by neil kearney | May 29, 2007 | Colorado Lifestyle
Memorial Day in Boulder
What a beautiful day and weekend we had in Boulder. The kickoff to summer got off to a ringing start with all of the activities that bring visitors to this area in late May. The Boulder Creek Festival ran Friday night through Monday and featured art exhibits, carnival rides, food,
dance and music performances and exhibitors booths. The festival also hosts the annual rubber duck race down Boulder Creek that features thousands of ducks bought by citizens all for a good cause. This is a great downtown Boulder event made even better by the beautiful weather of the weekend.
Another classic Boulder event is the BolderBOULDER 10K road race. This year there were a record 50,000 participants! This year the race was a family event for the Kearney Family. My 10 year old son Jake ran the race alone and posted an awesome time of 49 minutes! My 7 year old son Ben and I jogged it (no walking for the 1st time) together and completed the course in about 1 hour 11 minutes. My wife Kristy walk/jogged the course with her sister. I’m always amazed by the mass of humanity and all of the positive energy lining the course. It certainly makes 6.2 miles go pretty fast! Everyone ends up at Folsom Stadium on the CU campus and there they have an annual Memorial Day presentation honoring a war hero veteran. This presentation is followed by the National Anthem and a military jet flyover, very cool.
As for real estate, I was very surprised that this was a busy weekend. Many people out making buying decisions and writing offers over the past week. This is a very positive sign for our market as we move forward into summer.
by neil kearney | May 22, 2007 | Uncategorized
5491 Omaha Place – Boulder, CO 80303
$549,900
I'd like to tell you about a fantastic listing of mine in East Boulder.
It is a single family home with views of farmland and just 1 block away from the East Boulder Recreation Center. The home itself is an updated 4 bedroom, 3 bath home with a finished basement. Walls have been removed from the main level, leaving a totally open floor plan with kitchen living and dining areas under the vaulted ceilings. There are three bedrooms and two bathrooms on the upper level and 1 bedroom, 1 bath and a cozy family room with fireplace 1/2 level below. The basement features two storage areas and a large, bright rec-room. In all it has over 2,800 finished square feet.
In addition to its proximity to the rec center, it is a short walk to the East Boulder Trail, Manhattan Middle School and the bus stop for Eisenhower Elementary. Please call for more information or to set a private showing of this quality home.
by neil kearney | May 17, 2007 | Boulder County Housing Trends, Statistics
Hot Local Markets Revealed
I have seen a big surge in activity in the market the past few weeks. We have seen multiple offer situations on many homes and May is living up to 
its billing as the busiest month for sales. One tool I use to gauge the relative strength of markets is the Active to Under Contract Ratio. This simply measures how many homes are under contract in any market and compares that as a percentage to the total of listings available. A low percentage would indicate ample supply and low appreciation potential in the short term and conversely a high percentage would indicate a higher demand and possible upside appreciation in the short term. I have listed below the under contract percentage for the local areas for both single family attached and condos and townhomes. But first a summary; The three hottest markets for detached homes are in order: Louisville (36.5%), Boulder (29.6%) and Superior (28.4%). The softest markets for detached homes are: Weld County as a whole (9.46%) and Erie (10.9%). The hottest markets for condos are: Louisville (30.6%) and Boulder (26.4%). There are two markets that are very slow in the sale of condos; Erie has 38 active listings and only 1 under contract and Superior has 33 active listings and only 1 under contract.
Here is the data:
Single Family/Detached Homes
- Louisville – 36.5%
- City of Boulder – 29.6%
- Superior – 28.4%
- Lafayette – 23%
- Boulder County – 19.6%
- Longmont – 14.7%
- Suburban Plains – 14.7%
- Suburban Mountains – 11.2%
- Erie – 10.9%
- Weld County – 9.46%
Condos and Townhomes
- Louisville – 30.6%
- City of Boulder – 26.4%
- Boulder County – 20.4%
- Lafayette – 18.1%
- Suburban Plains – 17.3%
- Longmont – 10.3%
- Weld County – 9.8%
- Superior – 3%
- Erie – 2.6%
by neil kearney | May 11, 2007 | General Real Estate Advice
Appeal Your Property Tax Assessment
Property tax assessments were recently sent out to property owners in Colorado. What I first noticed was more information than usual. Boulder 
County provided a photo of the houses that were used in comparison to come up with the “actual value”. The assessors office uses the market approach which compares your house to other similar homes that have sold during a certain time frame. This is the approach I use when I list a house. The key to this method is using the “right” houses. Comparing houses is an art and the computers at the county are not artists. They cannot tell the difference between a patio home and a custom home. This is where the appeal process comes into play.
If you feel like your home was overvalued (not many people appeal a low valuation) and you can provide the assessor data that supports your case, you have a good chance to lower your assessment and subsequently your taxes. During the appeal process a person reviews the homes and makes a new determination.
If you need data to support your appeal, let me know. I’d be happy to provide you data from the time frame they are looking for (summer of 2006). I’m always happy to be of service.
by neil kearney | May 9, 2007 | Statistics
Sales Lag Again in April
The sales of single family homes in Boulder County were down again for the month of April. During the month there were 277 sales reported in the IRES MLS system. During April of 2006 there were 339 sales and during April of 2004 there were 440 closings during the month. Through the first four months of the year the total number of sales for single family homes in the county is down 16.4% when compared to 2006.
We have seen a bump in activity in many areas and I expect to see a bump in the number of closings during May and June but I’m not sure that it will be enough to boost the cumulative numbers. I will keep you posted. 
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