First-Time Buyers March Surge

First-time buyers drive March surge in Denver-area home sales - With the deadline looming to take advantage of an $8,000 federal tax credit, first-time buyers helped boost Denver-area home sales in March by nearly 50% over the previous month. There were 3,602 homes sold last month - up 47.9% from February and a 12% increase from March of last year. Approximately 70% of the single-family homes sold last month were priced below $300,000, and below $200,000 for condos. Median prices for single-family homes were $229,000, up 12.3% from a year ago.
http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_14849071

Discounted Luxury Homes in New Kind of Real Estate Austin

A new real estate auction is hitting Denver this weekend which features luxury single and multi-family homes that are not in foreclosure, distressed or at short sale. The large one-day real estate auction is being held by Pinnacle Home Auctions. Alan Smith of RE/MAX Professionals says this is the first time an auction like this has been held in Colorado although other states are already using this kind of selling technique.
http://www.9news.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=136052&catid=339

Denver Home Prices - No. 6 on the list!

Case-Shiller: Denver No. 6 - Denver-area home prices rose by an average of 2.6% in the 12-month period ending in January, according to the most recent S&P/Case-Shiller Home Prices Indices. The increase, the largest since the worst housing market since the Great Depression began, provides strong evidence that the Denver-area housing market is past its bottom and is recovering. That ranked Denver No. 6 for year-over-year appreciation, according to the index of 20 major metropolitan statistical area.
http://insiderealestatenews.com/2010/03/case-shiller-denver-home-prices-rise/

Denver's Parade of Homes

Parade of Homes to return in August with multi-site format - Denver’s “Parade of Homes” will return Aug. 14 to Sept. 6, featuring a multiple-site format for a second year and a wider-than-usual range of home values, the Home Builders Association of Metro Denver said yesterday. “We’re bringing back the favorite elements of the Parade, but we’re adding more homes for visitors to see throughout the metro area and admission to the Parade will be free,” Clarence Hughes, chairman of the Parade of Homes and a Home Builders Association (HBA) board member, said in a statement.
http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2010/03/22/daily21.html?s=industry&i=resi_real_estate

Credit Consequences of Home Loss

1 in every 8 mortgages is currently in default and that number is on the rise. If you are in trouble and want to try to keep your home or avoid foreclosure, I'd be happy to visit with you regarding your options. YOU DO HAVE OPTIONS!!

Here is a valuable article that outlines the consequences of losing your home. Let me help you stop this process and get you on the road to recovery.

http://realtytimes.com/rtpages/20100323_credit.htm

February Market Stats are In

Single Family (Res + Cond)
Inventory was 19,349* listings at the end of Feb 10
Compared with prior month, available inventory is up 9%
Down 4% versus Feb 09

It doesn’t look like our shortage of inventory problem is getting better.


*Includes Active and Pending listings for historical trending purposes. See Market Intel reports for Pending count.
Under contract listings were at 4,414 units
Up 20% compared with prior month
Up 6% compared with same month year ago

This is a good sign for sellers (especially under $450). Not much on the market, and what is on the market is going UC quickly.


Sales volume (units) totaled 2,436
Up 4% compared to last month
Down 2% compared to Feb 09

You’ll recall that sales volume in Jan and Feb 2009 was a complete disaster relative to 2008. We sold even fewer homes in 2010. I think this is more a supply problem (2010) than a demand problem (2009).


Average sales price was $247,471, up versus prior month
14% increase from Feb 09, $218,010 avg price

Since we don’t have any low end homes to sell, we’re selling, proportionally, more mid-end homes. Thus the price increase.


Residential (DSF only, not CND)
Available inventory was at 14,447* listings, up 9% compared to prior month
This represents a 5% decrease from same month year ago
*Includes Active and Pending listings for historical trending purposes. See Market Intel reports for Pending count.
Under contract listings increased 20% to 3,459 from prior month, and were up 3% compared to Feb 09
Sales were up 4% from month ago to 1,913 units sold
Compared with Feb 09, units sold decreased 5%
Average sales price was $269,688
Up 4% compared with Jan 10, $260,530 avg price
Up 14% versus Feb 09, $236,920 avg price
Median sales price was $220,750, up 5% versus prior month, and up 15% from Feb 09


Condo

Inventory at close of Feb 10 was at 4,902* units
Up 9% compared to prior month and up 1% compared to Feb 09
*Includes Active and Pending listings for historical trending purposes. See Market Intel reports for Pending count.
There was a 18% increase in under contract units compared with Jan 10
Under contract listings were up 15% versus same month year ago
523 units sold in Feb 10, down 2% compared to prior month and down 10% from Feb 09
Average sales price was $166,206, up 5% versus Jan 10 and up 20% compared to Feb 09
Median price was $132,500, up 2% compared to prior month
Median price increased 13% from $117,725 Feb 09

Denver home market shows further improvement

Sales and selling prices of existing homes in metro Denver improved again in February, showing that the housing market continues to slowly recover. Highlights of last month’s home sales included:
* An increase in sales of $1 million-plus homes
* A 20% jump in the average selling price for condos
* A 15% rise in median sold price for houses
“Denver is coming out of the recession a little faster than everyone else. … People are out looking at and buying homes, looking at the affordability factor and marketability factor,” said Gary Bauer, an independent residential real estate broker in Littleton and Metrolist analyst.
http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2010/03/08/daily22.html?s=industry&i=resi_real_estate