Archive for General Real Estate Information

WOW! 5,541 residential homes for sale in Metro Denver

The Feb 2013 Metrolist statistics for real estate have been released, and they are really good.

Inventory for both homes and condos, now stands at 6,786 units, which is a 32% drop in inventory from Feb 2012.  Just think of supply and demand, what will give?

This breaks down to:

5,541 Homes

1,245 Condos

The average days on market has improved 24% from 106 days to 81 days, year over year.

There is now about a 1.75 months supply of homes, this is very low.

So if you are thinking of buying, it is imperitive to contract with a buyers agent, like myself, or if you are looking to sell, contract with a sellers agent, like myself.  Email me at mcgmhg@earthlink.net, or call 303-888-2488.

LOW 23 Year Inventory for Denver Area Homes

Have you been out looking for a resale home lately?  Inventory is very low, and for some specific neighborhoods its almost non existent.  Lately, I have been in discussion with other agents, and they mentioned to me they are starting to knock on doors (we used to do this 15 years ago) to see if someone is willing to sell.

Here is a story, a seller of mine that has hired me to sell their home, which will go on the market in March, through our initial marketing, I was able to get an early preview of their home to an out of town buyer, after they looked at the existing inventory, we ended up in 2nd place, but not bad for not officially being on the market.

Our Denver market inventory stood at 7,094 homes in December, which was 32% less than January 2012.

Time on the market is on average 78 days, which is 25% less than January 2012 of 104 days.

Interest rates are low, historically, inventory of existing homes is dropping, and as I have always stated, its supply vs. demand, something has to give, PRICE?

Call me to discuss your situation, we also have a 50 page buyes handbook.  Email me at mcgmhg@earthlink.net, or call 303-888-2488.

Local Market Monitor predicts 7% home prices rise in Denver and Highlands Ranch thru 2015

A recent article in Barrons titled “Happy at Last”, discusses the Case-Shiller 20 city Home Price Index detailing the peak of Denvers market, August 2006, to the trough date of Feb 2009, which amounted to a 14.1% decline, but also resulting in a recovery so far of 9% off the low.  This is great news considering how other markets have dropped from their peaks

(a V-Shaped market):

• Phoenix is 55.9% off their peak
• Miami is 51.2% off their peak
• Las Vegas is 61.7% off their peak

and compared to Denver, only Dallas had a smoother ride off their peak of 11.2%, (but who wants to live in that climate all year long).  Keep in mind that we never went sky high in our prices, nor dropped like a falling knife off the highs. 

This brings us to what the Local Market Monitor in saying that “Denver will advance the most thru 2015″.  This is based on unemployment rates, job growth, single family/multiple family building permits, income and its relationship with home prices.

The Local Market Monitor also predicts its forecast growth for Denver as follows:

• next 12 months of 4%
• then next 12 months of 5%
• then the following 12 months of 6%   

This comes to a 3 year forecast of 16%, adding onto the latest 12 month price gain of 2.4%.

So let me ask you?  How much are you earning on your CD’s today?

Call me at 303-888-2488 or email me at mcgmhg@earthlink.net for information on your particular neighborhood.

The rental in Harvey Park South is now rented.

Thank you for everyone’s interest.  Activity for the owners was great and they have a great tenant.  We were able to help the owners buy, fixup and rent this home. 

Are you satisfied with .5% on your CD’s??

If you need expertise in obtaining and owning a rental property and to take advantage of our emerging Denver real estate market, give us a call to see how we can help with your real estate asset allocation to your retirement portfolio.  Call 303-888-2488, or email mcgmhg@earthlink.net.

 

Colorado’s portion of the $51.17 million Morgage Settlement is divided this way:

Colorado has decided to allocate its $51.17 million to a series of programs and organizations to provide statewide foreclosure and housing relief over the next three years:

• $24 million for supplemental loan-modification programs;
• $18.196 million for affordable housing programs;
• $5.625 million for housing counseling through the state;
• $1.5 million for Colorado Legal Services;
• $750,000 for temporary staffing at the Attorney General’s Office;
• $600,000 for the Colorado Foreclosure Hotline; and,
• $500,000 for marketing and outreach efforts.

The $24 million supplemental loan-modification funding will be divided into two programs. The first program will design pool insurance to facilitate a loan modification or a refinancing for borrowers in default on their loans. The second will provide cash assistance to defaulted borrowers in order to facilitate a loan modification or a refinancing. These two programs are designed to expand the benefits of the settlement to those borrowers who are generally not eligible for the principal reduction modifications that are available under the settlement or other modification programs.

The $18.196 million affordable housing programs, also administered by the Colorado Division of Housing, will be divided into two programs. The first will be used to stimulate the construction of affordable residential rental properties. The second fund will be used to provide greater housing for veterans at the Ft. Lyon facility in Bent County.

The $5.625 million for housing counseling support will be administered by the Colorado Housing Finance Authority, which administers similar programs and can ensure no double-dipping by counseling services. This allocation will provide ramp-up capital as well as a fee-for-service system for funding housing counseling services to Colorado homeowners.

The $1.5 million allocation for Colorado Legal Services, the state’s free legal aid program for low-income Coloradans, will provide representation for home owners for whom housing counseling or the other programs funded through the national settlement are not adequate. Colorado Legal Services will through this three-year fund be able to expand its staff to serve areas where foreclosures are on the rise, including the Western Slope, mountain communities, northern Colorado and southern Colorado.

The $600,000 award to the Colorado Foreclosure Hotline continues the Office of the Attorney General’s commitment to keeping the hotline operating as a free resource for Colorado homeowners facing foreclosure. This $600,000 award will fund the hotline’s operations through 2015.

See our other blog at: Original blog on the mortgage settlement fund

The followup blog talked about specific dollars and cents for a Highlands Ranch homeowner.

This is over 3 years, and our previous blog talked about $205 million.  More to come.

To discuss more about this settlement and if it pertains to your situation, call me at 303-888-2488, or email us at mcgmhg@earthlink.net.

Upcoming Highlands Ranch homes and condominiums for Sale by Garard & Associates

Get the latest information on upcoming homes for sale by Garard & Associates, these could be priced aggressively, and there maybe great values.

• Englewood Bungalow with a detached garage, basement.

 

• 2 bedroom, 2 bath condominium on the main floor in Canyon Ranch of Highlands Ranch.

 

• 3 bedroom, 3 bathroom home in central part of Highlands Ranch, built by Richmond, with mountain views, a true FIX UP home.

 

• Large expansive Ranch is Columbine Knolls.

 

You can contact Michael at 303-888-2488, or by emailing him at mcgmhg@earthlink.net, to get more information and to be one of the first to have a private viewing.

Video Hello from Michael Garard

Yes, we finally went and did a quick video of myself and what we can provide to our buyers and sellers.  Take a look:

 

Thanks for viewing, and you can always contact me at mcgmhg@earthlink.net.

For 3rd Quarter of 2011, Metro Denver Area Residential Rentals Are Still Red Hot!

The Colorado division of Housing has just issued their 3rd quarter 2011 results, and for Arapahoe and Douglas county, it is still looking very promising for landlords.  We can give you a couple of ideas of how things look:

• Rent Per Square Foot for above grade living is about 83 cents

Average Rent by Number of Bedrooms:

• 1 bedroom $620
• 2 bedroom $835
• 3 bedroom $1205
• 4 bedroom $1405
• 5 bedroom $1800

Vacancy Rates for Arapahoe County is 3.1%

Vacancy Rates for City of Littleton is 2.5%

Vacancy Rates for north Douglas County is 1.6%

Median Rent for a 3 bedroom home in Douglas County is $1375

Median Rent for a 3 bedroom home in Arapahoe County is $1150

Here is something interesting, in Arapahoe County, a 2 bathroom home gets about $995, but if you have one more half bathroom in the home

and the rent is now $1300

Call me at 303-888-2488, or email me at mcgmhg@earthlink.net for more information about your situation as a landlord, or your future decision to become a landlord.

 

 

 

 

University of Denver Will Host First 2012 Presidential Debate Oct. 3rd

This is not fully real estate related, but news just came out that University of Denver will Host the first of 3 Presidential debates between President Barack Obama, Democrat and the Republican nominee, and any others??? on October 3rd at Magness Arena, which is the University Hockey’s venue, inside Daniel L. Ritchie Center.

The other 2 debates, along with the one vice presidential debate will be later in October of 2012.

So all eyes of the country and the world will be viewing, on TV and the internet and the tweeting and the skyping and the texting and the calling will know about Denver at that time.  could be great for tourism, and other industries to get to know Denver.

 

10 Tax Tips for Individuals Selling Their Home in Highlands Ranch

Ten Tax Tips for Individuals Selling Their Home in Highlands Ranch

IRS Summertime Tax Tip 2011-15, August 8, 2011 The Internal Revenue Service has some important information to share with individuals who have sold or are about to sell their home. If you have a gain from the sale of your main home, you may qualify to exclude all or part of that gain from your income. Here are ten tips from the IRS to keep in mind when selling your home. In general, you are eligible to exclude the gain from income if you have owned and used your home as your main home for two years out of the five years prior to the date of its sale. If you have a gain from the sale of your main home, you may be able to exclude up to $250,000 of the gain from your income ($500,000 on a joint return in most cases). You are not eligible for the exclusion if you excluded the gain from the sale of Another home during the two-year period prior to the sale of your home. If you can exclude all of the gain, you do not need to report the sale on your tax return. If you have a gain that cannot be excluded, it is taxable. You must report it on Form 1040, Schedule D, Capital Gains and Losses. You cannot deduct a loss from the sale of your main home. Worksheets from the IRS are included in Publication 523, Selling Your Home, to help you figure the adjusted basis of the home you sold, the gain (or loss) on the sale, and the gain that you can exclude. If you have more than one home, you can exclude a gain only from the sale of your main home. You must pay tax on the gain from selling any other home. If you have two homes and live in both of them, your main home is ordinarily the one you live in most of the time. If you received the first-time homebuyer credit and within 36 months of the date of purchase, the property is no longer used as your principal residence, you are required to repay the credit. Repayment of the full credit is due with the income tax return for the year the home ceased to be your principal residence, using Form 5405, First-Time Homebuyer Credit and Repayment of the Credit. The full amount of the credit is reflected as additional tax on that year’s tax return. When you move, be sure to update your address with the IRS and the U.S. Postal Service to ensure you receive refunds or correspondence from the IRS. Use Form 8822, Change of Address, to notify the IRS of your address change. For more information about selling your home, see IRS Publication 523, Selling Your Home. This publication is available at www.irs.gov or by calling 800-TAX-FORM (800-829-3676).

For more information about your personal situation, call me at 303-888-2488 or emailing us at mcgmhg@earthlink.net

Your Highlands Ranch Home Could be Unfairly Taxed!

Did you know that up to 1/3 of residential and commercial properties may be incorrectly valued?

You could be paying too much in property taxes!

Some of the common mistakes in evaluating properties include:

1. inaccurate square footage measurements
2. over-valued home improvements
3. house style
4. size of land and or adjoining lots incorrectly recognized

Another important factor in the assessment process is the “comparable” property choices the assessor uses, and the value of your lot.

You could be paying too much in property taxes!

We can help you in your challenge.  I am a knowledgable and experienced real estate broker serving the South Suburban area.  For a limited time, at no cost to you, I can assist you and answer any questions you may have regarding comparable property and lot values in your area.  As a service to the community I am happy to help you in this very important matter.

We have helped several homeowners challenge their values and achieve sizable changes in their assessment.  But don’t hesitate, time is really of the essence.  There is only a very narrow window of time for you to challenge the assessment of your home, it expires June 1, 2011, or you can wait another 2 years to try to challenge.

You could end up paying too much in property taxes for another whole year!  See more details in our previous blog about challenging your assessment.

Call Michael Garard at 303-888-2488, or email me at mcgmhg@earthlink.net.

The house from “Home Alone” is now for sale in Winnetka, Illinois

For all movie buffs, who like to know where certain movies were filmed, or go and visit where the certain locations were shot, a very special home from the movie “Home Alone”, starring Macaulay Culkin, and written by the late John Hughes is for sale in the exclusive Winnetka, Illinois community.

This home is for sale at 2,395,000, is a Georgian style 2 story brick home with 5 bedrooms, 3.5 baths, on .53 acres and has 4243 square feet, and is located at 671 Lincoln Avenue.

A synopsis of the movie plot line is that it’s Christmas Time and the McAllister family is preparing for a vacation in Paris, France. But Kevin got into a scuffle with his older brother and was sent to his room.  Then, the next morning, while the rest of the family were in a rush to make it to the airport on time, they completely forgot about Kevin who now has the house all to himself. Being Home Alone was fun for Kevin, having a pizza all to himself, jumping on his parents’ bed and making a mess. Then, Kevin discovers 2 burglars, Harry and Marv, about to rob his house on Christmas eve. Kevin acts quickly by wiring his own house with makeshift booby traps to stop the burglars.  And the rest is movie history.  The movie had a budget of $15,000,000, took 5 1/2 months to film, and eventually grossed over $533,000,000 worldwide.

I am licensed to sell only in Colorado, and for serious inquiries, I still can refer you to a great agent in Winnetka to see the home in person.

Call Michael Garard, at 303-888-2488, or email me at mcgmhg@earthlink.net.

Tax Assessors Lowering Most Property Valuations in Highlands Ranch

Throughout the 7 county Denver metro area, the tax assessors will be sending out the latest valuations, and good news for most homeowners, is that property values should be lower.  But we all knew that.  Now the government will be telling us by just how much.

What is even better is that if you still disagree with the value; that it is still too high, you have about a month to challenge the new value.

Please keep in mind the value is for a 18-24 month period before June 30, 2010, NOT the value TODAY.  So they are still lagging. 

We also have a great 2 page how to on “HOW TO CHALLENGE YOUR TAX ASSESSMENT”, on our website, and you can click how to challenge your tax assessment for a quick read thru on what you would need to do to challenge your value.

After reading that and you still have questions, we can be reached at 303-888-2488, or emailing at mcgmhg@earthlink.net.  We have in the past helped several homeowners lower their assessed values by up to $90,000, can we help you?

What a government shut down means for Highlands Ranch Real Estate

What a Government Shutdown Means for Highlands Ranch real estate.

(April 5, 2011)

3400 acre Sterling Ranch in Douglas County, up for County Commissioners hearings starting April 12th

I wanted to touch base with all of you regarding Sterling Ranch, a promising new development in Northern Douglas County, located between Santa Fe and Rampart Range Road in the Roxborough area, and south of Titan Road. The owners of Sterling Ranch are Harold and Diane Smethills and Jack Hoagland, all Colorado natives.

Sterling Ranch will be a 21^st century, innovative new home development as well as a pilot test site for the use of renewable water, ie: using rain water retention ponds as a means of irrigation, keep in mind water, water, water (unlike location, location, location). In addition to the innovative new water technologies, the Sterling Ranch team has secured enough renewable water to get the project going and to share with existing neighbors who are seeing their wells run dry.  The entire build-out will take 15 to 20 years with approximately 12,000 homes. Titan Road will be rebuilt to resemble the streets in downtown Littleton. A 100 acre sports village, complete with soccer fields and baseball diamonds (Colorado Rush and Slammers Headquarters) will be constructed along with a medical facility (major announcement to be made shortly), an adult education facility, and ultimately a new high school and junior high school.

Throughout the 3,400 acre development will be over 30 miles of separate walking, biking and equestrian trails. The developers of Sterling Ranch have paid close attention to the changing demographics of our population. There will be six villages, each consisting of homes designed to meet the current trends at the time of construction along with their own individual “town centers”, all designed to bring families and neighborhoods together with a quick walk to the local coffee shop.  As many families return to the multi-generational life style we will see various styles of homes to accommodate these changing trends.

There are 4 major builders already in conversation with the developers. 

This is a project that has been 10 years in the making. On April 12^th, 13^th , 19^th and 26^th   the developers, along with countless supporters and expert witnesses will testify in front of the Douglas County Commissioners.

Water will be key in the discussions, as the developers say they have enough, and the public questions the data.  Keep in mind the area has some dry wells to the north of Titan Road.

For further information, or if you want to discuss Sterling Ranch, call me at 303-888-2488, or email me at mcgmhg@earthlink.net

• Recent Posts

  • New Property Assessments for Highlands Ranch will arrive by May 1st, 2013
  • Highlands Ranch Real Estate Market is Not Slowing Down
  • Doug Mayer, Experienced Lender, Moves Back to Wells Fargo
  • Do Highlands Ranch Homes Have the Highest Cost Per Square Foot?
  • Michael Garard Was Rated 5 Stars in a Zillow Review
  • Colorado Foreclosure Sales Drop to 6 Year Low in 2012
  • WOW! 5,541 residential homes for sale in Metro Denver
  • What Do Home Buyers Really Want in Their New Highlands Ranch Home?
  • Luxury Home Sales in Highlands Ranch and Denver are High
  • How Many Bank Owned Homes Are For Sale in Denver??

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