by neil kearney | Feb 9, 2008 | Uncategorized |
Boulder Colorado Neighborhood Profile
KEEWAYDIN MEADOWS
Boulder, Colorado 80303
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Keewaydin Meadows is an established neighborhood in East Boulder. People love to live in Keewaydin because it is a quiet neighborhood that has easy access to all that Boulder has to offer. One of the best parts about this area is the proximity to the East Boulder Recreation Center. The newest of Boulder rec-centers offers great amenities including full gym and workout facilities, an indoor pool, a climbing wall, many classes, tennis courts, athletic fields and much more. Also on the property is a fenced-in dog park with access to a pond and the East Boulder Senior Center. From the rec-center, it is just an easy stroll to the extensive Boulder Open Space trail system. Manhattan Middle School with its acres of athletic fields, is in the center of the neighborhood. Many houses have great views of Green Mountain, South Boulder Peak and The Flatirons. This is one of Boulder’s backbone neighborhoods with many long time residents.
http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf
Neighborhood Snapshot
- Number of Homes – 410
- Percent Owner Occupied – 87%
- 2007 Median Price – $495,000
- 2007 Price Range – $357,000 – $560,000
- Years Homes were built – 1965 – 1978
- Distance to Pearl Street Mall – 4 miles
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| Neighborhood Amenities
- East Boulder Recreation Center
- Easy access to East Boulder Trail and Open Space
- RTD bus line runs through neighborhood
- Close to shopping
- Easy access to the Boulder – Denver Turnpike
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by neil kearney | Jan 26, 2008 | Uncategorized |
Chinook Winds a Blowin’
“Those who have not the warm, invigorating Chinook winds of this country, cannot well comprehend what a blessing they are. The icy clutch of winter is lessened, the earth throws off its winding sheet of snow. Humanity ventures forth to inhale the balmy spring like air. Animated nature 
rejoices.” (1900–Calgary
weekly Herald)
As a Boulder Native I have seen the seasons come and go many times. The favorable climate is one of our secrets that is little known throughout the country. Most people assume that we are in the mountains and snowed in most of the winter. It doesn’t help that most of the instances that the Denver Broncos have played on Monday Night Football the game has been accompanied by a blizzard.
In my opinion the past two winters have been especially cold. Last year we had tons of snow and this year it has been consistently cold, not frigid, but not comfortable. The great thing about the Colorado climate is that it changes quickly. Snow one day, sun and melting the next. Last night the Chinook winds starting blowing. The Chinooks are down slope winter winds that bring warm, dry air to the area. The winds can be quite strong and in years past these winter blows have caused much property damage. I’d say today’s wind is moderate. Not enough to cause much damage but plenty to keep you up at night and clean the streets of dust and debris.
The best part about the Chinook is the warming air. As the wind subsides, as it is doing this afternoon, we are treated to higher than normal temperatures and quicker than normal snow melt.
I always make sure that my clients know about the possibility of wind, especially if they are looking in South Boulder. South Boulder seems to be especially hard hit because the valley between Green Mountain and South Boulder Peak funnels and intensifies the wind.
by neil kearney | Jan 25, 2008 | Colorado Lifestyle |
Biking in Boulder
Even in winter, Boulder is a mecca for biking. Every day, no matter what the weather conditions, there are dedicated bikers on the roads and paths. Winter bikers can be grouped into two camps; dedicated commuters and serious bikers looking to get a
break from their indoor training routine.
First lets talk about the dedicated bike commuters. I think Boulder might be the world leader in winter bike commuters. As long as it is possible to ride a bike these people will be out their. You can recognize them by their high tech worn gear, their industrial light show (front and rear) and usually some kind of pack or pannier. During the summer these people blend into the rest of the biking population, but in winter they stand out and should be commended for their commitment and determination.
Boulder is filled with serious bikers. Just when you think you are in pretty good shape you get passed easily by someone with iron legs and lungs to match. Many of these athletes are
professional and do nothing but bike, get massages, meet at coffee houses in their spandex and generally look great (making the rest of us look pale and weak by comparison). Anyway, on any day that the street shoulders are clear you will see colorful packs of fast moving bikers going for a training ride. During warm weather months you will again see so many bikers that it will be hard to pick out these workhorses, unless you try to keep up.
With all of the dedicated lanes and paths Boulder is a great place to ride your bike. We have a great lifestyle and the energy from those dedicated bikers goes a long way in making Boulder so attractive to those who really want to live life to its fullest even if riding a bike is not your thing.
by neil kearney | Jan 22, 2008 | Boulder County Housing Trends, For Buyers, For Sellers |
Colorado Real Estate
Opportunity Knocks
Part 1: The Pond and the Lily Pad
Suppose you live in a large apartment building overlooking a 1.5 acre (65,536 sq. ft.) pond owned by the city. The city gardener wants to improve the looks of the pond and to improve the fish 
habitat so he plants a 1 square foot patch of pond lily. Let’s assume that this is a very fast growing type of pond lily and that its area doubles every week. After the first week there are only two square feet of lily pads. Nothing really to notice. After 4 weeks there are 8 square feet of lily pads, still no one living in the apartment building would notice. After 8 weeks, the growth of lily pads is 256% but still even the most observant people would not recognize this as a trend. Only after 13 weeks when lily pads fill an eighth of the pond would the early trend spotters usually notice the difference in the landscape. Just two weeks after the early adopters see the lily pads growing the pond is half full. At this point, the media discovers the lily pad situation and reports the explosive growth. One week later the pond is full of lily pads. It took fifteen weeks of very slow deliberate growth to fill half of the pond and only one week to fill the other half. When would you notice the lily pads in the pond? Ask yourselves these questions: Are you too busy to look in the pond? Do you know enough about lily pads to understand what your looking for? Do you see the lily pads but don’t care until you hear about it in the news?
Part 2: Tech Bust
Did you or someone you know buy a tech stock at the height of the boom? It was hard not get swept up in the fantastic media stories highlighting the huge IPO’s, the instant millionaires and the next big thing. Everywhere you went people were talking about how much money they have made by buying the stock of a company you had never heard with no sales and no product. The popular sentiment was “can’t lose”, “get in quick”, “if I could only get in on more IPO’s”, “nowhere but up”, “we are in a different era”… Obviously, this did not last and the lesson I took away from that era was that once ‘everyone” is talking about something, it is too late. In order to profit you must be a forward thinker, not influenced by the media. If you wait for the media to catch on, the trend is almost past and it is too late. The question is whether you are a forward thinker or a follower.
Part 3: Opportunity
Do you ever look back and wish you had bought real estate when it was more affordable, or just before the market took off in the 90’s, or before the rates went up. Now is the time to make up for those past mistakes. Now is a great time to buy real estate! Have you ever heard the phrase “buy when everyone else is selling”? These are the times when the smart money will be buying real estate. The national media has locked in to the housing story and will not let go. Locally, our paper is printing national stories with local bylines. People seem frozen by the negative news, waiting it out on the sidelines.
The CU Business Research Division in their recent 2008 Colorado Economic Forecast noted that “…the situation in this state is fundamentally different” (than the rest of the country). We did not participate in the recent excessive appreciation fueled by speculation that many other areas of the country had over the past four years. Our area is well ahead of the recovery curve. In my opinion our cycle is already in the process of turning. The news is gloom and doom but if you realize that real estate is local you can start separating truth from fiction. It is my hope to bring you that truth about our local market in this newsletter and it is my further goal to get you to see that the pond is just beginning to fill up with lily pads.
As always, we value your loyalty and friendship and I value your loyalty and friendship and am always available to answer any of your real estate questions. Neil Kearney 303-413-6624
by neil kearney | Jan 15, 2008 | Boulder County Housing Trends, For Sellers, Real Estate 101 |
The Real Estate Cycle
I found this graphic on a power point slide I had put together a few years ago. Looking at it again, I firmly believe that we are in the “absorption” phase characterized by the arrow on the left side. Many of the symptoms of the bottom of the market have already happened and are improving. Rents have fallen but are now improving. Housing permits were down 26% last year. Vacancies have fallen, both in commercial and residential rentals.
It is still a buyers market and sales are not happening as quickly as some sellers would like but we are working again toward the top. Inventories are down and now is a great time to buy before prices spike again.
Have a great day!
