Home prices increase

According to the latest S&P/Shiller Home Price Index, single family home sales rose again in August, posting the strongest gain in more than seven years, prices were up 12.8% over last year. Prices in Boulder, Colorado show even greater gains. Check out this space for local home price appreciation.

Boulder County Updates: Flood Clean Up and Asbestos removal

1.      The Environmental Protection Agency has waived the need to have asbestos testing done before debris is removed from damaged property.  This is hugely important and will allow the cleanup to go much faster and at much less cost.   I will send out an extensive FEMA Q & A sheet a bit later – it is of great help as well.

2.       BARHA member Appraiser Bill Kamin has passed along this info:  I have had numerous calls from people wanting to order an appraisal of their property in order to establish damages for tax purposes. In most cases, this is not necessary. In most cases, the actual cost of cleanup and repairs is the measure of loss.

3.       Longmont has opened a separate website for flood related info at www.LongmontOEM.com

4.       Please DO NOT put mud or silt into the Western Dumpsters – only debris.amage around Boulder County uneven. Some areas had no significant problems, others were pretty much devastated. Surely one of the worst aspects of the flood is the mix of sewage and storm water.
Important information just came out re asbestos mediation.

Home Price Appreciation in Boulder County

Home Sales in Boulder County

Home prices have been on the rise throughout Boulder County. Prices are up in all Boulder County cities and Days on Market have declined as well. These figures are through the end of May, 2013 compared to the same time period in 2012.

Louisville Home Prices Show Strong Increase

Figures recently released show all area in Boulder County have increased in price from the end of May, 2012 to the end of May 2013. The city of Louisville shows the greatest price increase with the medium sales price up 27.3% while inventory is down 10% and days to closing are down 33%. If you're looking for a great time to sell, this could be it!

3 Reasons to Buy that House Now!

I don't usually post blogs from others but this one has such important information I want to share it with everyone. 

3 Reasons to Buy that House NOW!

http://www.kcmblog.com/2013/07/30/3-reasons-to-buy-that-house-now/

3 Steps to Sell Your House in a Week

it              1) Price it right. Factors to consider include location, condition, updating, schools, proximity to amenities and knowing the market. Price it over the market and it is likely to languish, price it right and you will have several offers and very likely sell it at above the list price.

                2)  Prepare your house for sale. This includes taking care of deferred maintenance issues, cleaning, painting, organizing and staging. To be really proactive, have your home pre inspected. It’s always cheaper to take care of a problem before it is identified as an inspection issue.

                 3) Choose your buyer carefully. Your goal isn’t to get offers, it’s to sell your house. Make sure you have a buyer who is not only pre-qualified but commited to buying your house and will hang in there through a long, sometimes difficult process.

And you will be rewarded by having an excited buyer, who will show up at closing with the funds and be ready to love your house as you have!

To discuss selling your home, please feel free to give me a call today.

Buyers and Bidding Wars

Wall Street Journal article, stunned home buyers find bidding wars are back, is definitely what we're seeing in Boulder, Colorado and throughout Boulder County. 

Creating a Home Together-An Intimate Act

4 Rules for Creating a Home Together

9 Reasons for Moving

9 Reasons for Moving: Looking toward 2013 and thinking about moving? These are the reasons people most often give. Did I miss anything?

·         More space

·         Less space

·         Smart investment

·         Put down roots

·         Simplify my life

·         Closer to family

·         Further from family

·         Reduce my mortgage expense

·         Relocate for work

Winter Weatherizing Tip

I’ve had the furnace checked, installed new filters, blown out the sprinklers, rolled up the hoses but this simple suggestion is one I haven’t tried before and it works. Reverse the direction on your ceiling fans. During winter, the warm air generated by your heating system naturally rises to the ceiling while cooler air sinks. By switching the direction that your fan blades turn, that cooler air is drawn upwards, which forces the warmer air near the ceiling back down into the space. This is especially effective if you have high ceilings like mine. How does this save energy? Keeping the warm air low where it’s needed means you can turn the temperature down a few notches and still stay warm. Et voila!

Boulder County Real Estate 2012

In my last post we looked at the rate of annual sales for Boulder County going back to 2005.
2012 reveals the following:
     Boulder Residential Sales (from the previous year's quarter):

•  first Quarter  +13% 
• 2nd Quarter   +5% 

A strengthening housing market is on the way!

A look at Boulder County Home Prices

Residential Homes Sales in Boulder, Colorado. These statistics include the city of Boulder and the communities that are part of Boulder County, including Longmont, Gunbarrel, Niwot, Louisville, Lafayette, Superior and parts of Erie. It reads like a history of the last 8 years. 2005 was a good year but nothing extraordinary. We had come to expect appreciation 7%+ appreciation. Fortunately in Boulder we had no huge spike before the fall. You can see that things started to slow in 2006 and by 2007, the economy was in retreat in a big way, culminating in 2008 and the greatest recession since the Great Depression. By 2010, Boulder was reversing the trend and slowing coming back.

Year     Median Price Appreciation

2005    +11%

2006    +5%

2007    +4%

2008    -2%

2009    -3%

2010    +2%

2011    +2%

Anatomy of Housing Market Comeback: Boulder County, Colorado. Key metrics thru the end of the first quarter of 2012 show all the signs of a strengthening market: median sales price is up as is the number of closed sales, the days on market is down slightly and the number of homes for sale is down by almost 21%.
In fact, scarcity of inventory (homes for sale) in many areas is now the problem.
Note: this is for all of Boulder County, not just the city of Boulder. There is considerable fluctuation in these numbers depending on where you are in Boulder County. If you would like to know the stats for you specific zip code, email it to me and I'll send you a more detailed snapshot of your market.

Boulder County

Key Metrics                  Q1-2012               1-Yr Chg

Median sales price          $369,250                  +5.5%

Pct of List Price vs Sold      96.9%                   +0.2%

Homes for Sale                 1,206                     -20.8%

Closed Sales                       522                     +16.5%

Days on Market                  124                       -1.8%

Private Mortgage: Family and Friends

Family & Friends' Mortgages

It all seems perfectly reasonable: one person is not satisfied with what he can earn currently in the market and another wants to find the most attractive mortgage to purchase their home. It can be a good match but the IRS has specific rules that govern the transaction.

The loan must be done in a business-like manner with a written note specifying the loan amount, interest rate, term and collateral. IRS requires that the mortgage be a recorded lien in order to allow the interest deduction.

Sometimes, these friends and family situations have a less than normal interest rate on the mortgage. However, the rate charged in the note is regulated by the minimum applicable federal rate which is published monthly by IRS according to current Treasury securities. For October 2011, the rate is 2.95% for terms over nine years.

The seller must report the interest paid to them along with the name, address and Social Security number on schedule B when the buyer uses the property as their principal residence.

A mortgage between family and friends can be good for both parties. It may allow the borrower a slightly lower rate without the expenses of a traditional lender while giving the note holder a higher rate than they can earn in available investments. Your tax professional can guide the transaction whether you're a buyer or seller and your real estate professional can help arrange to have the documents drawn and filed.

The good news!

Did you know that 91.2% of mortgages are current and only 3.75% are in foreclosure? That's a different perspective from what we're getting in the media these days. Oh, and also to perk up your view of the economy, 87% of Americans who bought a home in the past year expect to easily meet their mortgage repayment obligations in the next year. The deleveraging has been ugly, but we're getting there!

Energy Savings and Home Ownership

With the exception of a mortgage payment, the largest homeowner expense is utilities; and energy is the major component. There are lots of contributing factors such as air leaks, insulation, heating and cooling equipment, water heaters and lighting.




It's estimated that 75% of the electricity to power home electronics is consumed when the products are turned off. Computers, monitors, TVs, cable and satellite boxes, DVRs and power adaptors are spinning your electric meter even when they're not being used.



Unplugging devices can actually make a difference in the size of your electric bill. Plugging several of these offenders into a power strip with a single on/off switch may make the task easier. Most computers have options to put them into sleep mode or even turn off when not in use.



Take 3 1/2 minutes and watch Energy 101. Consider hiring a professional home energy auditor or do-it-yourself. The Department of Energy has a checklist with some valuable suggestions.

Boulder Co real estate stats

Nationally, home resales were down 3.5%, year over year, thru the end of July. In Boulder, CO, they were up 18% and average sales price was up almost 12% during the same time period. Numbers like that are why Boulder, Co ranks high in the top real estate markets in the country.