Guide to Boulder Neighborhoods

Guide to Boulder Neighborhoods

Interested in learning about the different neighborhoods in Boulder? In this report I have split Boulder into eleven different areas and present the lifestyle highlights, schools, shopping districts, local recreation and real estate statistics for each area. If you’re interested in learning about where to live in the City of Boulder this is your guide. Click Here to view and download the guide.

Top Ten Most Expensive Listings In Boulder County

Top Ten Most Expensive Listings In Boulder County

It’s always fun to look at what is happening in the real estate market. It’s especially fun to take a peek at some of the most beautiful homes in Boulder County. Currently there are 78 homes on the market in Boulder County with price tags of $2,000,000 or more. Out of that group, just one is under contract. That lucky home is Tim Goodacre’s listing at 512 Marine Street in Boulder listed for $2,350,000. It is a remodeled 1902 home with beautiful landscaping just a quick walk from the Pearl Street Mall. But I digress… Today I am going to list the 10 most expensive residential listings in Boulder County. Here it goes!

10) 8925 Mountain View Lane – $4,978,500

This is an 11,388 square foot “French country inspired executive home” in White Hawk Ranch.  White Hawk Ranch is a small enclave of newer homes with mountain views and large lots (~1 acre) located east of Boulder toward Lafayette.  According to the listing the home has an elevator, unobstructed views, and design features such as hand hewed beams, distressed floors and antique glazed woodwork.

Days on Market:  96  (previously listed in 2009 for $5,800,000

Price per square foot:  $437

Listed by Coldwell Banker Residential in Boulder

9)  5860 Boulder Hills Drive – $5,995,000

This home is a rural hill top estate located between Boulder and Longmont.  It has 40 acres and is accessed by a quarter mile, tree lined driveway.  This is a “French Normandy” style home with extensive gardens, ponds, a tea house, hedges, fountains and a “park like setting”.  The home was built in 1984.  If you are looking for your own European estate in Boulder County, this might just be your next home.

Days on Market:  92 (On the market on and off since 2007, starting at $6,450,000)

Price per square foot:  $728

Listed by Fuller Sotheby’s International Realty

8)  6880 Saint Vrain Road – $5,995,000

The MLS listing says:  “A Paradise Resort style property for the discriminating buyer. 40-Acres with extensive water rights, million dollar views, including an extraordinary 10,000+ SF trophy home, 6000 SF Outbuilding, barn designed for 8 stalls, Professional Tennis Court, Pool with Waterfalls, Theatre, Gym, Billiard Room, Au Pair Suite, irrigated pastures, pond and more. Stunning home featuring Mountain Views from every room.”  The home is located west of Longmont and was built in 2006.

Days on Market: 217 (On and off the market since 2007 with a highest list price of $8,195,000

Price per square foot:  $567

Listed by Fuller Sotheby’s International Realty

7)  4322 Sunshine Canyon Drive  – $6,000,000

This home is inspired by an Italian hill town villa.  Extensive use of natural materials but with modern lines.  Great views from this 40 acre mountain location.  Built in 2007, this is the first time this home has been on the market.  The home has 7,736 finished square feet with four bedrooms and 6 bathrooms.

Days on Market:  142

Price per square foot:  $775

Listed by Fuller Sotheby’s International Realty

 

6)  165 Green Rock Drive – $6,500,000

Built in 1969 and designed by noted Boulder based architect Charles Haertling, this is a piece of Boulder history.  The house is built right into an impressive rock outcropping and is located an easy walk to downtown Boulder.  Despite the mountain look and feel to the home, this is in fact the only house in town that made this list.  If you are a fan of Mad Men or Pan-Am and have an extra 6 or 7 $million this might be just the place for you.  Yeah baby!

Days on Market:  234

Price per square foot:  $1,124

Listed by Fuller Sotheby’s International Realty

5)  4651 Eldorado Springs Drive – $6,985,000

A river runs through it.  Near new “Beaver Creek” (stone, beam, extensive windows, lodge inspired) styled home located in Eldorado Valley just south of Boulder.  South Boulder Creek runs through the property’s 5 acres.  5,588 square feet home finished in 2008.  Trout pond out back, horse barn and pasture.  For those wanting to be an estate rancher but need to be close to town.

Days on Market:  157  (previously listed in 2009 for $7,500,000

Price per square foot:  $1,250

Listed by Colorado Landmark- Boulder

4)  7001 Rozena Drive – $7,250,000

If you are looking for space, water and room for a family compound this may be just the place.  The estate style home was built in 1990, but the main draw is the 115 acres including a 26 acres reservoir, mineral and water rights, waterfall, trout pond, great views and a peaceful setting.  Located in Hygiene Colorado which is just west of Longmont.

Days on Market:  26  (On market with a few breaks since July 2011.  Originally listed for $12,000,000.

Price per square foot:  $1,312

Listed by Colorado Landmark – Boulder

3)  3472 Sunshine Canyon – $7,890,000

105 acres with an executive home and a spiritual retreat/ community center.  Unique zoning allow for more “fellowship” buildings.  Property is comprised by over three lots.  Mountain retreat up Sunshine Canyon.

Days on the Market:  571

Price per square foot:  $1,225

Listed by Coldwell Banker Residential – Boulder

2)  19 Arrowleaf Ct. – $7,900,000

Nearly new modern home on a view lot in the close-in foothills above Boulder.  10,447 finished square feet.  Built green and with state of the art technology throughout.

Days on the Market: $369  (originally priced at $8,500,000)

Price per square foot:  $756

Listed by Fuller Sotheby’s International Realty

 

 

1) 7171 Pike Road – $9,000,000

The highest priced residential property listed in Boulder County right now is actually an 80 acre farm.  The house is 4,522 square feet and was apparently built in 1900.  There are not any remarks about this listing in the MLS so it is a bit of a secret listing.  From the photos it looks like this home has a lake, a full equestrian set up with indoor arena and many outbuildings.  But don’t tell anyone, I think it’s a secret.

Days on Market:  353

Price per square foot:  $1,990

Listed by Turner Realty

Well there you have it, the top ten most expensive listings in Boulder County.  It’s interesting that none are a traditional in town home.  The price per square foot measure breaks down and the outdoor amenities increase.  The house is important but it becomes less so when you have 115 acres with other uses available to you.

To view photos of all of these listings go to:  http://www.IRESis.com/cwa/link/?llid=kx4szk

If you are a qualified buyer and want to view any of these properties give me  a call.  I can show any listed property in Boulder County.  None of these listings are mine, so you will have impartial information and good advice.  Neil Kearney 303.818.4055

Foreclosures In And Around Boulder Colorado

Foreclosures In And Around Boulder Colorado

Last weeks headlines read “Colorado Foreclosures Down 28%”.  Almost every buyer I work with has an interest in looking at foreclosures. Foreclosures are big news, but are they in Boulder Colorado and the surrounding county?  After reading the article I decided to delve more deeply into the issue and give you an idea of how common bank owned homes are in our real estate market.

My first stop was to do a quick tour of my MLS system to see how many foreclosed properties are listed for sale in various areas.

  • Boulder – 10 Foreclosures of 664 total listing or 1.5%
  • Louisville – 3 Foreclosures of 82 total listing or 3.6%
  • Lafayette – 11 Foreclosures of 151 total listing or 7.2%
  • Longmont – 36 Foreclosures of 476 total listing or 7.5%
  • Superior – 4 Foreclosures of 49 total listing or 8.1%
  • Erie – 8 Foreclosures of 172 total listing or 4.6%
  • Broomfield  – 16 Foreclosures of 376 total listing or 4.2%
  • Frederick/Firestone – 11 Foreclosures of 170 total listing or 6.4%
The highest percentage is in Superior at 8% and the lowest percentage of foreclosure listings is in the City of Boulder where just 1.5% of listings were bank owned.
I also looked at the % of homes that in the foreclosure process using Realist which is a public records tool available through my MLS system.  Here are the percentage of homes in some stage of foreclosure (rolling 3 month average) for some selected zip codes.
  • 80301 (Gunbarrel) – .43%
  • 80302 (downtown Boulder)- .41%
  • 80305 (Table Mesa) – .23%
  • 80027 (Louisville/Superior) – .39%
  • 80516 (Erie) – 1.14%
  • 80530 (Frederick) – 2.81%
  • 80501 (East Longmont) – 1.09%
  • 80503 (West Longmont) – .6%
These are very low percentages across the board.  The area with the fewest number of homes active in the foreclosure process was the Table Mesa area in South Boulder.
Here are some screen shots showing density of foreclosures in a few select neighborhoods.
Louisville:
Erie:
Firestone:
The maps include properties in pre-foreclosure, bank owned, REO sales (not sure how far back) and Short Sales.  I chose an area for each locale that had the most distressed properties.  There is quite a difference between different areas.  The map for Boulder is very similar to Louisville.
My conclusion is that if a buyer is looking at foreclosure properties exclusively they will not have very many properties from which to chose.  We have been very lucky in that our values have held fairly steady and distressed sales are not a huge part of the market.  If you would like a list of the foreclosures currently available in Boulder County, please let me know.  I would be happy to assist you in your search.  I am a HUD approved broker and can help you bid and purchase a HUD home as well.
Links:
Boulder County Public Trustee these properties are only for those buyers who are willing to purchase a property site unseen for cash with no inspection.

Location, Location, Location – Backing to Open Space in Boulder

Location, Location, Location is a well known rule in real estate. In some areas the prime locations migrate over time. Following the latest and best development. A good part of town is blighted 25 years later or the opposite, a blighted area of town gets revitalized. In Boulder Colorado where our development and growth are limited and enhanced by the natural beauty it has been more of a constant. This is even more true since Boulder is surrounded by nearly 100,000 acres of public open space. Backing to open space is a great location and many buyers are willing to pay premium prices for proximity to public open space. In Boulder this is not just limited to one section of town.
There is open space literally on every side of Boulder.  Below I have taken a portion of the Boulder County comprehensive open space map (impressive!) showing just that portion around the City of Boulder.  Every colored section is public land of some sort and everything colored green on the map is open space.  This means that there are many homes backing to open space in and around Boulder Colorado.  This provides a unique marketing opportunity and a lasting value for the buyer of such properties.  Open space is not limited to homes backing to the mountains but includes homes backing to farmland, native prairie and riparian areas.

As you look around at property listings you will see the subtle distinction of “open space” vs. “open land”.  Same thing, right?  Wrong!  The great selling feature about open space is that a commitment has been made for the preservation of the land in its current state.  Unless something dramatically changes in our government, what you see is what you get.  Open land on the other hand can be a little more tricky.  What looks good now can change.  “Open land” is privately owned land and it’s use is subject to change.  These changes usually take place slowly but what you see now is not necessarily what you will see in the future.  Do your research with the city or county in which the parcel sits and check the zoning  and master plan.  Many times the open land cannot be changed under current use and in Boulder County it is notoriously difficult to change land use.

I did a quick search of listings in the City of Boulder with the keywords “open space”.  My search came up with 99 current listings.  After sorting through the listings it turned out that there are just 27 listings that I considered adjacent to open space.  The others were, “near open space”, “a short walk to open space”, etc.  Follow this link to see all of the listings on open space in Boulder.  Incidentally, when I performed the search for all of Boulder County 364 homes matched the “open space” criteria.

I am the co-listor of, what I think to be one of the premier properties in the Boulder area if you are looking for a feeling of seclusion, quiet and a great view.  The property is located at 1397 S. Cherryvale Rd and is listed for $2,800,000.  It has 4.5 acres and is located in a small neighborhood of similar homes which is surrounded by a mix of public open space, private open space (owned collectively by the neighborhood) and farmland.  Here is a photo from the backyard.  To learn more about this property visit its website at www.WildflowerEstate.net

View from 1397 S. Cherryvale Rd.

 

Is the Boulder Real Estate Market Affected by Foreclosures?

 

According to Realty Trac Inc., Colorado had the fifth highest rate of foreclosures in the nation for the month of October. According to their report, one in every 390 households in the state was in foreclosure. This translates into 5,374 houses in some stage of foreclosure. Colorado has been consistently in the top 10 states for the rate of foreclosure since at least 2006. Not an honored distinction.

 

The Boulder market seems to be insulated from the brunt of this but I decided to do a quick search of the MLS to see where we really stand.

 

According the Boulder County public records, there are 691 homes in the county that are in some stage of foreclosure. Of these, only 266 are actually through the process and are bank owned. Currently, there are just 69 bank owned properties listed on the MLS in Boulder County. This is just 4% of the current active listings. A majority of the bank owned listings (47) are in Longmont.

 

These numbers confirm my gut feeling that foreclosures are not a big part of our market. In the City of Boulder there are just 6 bank owned homes on the market out of the 804 that are currently available. Certainly not a big enough number to affect sales figures.

 

If you are looking for forclosures Denver, Adams, and Weld County are places that have more inventory from which to choose. Many investors are using this market as a great time to accumulate properties. If you would like a list of bank owned properties please let me know. I am also a certified HUD broker. Which means that I can show and write offers on foreclosed homes owned by the government. You can find these properties at http://www.mcbreo.com/st_comain.htm