REGIS... Real Estate Deal or NO Deal?

Every month I ask myself that question, and look at the Denver real estate market statistics. Yesterday I had a call from a friend in the wine country of northern California asking if you could really buy homes for 50% of value. We should know that answer: if value is what a willing buyer will pay and the last sale was at 50% of the previous one, when does it stop? ANSWER: Uh...NO!

Some local stats: in Highlands Ranch there were 521 active single family home listings yesterday as well as 121 condominiums and townhomes. Not bad for a community of 30,000 homes. We have seen times when the ratio has been much higher. No wonder we continue to appreciate in value in this market. That is where I would be buying! When the "big market" turns we will not have to make up allot of ground to get to the plus side!

Last month the Denver metro area had 2027 single family properties "close escrow" compared with 2035 in 2007. Not a huge trend but I would bet a statistician could make a case for it for the press!-)

Also last month there were 4878 single family homes listed for the first time in the Denver multiple listing system compared with the same month a year ago which had 4620 listings enter the Denver MLS. That hopefully will not be a trend with about 5% more homes for sale. And going back a few years, this is not a concern. Here are the February "new listing stats" back till

2003: 6615

2004: 5021

2005: 5916

2006: 5252

2007: 4620

2008: 4878

The Highlands Ranch Cattle Barn

So what do I see when acting as a Buyer's Agent for a Denver area Buyer? Well, it is often like this... The buyer wants 10-25% off. The Seller is hoping to see something within 10% of his current asking price as an offer and would probably sell at a 5% discount off the asking price.

The market, as a whole, is taking about 4% off INCLUDING incentives such as closing costs. My job representing my Denver Real Estate Buyer as a buyers agent is to do better than market. And the converse is true as a Seller's agent...get the highest price possible.

Reminds me of the days I played Jr Varsity football and was a defensive end and a tackle on offense. I played both ways on the field. Then it was just "get the ball" and run. Now, I can hear the way the other guy is thinking through his breathing. That is what a professional real estate agent does.





Could this kind of candor be valuable to you or your friends, put my 22+ years of experience to work for you, learning about your new home town! Whether it is Highlands Ranch, Lone Tree, Littleton, Castle Rock, Centennial, Englewood, Parker, Elizabeth, Larkspur, Franktown, Kiowa, or anywhere in metro Denver Colorado, we offer real estate advice, properties for sale, multiple listing service, property listings, mls, all available at www.DenverRelocation.com. Drop me a note to pete@Denverrelocation.com