2009 the number of single family residential units sold was down more than 11% as compared to February 2008, and condo sales were down almost 8%. Average sales prices are down too - 7.3% for single family but UP almost 2% for condos! And compared to the rest of the country, that 7.3% drop isn't that bad! Areas in California, Florida, Arizona, etc... are down over 40%! Again, let's all be grateful that we live in this beautiful, clean, relatively uncrowded area and our prices are holding somewhat steady compared to the rest of the country.
How many times have you heard someone say, or said yourself, "If I knew 20 years ago what I know now, I could have bought that property for nothing. Today that property is worth a million bucks! " THIS is the time folks. If you have a home to sell, you won't make as much money on it as you would have had you sold it two years ago. But chances are you WILL make money on it, and you can pick up a replacement property for a screaming deal.
If you appreciate this information and would like more, please let me know by contacting me at pam@coloradolandmark.com. I am the Relocation Director here at Colorado Landmark. I am NOT a licensed real estate professional and I won't try to sell you anything. As the Relocation Director it is my job to assist people moving in and out of the Boulder/Longmont/Broomfield area in any way that I can. I stay abreast of the current trends and statistics and can help you dig up information, analyze your current situation, and make decisions about where you want to go.
Pam Metzger
Director of Relocation
Colorado Landmark, Realtors
