So Much for a Sleepy Summer

Generally speaking the Colorado real estate market has seen a bit of a bounce this summer with sales increasing in all categories—from the entry level homes and condos to the high-end market.

National figures showed June with an 11% increase in home sales. But, realizing that a majority of the spring home inventory has been introduced, we may start to see a little slowdown in August/September as old inventory is taken off the market and a smaller surge of inventory arrives.

In other words, there is still much recovery that needs to be taking place. Sellers still need to get a bit more realistic about price and buyers need to recognize a good bargain when they see it.

In general, most homes are on the market longer with discerning buyers waiting for the optimal home at the optimal price. A well-priced, well-presented home can still fetch multiple offers, but it’s got to look appealing to the savvy buyers who are doing their homework. There is no sense in overpricing a listing – a buyer won’t even give a home the time of day if they sense the seller is being unrealistic. Yet at the same time, there seems to be no better time to snatch up bargains in Colorado at all price points. We’re seeing five to 10 percent reductions in properties that are sitting on the market and in many cases the final offers are coming in below those reductions. That’s not to say buyers should throw out ridiculous numbers. Some sellers who don’t have to sell are holding firm, but time is running out for others. So, while it may take longer to get the buyer and seller to agree to terms, deals are happening and with open minds on both sides, we might start to see more positive movement for all.

For cash buyers or those with large (over 25%) down payments, now is a great time to pick up bargains in luxury homes. Sellers are still not giving away property but there are great deals available.

This week the National Association of Realtors released its monthly existing home sales report (http://www.realtor.org/press_room/news_releases/2009/08/strong_uptrend?LID=RONav0021) noting “For the first time in five years, existing-home sales have increased for four months in a row, according to the National Association of Realtors®.” The report went on to note, “Existing home sales – including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – rose 7.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted rate of 5.24 million units in July from a level of 4.89 million in June, and are 5.0 percent above the 4.99 million-unit pace in July 2008. The last time sales rose for four consecutive months was in June 2004, and the last time sales were higher than a year earlier was November 2005.”

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said he was encouraged. “The housing market has decisively turned for the better. A combination of first-time buyers taking advantage of the housing stimulus tax credit and greatly improved affordability conditions are contributing to higher sales,” he said.

Ultimately these are all very positive signs for our market and are a strong sign that we are moving in the right direction towards a housing recovery. Having said that, it’s important to keep things in perspective and not celebrate too soon. We all need to be realistic with our pricing, buyers and sellers.

A few other interesting articles of note for the week:

· Home Prices On An Upswing In The Second Quarter Of 2009 According To The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices; Case-Shiller
· New Home Sales Blast Past Expectations; CNNMoney.com
· The Housing Market: Has It Turned the Corner?; TIME Magazine
· Mortgage Applications Increase In Latest MBA Weekly Survey; Mortgage Bankers Association
· Home Market Shows Signs of Life as Declines Slow; Bloomberg

Now let’s take a look at this week in real estate:

• Boulder/Longmont—The Boulder office reported new listings in the Boulder County market took a 3% dip last week and new sales fell by a substantial 19%. Despite that, showings were up 25% last week so there is still a tremendous amount of buyer activity. Agents at the Boulder office report a sharp rise in creative and complex offers over the past week with a number of buyers asking for things like some degree of owner carry, right of refusal or extremely delayed closings. Some offers on listings as low as 70% of the asking price have been seen as well. This, in an area where the average sale price to list price ratio averages 96% in the under $1,000,000 market. The Longmont office reported once again, the showing activity is increasing. This "week over week" the mid week are the ones that had the highest increase. Weekend showings were off just a bit. Buyers are seriously looking. The start of school usually brings a brief decline in showings and contracts. Not this year! Some of the good press about the Denver area is filtering to Longmont. Our employment situation here is holding steady. Colorado has become a more affordable place to live. More companies are realizing our affordability makes this a great place to relocate their business.
• Evergreen/Conifer—No information reported.
• Denver Central –We are seeing an increase in the higher priced homes going on the market and receiving offers, which is a positive sign. The Denver real estate market continues to get positive national and local press on a weekly basis. We've seen an increase in showings for August and our August 2009 numbers are outpacing August 2008. More buyers are taking advantage of the $8000 tax credit with the November 30th deadline approaching fast. We are also seeing appreciation of home prices in several neighborhoods. The lower end market has certainly shifted to s seller's market with properties moving quickly.
• Devonshire— No information reported.
• Douglas County—Our Southwest Metro office reports showings were down this past week especially over the weekend. Agents attribute this to school starting and last minute vacations. Open houses were very successful and we had two walk-ins. We are seeing sellers ready to list their properties in September and this is a good thing as inventory is low at this time. We're also seeing buyers wanting to take advantage of the $8000 tax break before it goes away. Our mortgage rep is very busy and this is always a good sign. Properties are still not moving quickly above the $350,000 level. We're encouraged with the local and national news about the real estate market.
• El Paso County—Colorado Springs reports our listing inventory and sales activity have been steady for a while now. Showings went down slightly last week and we need to watch if this is a sign of reduced activity because the end of summer is approaching. It seems like banks are starting to approve more short sales as we were able to get some prepared for closing. Prices in most neighborhoods are stable for now.
• Larimer County—The Fort Collins/Loveland offices reported she summer season has nearly passed us by, but that doesn't mean that real estate sales have come to a halt. There's still some good inventory available in the Northern Colorado market. Both buyers & sellers need to be realistic about price & be willing to negotiate terms and conditions in order to put a sale together. Home prices are stable & recently Freddie Mac & Fannie Mae declared all the markets in Colorado stable. This should loosen some of the restrictions on conventional loan financing for buyers. Finally, time is running out to take advantage of the $8000 tax credit. Only a little over 90 days left to take advantage of this great opportunity.
• North Metro—The North Metro office is experiencing increased activity with regards to new contracts. This is due largely to the urgency created by the first time buyer tax credit program. In addition, listing inventory should be picking up as some of the terms in the office are in the process of closing on some larger opportunities. The Agents are doing a great job of staying in front of their clients and working every lead. This is reflected in the increased dividends as we move into the 4th quarter.
• Parker—What an incredible increase in showing activity last week - almost double from the week before! Our sales activity has increased as well and the listing inventory is going down. We are confident that this trend will hold past the end of summer and start of most schools.
• Southeast Metro—The SE Metro office is experiencing a slight decrease in showing activity which can be attributed to the start of the school year for the surrounding districts. Our average days on market for listings is steady at 79 days and we are averaging 25 showings before a property is selling. Inventory continues to drop and there continues to be a shortage of desirable properties below $250,000. Luxury properties are seeing additional traffic as 10% of our Previews properties are currently under contract.
• West Lakewood—The West Lakewood office is reporting "skinny" inventory by all price points. Buyers have more clarification and realize that the inventory is more limited than it has been. The reduction of inventory is making buyers more focused on their choices.

Please note that next week I will be taking a brief hiatus from Weekly Market Watch but I will return the following week.

Until then,
Make it a good one,


Chris Mygatt
Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage Colorado

Good News On Wall Street Doesn’t (Necessarily) Mean Higher Housing Prices on Main Street

I had an interesting chat with one of our Agents recently. She mentioned that many of our sellers in the upper-tier price point are seeing the current strength of the Dow as a sign that their home will probably fetch more in the early part of next year. Academically speaking, there is a belief that there is a direct correlation between the housing market and the stock market. But from an analytical standpoint, although the stock market and the housing market correlate well, there is a variable time lag. The time lag between housing underperformance and stock market performance can vary widely. The average is 18 months.

What we’re seeing, in some instances, is that some of the upper-tier clients are saying no to potential deals as they think if they wait another four to six months (thanks to the stock market’s recent gains) they may get more for their home. And while I understand the reasoning, I would caution sellers on this strategy. First, what we know is that in a “normal” market (of which this market is anything but), the average lag time between the two is 18 months (not four to six months). It’s also important to point out that we probably aren’t out of the woods as it relates to the volatility in the stock market. Many analysts are suggesting that our recovery will be “W” shaped rather than “V” so we may be looking at more changes ahead.

So while I understand the logic, I would caution sellers on this strategy and would ask them to focus less on the stock market and more on the level of supply and demand in their market and in their neighborhoods. In most markets, the upper-tier price point remains relatively soft so sellers should consider most deals that are presented to them. That’s not to say buyers should be throwing out unrealistic offers. The real story here is that across the board we’re starting to see increases in interest and buyer activity so sellers may want to consider taking advantage of that interest…before it’s too late.

For those who are focused on the stock market, my best advice to you is to look at it more as an indicator for the economy as a whole. With the DOW closing Thursday at just over 9,300, it may not be making housing prices go up, but it may mean that the recession is subsiding which is good news for us all.

Now let’s take a look at this week in real estate:

• Boulder/Longmont—The Boulder office reported small but steady increases in all the Boulder county market numbers last week. Listings were up by 12%, under contracts up by 17% (not bad) and showings up by 15%. Two good things to note here, although showings are up, under contracts are up by a higher number. Agents are also seeing no "end of summer" drop off of buyers yet. It's very unusual to see showings increasing as we approach September. The Longmont office reports showing activity continues to increase. The large increase in showing activity did translate into deals being written. Twice as many offers were accepted this week over last week. Listings also took a big rise. We are seeing some good listings going on the market that are not short sales or foreclosures. The upper end market still needs help. The $8000 credit for 1st time buyers needs to have a matching program for the upper end market to get it moving too. Loan issues continue to bring problems. We need at least 30 days to make it happen - 45 days to close is much more realistic for all.
• Evergreen/Conifer—Evergreen reported we had a total of two new listings for the week. Three listings went under contract including one builder spec. One local buyer, one from Denver and one Texas. Three buyers went under contract, two local one one from Oregon. Three were a total of 81 showings during the week. The week was close to normal level for peak season. The majority of activity in three different price points - $200,000 to $250,000 for 1st time buyers and investors. The $300,000 to $500,000 is strong and recent strong activity in the $500,000 to $1,000,000 range. Conifer reports we had two new listings during the week. One listing went under contract - short sale pending bank approval. Showing activity increased to thirty-three during the week although that's still below normal levels for this time of year.
• Denver Central – We are seeing an increase in higher priced homes going on the market and receiving offers which is a positive sign. The Denver real estate market continues to get positive national and local press each week. We're encouraged and excited about the future of real estate in Denver. We've seen an increase in showings the first two weeks of August and it's tracking better than July for showings. Our August 2009 numbers are outpacing those of last year. More buyers are taking advantage of the $8000 tax credit with the deadline fast approaching. We're seeing appreciation of home prices in several neighborhoods. The lower-end market has certainly shifted to s sellers market with properties moving quickly. Those that are priced aggressively are seeing multiple offer situations. We're also seeing an increase in cash offers on homes in the area. Many in the lower end go under contract within days of being placed on the market. The high-end market continues to be sluggish.
• Devonshire— We seem to be in the August "hurry and take a family vacation" or "get ready for school" days. Showing activity is steady but both sellers and buyers are distracted with other activities. We are encouraging reevaluation of home prices, making price adjustments as necessary & freshening up both the interior & exterior of homes. September is always a good month for us at Devonshire as our clients are ready to move forward with purchases so they can be settled before the holidays. Mortgage rates are still attractive and consumer confidence seems to be sending somewhat of a positive message. We are feeling very positive about the remainder of 2009 and look forward to 2010.
• Douglas County—Our Southwest Metro office reports we had a great week of showings. Open houses were very good this past week and we're seeing a steady increase of sellers ready to list their homes. Buyers, especially first time ones are looking to buy but the inventory is very low in the $250,000 range. There has been steady activity in homes priced below $350,000. We're experiencing a slight increase in the $350,000 to $450,000 range. We feel as an office that the public is ready to move forward to either purchase or sell a home. The Agents are getting the message to their clients/sphere that the $8000 tax credit needs to be used before December 1, 2009. The news on local TV channels has been positive and this has been a good tool to use on sellers & buyers.
• El Paso County—Colorado Springs reports although sales activity has slowed down slightly, we still see a lot of activity on our listings which is also reflected by the strong increase in showings. There is some uncertainty about some military personal relocating from Texas to Ft. Carson. This relocation has been approved but now delayed after intervention from politicians in Texas.
• Larimer County—The Fort Collins/Loveland offices reported the end of summer lull is here and families are getting the kids ready for school and the college students are rolling in from a nice summer break. Showings were down dramatically last week and this is to be expected based on the time of year. The good news is that there are still plenty of great homes to choose from and well priced homes are moving. Ft. Collins currently has over 1500 single family homes and Loveland offers 1000 plus homes. Come out and see the inventory. You won't be disappointed. It's hard to believe but we only have about 3 1/2 months left to take advantage of the $8000 tax credit. It is unclear whether or not this program will be extended so take advantage of it while you can!
• North Metro—The North Metro office is humming with activity. We just received a letter from Bruce Zipf, President & CEO of NRT, that our office is in the Top 20% of offices for the 2nd quarter of this year. The Agents deserve this recognition as their activity continues to be very high. In the past month we've seen the price of our new listings increase from $275,000 to a current average of $325,000. Showings are picking up on homes priced over $250,000. We've put several homes under contract in the $400,000 to $650,000 range which is a recent change in our market.
• Parker—Our listing inventory stays steady and although the showing activity has dropped slightly over the last week, sales activity has gone up consistently over the last few months. Our closed transactions were up over 50% last month year over year and we are up 15% year to date compared to last year. Douglas County was just rated #5 in the country for job growth and the towns of Parker and Castle Rock are #3 & #4 in most desirable places to live!
• Southeast Metro—The SE Metro office is experiencing a slight decrease in showing activity which can be attributed to the start of the school year for the surrounding districts. Our average days on market for listings is steady at 79 days and we are averaging 25 showings before a property goes under contract. Inventory continues to drop and there continues to be a shortage of desirable properties below $250,000. Luxury properties are seeing additional traffic as 10% of our Previews properties are currently under contract.
• West Lakewood—The West office is seeing more sales in the over $300,000 price range. Low appraisals are becoming less of a problem. If a buyer wants to take advantage of the $8,000 tax credit, they should act now! Do not wait! There is a shortage of inventory in these price ranges.

This week I’ll leave you with a few good articles of note:

• Mortgage Applications Increase In Latest MBA Weekly Survey; Mortgage Bankers Association
• Optimism Grips Homeowners: 81% Think Home’s Value Will Increase Or Stay Same In Next 6 Months; RISMedia
• Are New Home Prices, Starts And Sales Rates Nearing Bottom?; RISMedia

Until next week,

Chris Mygatt
Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage Colorado

They’re Saying The Worst is Behind Us…But Is It Too Soon to Celebrate?

I was driving home from an office meeting this week and was listening to NPR. During the drive, an interesting update came on which mentioned that the Federal Reserve was reporting that the recession is ending and that it would take a step back toward normal policy.

When I got home I decided to Google the news and I found this article on the NYTimes.com website: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/13/business/economy/13fed.html?_r=2&partner=rss&emc=rss&src=igw. The article reports, “Almost exactly two years after it embarked on what was the biggest financial rescue in American history, the Federal Reserve said on Wednesday that the recession is ending and that it would take a step back toward normal policy.”

The article goes on to note “Though the central bank stopped well short of declaring victory, policy makers issue their most upbeat assessment in more than a year by saying that the downturn appears to have hit bottom and that consumer spending, financial markets and inventory building by corporations all continued to stabilize.”

Well never one to solely rely on just one institution’s opinion, nor that of just one article, I decided to put my feelers out. I reached out to a loan officer colleague to get his take and to learn more about what our mortgage colleagues are seeing in relation to the current state of the economy. He had some comments that I tend to agree with noting that “Many are concerned we’re going to have a ‘W’ shaped recovery versus a ‘V’ shaped recovery. We don’t want to proclaim the recession is over, only to see the economy struggle for another year. It’s going to be a long, slow recovery. One month we may have positive economic news and the next, poor economic news.”

Having said that, here is what we tend to be seeing about the market:

• It does appear that the worst of the recession may be behind us.
• In all likelihood, the Fed is going to keep rates relatively low well into next year by continuing to purchase mortgage backed securities and keep the Federal Funds Rate close to zero. It is currently at .25%.
• In terms of conforming loan limits, as of right now, the higher conforming loan limits will end at the end of this year. There is some legislation that is pending to renew the higher loan amount through until November 2010 but as of right now, that is pending. The same holds true for the first-time home buyer tax credit.

Knowing this, what lies ahead? Well I would say it’s positive to know that the worst may be behind us, but in all likelihood there are still challenges ahead. There is still much recovery that needs to take place, so neither sellers nor buyers should be getting too excited with the news. Sellers still need to get a bit more realistic about price and buyers need to recognize a bargain when they see it.

And with that news in tow, let’s take a look at this week in real estate:

• Boulder/Longmont—The Boulder office reported our market has shown stable numbers in new listings taken annd sales. We continue to receive numerous calls having to do with the $8000 credit and how it works. Louisville is still showing strong sales and quick to go under contract compared to other areas. The financial market still limits us to lower price ranges to go under contract which is a much different trend in this area than usual. The Longmont office reported there has been a huge improvement in showing activity. We are are up 48% week over week. The activity was mainly in the $250,000 and under range however homes under $500,000 were also being shown! The favorable news about Colorado markets seems to be reaching the buying public. The summer weather has been stellar as long as you are not a hay farmer. Eastern Colorado is beautiful and green. This is a great time to become a homeowner in Longmont, Colorado.
• Evergreen/Conifer—Evergreen reported we had six new listings for the week. One listing, a vacant land parcel in Pine went under contract reflecting the continued improvement in land sales in the recent few weeks. There were 88 showings during the week representing a slight increase over the prior week. Conifer reported we had two new vacant land listings during the week.
• Denver Central The Denver real estate market continues to get positive national and local press on a weekly basis. We are very encouraged and excited about the future of real estate in Denver. July was another great month for sales in the Denver area. We continue to have substantial drops in housing inventory and we see an increase in the number of existing homes sold. We had an average of 83 days on market for listings (all price points) that went under contract in July. We've seen an increase in showings for the first two weeks of August. More buyers are taking advantage of the $8,000 tax credit with the December 1st deadline fast approaching. We are also seeing appreciation of home prices in several neighborhoods. The lower-end market has certainly shifted to a seller's market with properties moving quickly. Properties that are priced aggressively are seeing multiple offer situations and an increase in cash offers on homes in the area.
• Devonshire— No information reported.
• Douglas County—Our Southwest Metro office reports showings were great this past week. We're seeing an increase in listings as well as buyer contracts. Sellers are feeling that it's a good time to sell their homes and buyers want to take advantage of the tax break and low interest rates. The agents feel that the good news regarding the housing market in Denver has helped sellers and buyers start to move forward. Open houses were very good this past week. Floor calls were good as we had several agents obtain leads. The office is very busy and Agents as well as their clients are feeling good about the market, especially in the price range below $350,000.
• El Paso County—Colorado Springs reports both our listing and sales activity are steady at the moment. Although showings have decreased slightly, we have a steady number of under contracts. As in previous weeks, we have received multiple offers (eight on one property) on the power priced listings.
• Larimer County—No information reported.
• North Metro— We are experiencing a little slower start in August with homes under contract than we experienced in July.
• Parker—The activity has slowed down and the inventory built up slightly last week. However, we still see a good number of multiple offers on energy priced listings & values have been steady for a while now in most neighborhoods. More than half of all resale listings are in a short sale situation.
• Southeast Metro—The SE Metro office reports our inventory has decreased by 7% since the first of the month and new inventory coming on the market is steady. First time home buyers are challenged with competing offers and desirable properties selling at well over the original list price. We're experiencing a slight increase in offers on properties priced above $700,000 and even some movement in the million dollar range. Overall there is a lot of energy in the real estate market right now and some brokers are experiencing a significant increase in business.
• West Lakewood—Buyers are quite frustrated with the current lending climate. In one instance, the buyer used a lender from MD which meant the appraiser was also from MD. Needless to say, the appraisal came in much below expected. Fortunately the buyer moved to a Colorado lender to resolve these issues. Our Agents are optimistic and are seeing signs of recovery.

In terms of marketing activity, in general, depending on the price range, most homes are on the market longer with discerning buyers waiting for the optimal home at the optimal price. A well-priced, well-presented home can still fetch multiple offers (especially if it is in the entry-level market), but it’s got to look appealing to the savvy buyers who are doing their homework. There is no sense in overpricing a listing – a buyer won’t even give a home the time of day if they sense the seller is being unrealistic.

Yet at the same time, there seems to be no better time to snatch up bargains in Colorado at all price points. We’re seeing five to 10 percent reductions in properties that are sitting on the market and in many cases the final offers are coming in below those reductions. That’s not to say buyers should throw out ridiculous numbers. Certain parts of Colorado, after all, have still held their value better than most of the country. Some sellers who don’t have to sell are holding firm, but time is running out for others. So, while it may take longer to get the buyer and seller to agree to terms, deals are happening and with open minds on both sides, we might start to see more positive movement for all.

Finally, I’ll leave you with this. Business Week released its “Strongest U.S. Housing Markets” list this week and Boulder was listed as the nation’s No. 1 safest housing market. Here’s a link to the story: http://finance.yahoo.com/real-estate/article/107509/the-strongest-us-housing-markets.html?mod=realestate-buy.

Until next week,
Chris Mygatt
Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage Colorado

One Good Week of News Leads to Another

Following last week’s breaking housing news which revealed that based on the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Schiller 20-city index, home prices in May posted their first monthly increase since the summer of 2006.

The news followed reports showing sales of newly built and existing homes rose in June for the third consecutive month. New home construction, though still weak, is the best it has been since the fall.

Well this week the good news continued. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending July 31, 2009 showcasing an increase in mortgage loan application volume of 4.4 percent from the week earlier. On an adjusted basis, the Index increased 4.1 percent compared with the previous week and 18 percent compared with the same week one year earlier.

The Refinance Index increased 7.2 percent from the previous week. The Index has climbed about 35 percent above its recent low at the end of June. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 0.9 percent from one week earlier.

Also interesting to note is this week’s release of the National Association of Realtors’ Pending Home Sales Index in which it revealed an increase of 3.6% during the month. That was 6.7% higher than June 2008. It was the fifth straight month of increases, the first time that has happened since July 2003. The jump was much higher than expected with a consensus of industry experts put together by Briefing.com forecasting an increase of just 0.7%.

NAR’s Chief Economist Lawrence Yun had this to say, “Historically low mortgage interest rates, affordable home prices and large selection are encouraging buyers who’ve been on the sidelines.” It seems all of these incentives, much like the Cash for Clunkers program, is finally pushing people off of the fence.

Now, let’s take a look at this week in real estate:

• Boulder/Longmont—The Boulder office reported new listings in the Boulder County market showed a decrease of over 18% last week, the first significant decline in a month. Meanwhile, new under contracts were up by over 16% so both numbers are moving in the right direction. Showings in the county also increased by whopping 35% last week. Side note about July - County wide, there were 739 price reductions in July. Longmont reported showings are down for the third week in a row. Homes going under contract are steady and new listings came up more than double week over week. The good news about the general Denver area is big. We are anticipating that the price of homes in general Longmont area will follow the Denver increase. Homes in the $300,000 to $400,000 were shown more this last week. Maybe the start of a good trend for the move-up market inventory. Appraisals are still a problem for the buying process. Agents are watching whole purchasing process with great detail to make sure the glitches are smoothed out for everyone.
• Evergreen/Conifer—Evergreen reported five listings went under contract during the past week. Two were vacant land parcels in Idaho Springs/Dumont. Land sales have been quite slow over the past year and these contracts represent the first land sales in six months. One contract, a single family home in Arvada went under contract on the first day after only one showing. Two contracts were single family homes in Conifer, one with three offers and one after only 31 DOM. Five buyers represented by our Agents also went under contract for the week; one buyer was the first showing of the property and submitted an offer which was accepted. We had 86 showings during the week and a total of 378 for the month. Five new listings during the week and a total of 17 for the month of July. Conifer reported we had three new listings during the week totaling $1,300,000. Two listings went under contract one of which was a single family home in Bailey with multiple offers which went under contract at higher than list price. Two buyers put under contract for single family homes in Conifer & Pine. Showing activity decreased to 31 during the week.
• Denver Central - This past week Denver was ranked #1 in the country for biking and hiking trails by the National Park & Rec Association. Forbes magazine recently ranked Denver as the #1 place to buy real estate and #13 in coolness factor in the country. The Denver real estate market continues to get positive national and local press on a weekly basis. We are very encouraged and excited about the future of real estate in Denver. We continue to have substantial drops in housing inventory in the Denver area and we have seen an increase in the number of existing homes sold. The lower-end market has certainly shifted to a sellers market with properties moving quickly. Properties that are priced aggressively are seeing multiple offer situations. Many properties in the lower end go under contract within days of being put on the market. The high-end market continues to be tough but we're seeing improvement.
• Devonshire— Activity is good here at Devonshire. We're working hard on getting our sellers to allow us to do open houses as we know that there are now more buyers out there looking for homes. We've had a very busy July with many homes going under contract. As buyers are missing homes that have sold to others because they waited, we see more activity. Why would buyers who are really serious about moving wait & miss the perfect home? We think that this is why the open houses are getting more traffic. Lending restrictions are creating delays in some closings - all the more crucial for the public to be working with full time, knowledgeable professionals. We're looking forward to a busy August with lots of homes coming on the market & many buyers finding that perfect home.
• Douglas County—Our Southwest Metro office reports our Agents were very, very busy this past week listing homes. We are seeing sellers ready to list their properties especially after local news stations were reporting an increase in the price of homes with some areas showing the same price as in 2003. Our showing activity was very good this past weekend. Open houses had great traffic and our Agents received some solid leads. We are seeing some buyers ready to move but there are some that are still waiting for the "deal.” We feel good about the market at this time & hopefully it will continue to turn upward.
• El Paso County—Colorado Springs reports sales activity was steady and showings increased slightly last week. We have received a good number of relocation leads, both buyers and listings. As a result, our listing inventory has increased and we expect it to continue increasing slightly for the next few weeks. Banks remain slow on negotiating short sales.
• Larimer County—Our Fort Collins/Loveland office reports the market is very steady right now in Northern Colorado. We are seeing consistent numbers across the board the last two weeks in showings, closings, under contracts and new listings coming on to the market. Investors who are cash heavy are taking advantage of the flat market and purchasing properties for the same price they could have four years ago. This trend will likely continue the next six to nine months with the low interest rates and good deals to be had. One Agent recently put her clients under contract for a fix and flip property that is protected to make approximately $40,000 once repairs and upgrades are made. There are still good deals to be had if you know where to look.
• North Metro—The office continues to be very active and aggressive as we all continue to meet the challenge of the dynamic market. We see strong listing opportunities and our month end activity reflects signs of a stronger market. Sales in the office are steady despite the challenge of short sale, REO and multiple offer transactions. Our average sale price indicates that we must continue to deal with these issues and our Agents continued success is what separates them from our competitors. Good solid indicators that the market's improving are found in the mood of the customers that seems to be changing from total retreat to cautious optimism.
• Parker—Sales activity has increased which caused our listing inventory to decline. It looks like we are experiencing a little spike towards the end of summer. News came out that the moratorium on Bank-Owned properties has been extended until November 30th, which will help our sellers over the next four months.
• Southeast Metro—The SE Metro office reports showings have increased and are back to over 500 per week. Open house activity is strong and the luxury market is experiencing a definite increase in both broker viewings and buyer traffic. Inventory is decreasing and buyers are having a difficult time finding homes in desirable neighborhoods.
• West Lakewood—We had multiple offers on almost everything below $250,000. Sellers who take the time to stage their homes are having amazing results.

My overall synopsis of the market this week is much like it has been over the last several. Low-end sales have been the strongest segment of the market, an indication that the first-time homebuyers tax credit is contributing to the rise. The clock, however, is ticking on this credit and it may have buyers stepping up their shopping to get their purchases in under the wire. Because it may take as long as two months to close on a home after signing a contract, first time home buyers must act fairly soon to take advantage of the credit. To qualify, they must close on the sale by November 30.

Until next week,
Make it a great one,

Chris Mygatt
Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage Colorado