by neil kearney | Jan 9, 2008 | Statistics, Uncategorized
Boulder Real Estate Year In Review
Median Prices of Attached Dwellings
The word that characterizes the prices of attached dwellings in Boulder County during 2007 is flat. Overall the median prices of condos and townhomes county wide for the year was exactly the same as the previous year.
This is an interesting fact since there were many expensive condos coming online during the year and these sales did not move the median prices up. I know that many condo developments saw price drops during the year and many older complexes are 10% below their peak a few years ago. Attached dwellings actually did well in the number of sales for the year (just about equalling last year) and the inventories have been dropping. I think these along with a stronger rental market are good indicators for an upswing in values over the next 12 – 15 months. Here are the 1 year changes in the median prices in select areas.
City of Boulder – No change
City of Louisville – +14% (New, expensive loft development added to a small market)
City of Lafayette -2.6%
City of Longmont – +1%
Entire Boulder County – No Change
by neil kearney | Jan 7, 2008 | Statistics, Uncategorized
Boulder Real Estate Year in Review
Median Prices of Single Family Homes
This is the first in a series of posts highlighting the real estate statistics of 2007 for communities in Boulder County. I’d rather spend a little time highlighting each statistic rather than give you a huge data dump and be done with it. I hope you continue to come back to check out the new posts.
Today I’m going to present a chart that shows the median sales price of single family homes in various communities throughout Boulder County.
As a whole, the County held its own this year. Positive 2.76% is not too shabby when you hear about the 20% losses in other areas of the country. Here is how the specific towns did during the year.
Boulder +1%
Louisville +7.25%
Lafayette -3.6%
Longmont -1%
Louisville does not have enough volume to skew the overall numbers up to 2.76% alone, so it must be the unincorporated areas of Boulder County that are also doing well.
You can tell by looking at the chart below that the City of Boulder has seen the best gains over the past ten years, while the values in Longmont have lagged. 
by neil kearney | Jan 3, 2008 | Uncategorized
Boulder Real Estate
Here’s to a great 2008!
2007 was an exciting year! The heavy snows of last winter resulted in a slow first quarter and a delay in the spring real estate market. When the snows melted, the sales began in earnest and the spring and summer market were strong. Early August marked the beginning of the credit 
crisis, characterized by failing mortgage companies, tight credit and rising interest rates.
Overall, the number of sales in Boulder County was down roughly 6.5% when compared with 2006. Prices continue to be steady, with some areas appreciating a bit and others losing a bit of value. Don’t let the national news releases scare you. Real estate is local, and our local area is doing much better than most areas in the country. In Colorado we have good fundamentals, a net population increase in the state of over 100,000 people and a decrease in building permits of 26% in 2007. These positive fundamentals mean that basic supply and demand for housing is headed the right direction. Homes that are truly priced well are selling. Buyers have the luxury of taking their time to make a decision.
The New Year promises great opportunity. I’m going forward with great enthusiasm! Be sure to keep me in mind if you, a friend or a relative will need to buy or sell real estate this year.
by neil kearney | Nov 23, 2007 | Uncategorized |
Thanksgiving Activities
I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving! I am just on my way back from a quick visit to my
in-laws in
Branson MO. A quick 2 1/2 days where I played golf twice in temperatures below 40 degrees and saw two of the many live shows that make
Branson famous. The first show was featured the Chinese Acrobats of the Shanghai Circus. The acrobats were mostly in the 12-15 year old range and were absolutely amazing. Their strength and dexterity were eye opening. The second show was a full stage magic show with an audience of 1,500 or so. The magician was a little scary, he gave us the creeps. He was a mix between a Ken doll and Johnny
Depp playing
Wonka in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I was lucky enough to be sitting in the front row and he called on me to help tie a blindfold on his assistant and wife Bambi. He called me the
Neilinator. The kids thought it was funny! Bambi did pick my card and read out serial numbers on a dollar bill from someones wallet. Hail to the amazing and beautiful Bambi.
I hope everyone had a great holiday!
by neil kearney | Aug 17, 2007 | Boulder County Housing Trends, Statistics, Uncategorized
Showings Down in August and the Mortgage Fiasco
The news about the real estate market has not been good these past few weeks. Every time you read a paper, turn on your computer or watch TV news you will hear about the sub-prime mortgage crisis and how that is affecting an already depressed housing market. The number of sales are down about 11% in our local market. Showings have been fairly strong all summer but the latest two week period was down 18% from the last two weeks in July. has been down this year in the number. Here is a chart showing the trend.
Now on to the mortgage situation. For a number of months it has become clear that the easy mortgage standards that have been fueling the market over the past few years were resulting in a large number of foreclosures (bad loans). As the losses added up, the loans became harder to sell on the secondary market. When the mortgage companies are unable to sell their mortgages they don’t have money to lend to new borrowers. When there is limited money available, only the best borrowers get the money. Jumbo mortgages (loans over $417,000) are now priced higher than conventional loans. Second mortgages, which are used when the borrower doesn’t have a 20% down payment, are now hard to get. It is going to be very interesting how this all plays out. Sales and closings are still happening daily, the world goes on we just have to adapt to a tighter market.
by neil kearney | Jul 17, 2007 | Uncategorized
Louisville makes Money's top-five list
Louisville again received national recognition for being a great place to live. The article below from the Boulder Daily Camera, gives the details on the Money Magazine "top five" places to live list. 
Louisville has been consistently leading the area in sales categories such as fewest days on the market, lowest inventory highest percentage of houses under contract etc. The median price for a home in Louisville sold during 2007 is $361,000 up from $331,000 for 2006. You can find more information about Louisville at http://www.ci.louisville.co.us/
The article as it appeared in the Camera is below.
"Money Magazine named Louisville the third-best place to live in the United States on Monday, the second time since 2005 the city has made the top-five list.
The magazine, which compiles an annual list of the top 100 places to live in the
country, cited Louisville's outdoor life as a primary reason for its
ranking. The magazine also pointed out the 26-mile wooded biking and running
path that winds through much of the city, as well as the annual Downtown Street
Faire — an event with concerts, craft booths and food on summer Friday
nights. City Councilman Bob Muckle said he's proud that Louisville is known
as a "livable" community. "It's nice that they've recognized us again. It
confirmed what residents of Louisville already know: It's a great place to live,"
he said. "You get the small-town feel in that you know your neighbors and the
community events, but it still has nice amenities. It remains a small, distinct
community."
It had a fifth-place ranking in the magazine's 2005 issue rating great American towns, but it failed to make the 2006 list because that year's rankings compared places with populations of at least 50,000. The 2005 and 2007 editions profiled communities of 14,000 to 50,000. Boulder wasn't considered because its population is more than double the 50,000-resident limit of the 2007 list."
Laura-Claire Corson, Camera Staff Writer Tuesday, July 17, 2007
