303.818.4055 Neil@KearneyRealty.com

Holiday Cheer

by | Dec 15, 2008 | Uncategorized

Holiday Cheer

Last night as we drove home after dark the temperature on the car thermometer read 48 degrees. Downright balmy for a mid-December evening. When we awoke this morning we found 5 inches of crunchy snow held frozen in temperatures that were hovering around 0 degrees. Quite a change from the night before.

I am really been having a hard time feeling festive lately. It doesn’t even feel like December and the news seems to keep unwrapping presents about the economy that don’t exactly bring a cheery feeling. That is until today. As my son’s were sledding I ran an errand and instead of listening to the Bronco’s game I stumbled upon an NPR program called “Tinsel Tales”. This was just what I needed to nudge me into the holiday spirit. Just like the quick change in weather that changed our landscape last night, this program, highlighting stories that point toward the true meaning of the season, changed my outlook and helped my thoughts catch up with the calendar.

Click on this link to listen, the show is 1 hour in length. Tinsel Tales – NPR

Is the Boulder Real Estate Market Affected by Foreclosures?

by | Dec 2, 2008 | Boulder Real Estate, Uncategorized

 

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

 

 

 

Update on FASTRACKS

by | Nov 6, 2008 | Uncategorized | 1 comment

 

Update on FASTRACKS

Fastracks is the voter supported mass transit plan covering much of the Denver Metro Area. The plan includes additional light rail, commuter rail and bus mass transit. Since it’s approval four years ago the estimated cost of the program has skyrocketed from $4.7 Billion to over $6.5 Billion. Some estimates I have seen have the cost near $8 Billion. The funding for the project is to come from a number of sources including the voter approved tax and transportation funds from the Federal Government. In this Boulder Daily Camera Article dated October 29th, it was stated that there is still much uncertainty to the availability of funds from the Federal Government and that the commuter rail project that will link Longmont and Boulder to Downtown Denver is in question. The estimated completion for the project is slated for 2015 if all proceeds as planned.

I heard on the radio that over 160 properties were slated for complete or partial eminent domain (public taking of private property for a public project) in order to complete the Denver to Golden light rail line. The full FasTracks story can be found at the official Fastracks website

In related news the original Boulder Depot has been moved to the future home of the transit village in the land owned by the city behind Pollard Motors on Pearl and 30th Street. The attached photo shows the depot after the move. The city would certainly need to do some backtracking if the commuter rail project does not get funded. Would the Pollard site still be worth $10 million if commuter rail didn’t come to Boulder? I don’t think a transit village will work without the transit. We will have to wait to see what happens.

 

October Sales Update

by | Nov 4, 2008 | Boulder County Housing Trends, Statistics, Uncategorized

October Sales Update

 

The sales in October continued the trend of fewer sales that we have been tracking all year. There were 17% fewer closings during the month when compared to October 2007. Year-to-Date sales are down 13.7% when compared to last year.

 

The median price for sales of single family homes in Boulder County for the month was $335,000, down from $377,000 recorded last October. Does this mean that home prices have fallen $40,000 in one year? No! What this says is that the median prices of homes that did sell during October were lower than the ones that sold last October. More plainly; more lower priced homes sold this year than last. In fact the market for homes in the conventional lending range of $417,000 and below are selling fairly well throughout the county. The only exception is in Longmont where a majority of homes, including foreclosures sell in that range. Locales like Boulder and Louisville are selling quite well below $450,000.

 

 

If you take a longer view of prices you will find that values are holding quite well overall. There are some areas that have seen declines but for the most part we have been stable. One factor leading to this stability has been the reduction in homes on the market. As I stated earlier, sales are down 13.7% but inventory is actually down 17%. There are actually fewer homes to choose from this fall than last.
Happy Election Day! It has been a long hard election and I think most people are ready to move forward with whomever is chosen to lead. I know I am.