Denver Residential Real Estate
We are very proud to donate $8,700 to @theparkpeople_denverdigstrees for our 2020 closings! We give $150 to The Park People in order for the nonprofit to plant one tree in a low canopy neighborhood for every home we sell. Thank you to our 58 buyers and sellers for making this gift possible!! #givingback
We are excited to welcome Abbey Puls to the Living Room team. She is joining us as an Associate Real Estate Advisor.
Abbey grew up in a small town in mid-coast Maine. After attending college in Western New York she moved to Southern California and started a career in residential interior design. Her career took her to New York City where after over ten years of working in design she decided it was time for a change. Abbey’s love of the west then pointed her to Denver which is where her passion for home design and working with clients led her to real estate.
Learn more about Abbey on our website and follow her on Instagram.
New listing in Uptown, Denver
It is easy to find a long list of all to the items to winterize your home. Some can be pricey and may not be necessary to do every fall/winter. We have made a list of what we feel are the five most important items to do this fall. This list is easy and costs very little.
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This is something you can do yourself if you own an air condenser. If not, there are plenty of companies that will come to blow out your sprinklers. Call and schedule a time now, they book up as we get closer to freezing weather.
You can grab a ladder and clean out your gutters or hire someone to do it. It is important to make sure they are free of debris so that water drains properly away from your house.
Even in winter, ceiling fans can be used to help manage the interior climate. Ceiling fan direction in the winter should be clockwise, and the fan should run at the lowest speed. This pulls cool air up toward the ceiling, which in turn displaces the warm air that rises and collects near the ceiling. When standing under the fan, look up and double-check that the blades are rotating in a clockwise direction.
Before you touch match to kindling, take a good look around your fireplace and chimney to make sure you’re following these essential guidelines for a safe—and warm—season. Bob Villa outlined these steps to take before lighting your fireplace. 1. Check for Cracks and Damage. 2. Inspect the Chimney Cap and Damper 3. Clear Away Tree Limbs 4. Clear Out Ashes 5. Consider Heat Proof Glass
Spring-blooming bulbs, such as tulips and daffodils, should be planted in September or October when the soil temperatures have cooled. Generally, dig a hole two to three times deeper than the bulb is tall. So if you have a 3-inch-tall bulb, dig a hole 6 to 9 inches deep. If the bulb has a pointed end, that’s usually the side that faces up. If you don’t see a pointy side, look for where the roots come out—that end goes down. Like most plants, bulbs appreciate well-drained soil rich in organic matter. spread 2 to 3 inches of mulch over the soil to prevent weeds. Bulbs are plants, too, so they appreciate a good drink after you plant them.
New listing in Park Hill:
2566 N Fairfax Street Denver, CO 80207
2 BEDS/ 1 BATHS/ 913SF
OPEN HOUSE:
Sat Nov 7, 11:00AM-2:00PM
Two bed, one bathroom home setback on the alley that offers a huge 6250 lot in Park Hill – could be a great first home, rental, or building opportunity (more details below). Adobe home stays cool in the summer with new ceiling fans in the bedrooms (no AC). Fireplace and forced air furnace will make it a cozy place to be through the winter. Wood floors in the main area and bedrooms, new tile in the bathroom, and new carpet at the back entry and into the basement storage area. Kitchen has brand new appliances. New stackable full size washer/dryer in the bedroom closet. Great opportunity for construction. Rent the 2/1 for about $2000/m while you wait for permits. Build a new main house and a garage next to the current home. Keep the existing home if you can connect it to the new construction, but you’d have to remove the kitchen in the existing (zoned Urban – Singe Unit – C 5,500+).
City only allows 37.5% lot coverage = 2,343.75 sf. Existing house is 815 sf + 400 sf for a new two car garage limits you to a 1128 sf footprint on the new construction. You could do a basement and second story to make the new house over 3300 sf if you leave the existing structure. Scrape the existing structure to build a brand new 4000+ sf home like 2548 Fairfax Street, Denver, CO 80207 two lots south that sold for $1.42M in Feb, 2020. Or build an 1100+ sf addition to the existing home to add a master suite, second bathroom, and new kitchen like 5075 E 25th Avenue, Denver, CO 80207 which sold for $826K in August 2018 on the same block. Buyer responsible to verify all details building constraints.
Great schools – Park Hill School (ECE), McAuliffe International School (8-6), and East High School (9-12). 72 Walk Score – Live two blocks from Long Table Brewery, Sexy Pizza, and new Park Hill Commons development. 10 minute walk to Spinelli’s market, Honey Hill coffee shop, and Cherry Tomato. 4 min drive to Neighbor’s Wine bar, Tables restaurant, and Cake Crumbs Bakery. Buyer to verify and zoning.
Nine months into the Covid-19 pandemic, we have collected some data and feel ready to talk about how this pandemic has impacted the Denver real estate market. Since staying home has become a new way of life, it is logical that the demand for housing has hit an all-time high.
At the onset of the pandemic, there was a slight opportunity to find a good deal for three months. Those who were willing to purchase amid uncertainty were rewarded (see price decreases below in light blue April, May, and June).
On April 11th the Colorado Real Estate Division banned in-person home showings until May 1st. Offers were being made without seeing properties, inspectors went in and emailed reports and closing happened in parking lots.
Why would anyone buy under such conditions? Well, at this point everyone needed an extra 1000 sf. Not only were they working from home but they also had kids homeschooling, needed a place for their new Peloton bike, and no escape (aka vacation) insight. Only around 7% of U.S. employees regularly worked from home before the COVID-19. 62% of US employees are working from home now.
The demand for extra space has become a priority for many at the same time people actually experienced increased savings. In addition to receiving stimulus money, many saw their monthly bills decrease. Savings were achieved in many categories including commuting, travel, restaurant/bars, entertainment, fitness, personal services, etc. We actually saw personal saving rates increase in April 2020.
At the same time, most homeowners were able to refinance at a lower interest rate and decrease their monthly housing costs. With interest rates hovering at historic lows of around 3 percent for a 30-year fixed-rate loan, refinance mortgages originated in the second quarter of 2020 represented an estimated $513 billion in total dollar volume. That number was up 130 percent from a year ago, to the highest point in almost 17 years.
We expect total mortgage originations to reach $1.1 trillion in Q3 2020 and $3.6 trillion for the full year 2020. For Q3 2020, refinance originations to be $670 billion.
CPR says that 9 in 10 people in Colorado were employed in July 2020. Those people were working from home, had a boost in savings, and were looking to take advantage of low-interest rates. Lower interest rates counterbalance a higher list price and make their monthly payment manageable. I looked back at Mortgage Rates and home values from Zillow and did some quick monthly payment calculations assuming 20% down.
Oct 2016 / 3.42% / $377K = $1636/m
Oct 2017 / 3.85% / $409K = $1850/m
Oct 2018 / 4.9% / $446K = $2226/m
Oct 2019 / 3.65% / $449K = $1975/m
Oct 2020 / 2.88% / $469K = $1900/m
With the lower rates, home prices started to increase again in July. As prices started to soar buyers were unphased. The list price is irrelevant to buyers because they are focused on the cost of their monthly payment.
Demand has been strong and inventory has lagged behind. Active inventory between September 2019 to September 2020 is down 42.91% according to DMAR. The low inventory resulted in bidding wars. There aren’t widely available stats so we counted up the number of offers we received on each listing and the number of offers each buyer wrote to get their offer accepted based on Living Room’s transactions. As a whole, it took 2.5 offers per sale within our brokerage since Covid started. It was our experience that single-family homes were more competitive and required closer to 3.5 offers per sale while condo and townhomes were closer to 1.4 offers.
Naturally, it follows that real estate agents were busier than ever during Covid. We are writing 2.5 offers per client and that doesn’t take into effect the number of showings required. In addition, lenders were extremely busy with refinances in addition to new purchases. Lastly, the title companies doubled their workload – instead of one closing with the buyers and sellers, they had to do two separate closings – one for the buyers and one for the sellers. It was double the work all around and we did it in masks.
In the graph below you can see the dotted blue line where we expected inventory to be this year before Covid changed the scenario. The solid blue shows our actual inventory. It is shocking to see more homes pending and closed than active inventory.
How is that possible? Answer – many homes sold without ever being listed on the market. The sales were recorded by brokers after the fact. Within our brokerage it happened – friends selling homes to friends, renters buying from their landlord, or buyers placing offers on off-market properties.
The high demand for homes in Denver and low inventory is pushing prices up. Since last year, prices in Denver are up 6.4% according to Zillow and predicted to keep going up. Costs are also increasing for building – lumber is a major factor but throughout the supply chain prices are increasing across the board.
Covid created major change and the change resulted in many moves. According to the Postal Service’s Change of Address requests, over 15.9 million people have moved during the coronavirus. The national trend was a move from cities to the suburbs or smaller towns. Many Denver residents looking for more space left the city. At the same time, Denver has witnessed an influx of new residents from bigger cities. Working remotely has given people the ability to live anywhere and people want to live in Denver. Our city is more open than other cities and we’ve been lucky to not be the center of a major
It’s important to note that the net losses experienced by big cities eclipsed the net gains experienced by the smaller cities. Residents relocating from big cities spread out to smaller areas across the country. A Denver Post opinion piecesaid, “A new wave of urban migrants may be crashing into the suburban and rural West. You could even call them COVID migrants.” People living in Denver are moving to more affordable “Zoom towns” in rural areas. The rural real estate market nationwide has taken off much faster than in urban areas.
You can see in the graph above that Highlands Ranch, Broomfield, Thornton, Parker, and Evergreen are very in-demand areas while the city center is actually a buyer’s market. People need and want more space. Walkability and the length of commutes is less relevant.
Typically this time of year is when demand starts to decrease. However, the showings stats below demonstrate that showings have consistently increased month over month since the big dip in April 2020. Masks and other precautions are being taken, but buyers are on a mission to get into a home. The election and holiday will slow down buyers, but we expect a robust 2021.
It was hard to predict how the pandemic would affect the real estate market in Denver early on. Now that some time has passed, we see that stay-at-home orders, low-interest rates, and movement has created a huge boost in demand and therefore prices. Sellers are experiencing the tangible benefits of these price increases when they go to sell, while buyers are battling it out in multiple offer situations. Those lucky enough to win in a bidding war are saved by low-interest rates that make their monthly payment manageable. If Denver can weather the recession of the 2020 pandemic, I’m optimistic about the years to come.
927 King Street, Denver
3 beds / 2 baths
Kassidy Benson, Buyer’s Agent
Alex started looking for a home last year. After considering many options, he identified Villa Park as his ideal location. This summer we looked at many homes and he made 9 offers. Alex persisted with energy. When we were both out of town, a great home came on the market and Lisa was able to go see the property and send videos. After many losses, he knew what he would have to do to win and got really aggressive and the seller took his offer early on Saturday. The inspection did not go well, but I negotiated a $35K price reduction for Alex.
Coming soon: 325 E 18th Avenue Unit #302, Denver, CO 80203
2 BED / 1 BATH / 763 SF Uptown Condo.
5555 S Briarwood, Centennial, CO
2 Beds / 2.5 Baths / 1,528 SF
Purchased for $330,000.
Kassidy Benson, Buyer’s Agent
Fran and Mikey purchased this home completely remotely. As soon as a listing would pop up, I would go meet Mikey’s mom for a tour and send the guys videos. We lost out on three offers and we walked away from home due to a poor inspection. Finally, the perfect place was available and we got it under asking price! I handled the inspection and they finally saw the townhouse only a few days before closing. Luckily they liked it and we closed!
3080 Monroe St, Denver, CO 80205
3 bedrooms / 2.5 bathrooms / 1637 SF
Sold for $630,000.
Kassidy Benson, Seller’s agent
After a four-month rehab, this beauty attracted a buyer the first weekend on the market. We received multiple offers but went with an all-cash offer, $5000 over the asking price, that closed in only two weeks.
