It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.
- Albert Einstein
What’s your take on ‘08? Was it a year of problems and challenges? And will ‘09 be more of the same? I might suggest that it will be if we don’t learn the recipe for making lemonade.
Here are some interesting Denver real estate statistics for the first eleven months of 2008:
- The average price of a home has declined by 13% to $269,000
- The average price of distress sales (shortsales or foreclosures) has dropped by 6.7%
- The average price of “regular” sales has retreated by 4%
- The Volume of disress sales is up by 41%
- The volume regular sales is off by 24%
- 4 out of every 10 real estate transactions in the Denver Metro area were distress sales
So, was it a half-empty or a half-full year. Both, my attorney and my CPA have identical answers for nearly every question I ask of them, and the same answer applies here: ”it depends.” It depends upon whether you were a buyer or a seller. It depends upon where you lived. If you were in Commerce City, 75% of the real estate transactions there were distress sales, whereas this number in Broomfield, Golden, Conifer, Evergreen and Highlands Ranch were each less than 20%. And it also depends upon what you were trying to accomplish last year. I think that our investors all agree that the 2008 cup had runneth over and that 2009 is looking pretty good, but that there will be slimmer pickin’s as the foreclosure rate slows and the government intervenes to assist ailing homeowners restructure their loans.
Lots of value with little work
There will be greater competition by investors vying for fewer properties, so we’ve got to work smart in getting a jump on the market by researching the sources of yet-to-be listed properties. Here’s an example, this property will be listed within the next three weeks unless someone grabs it beforehand: it’s a 3 (maybe 4) bedroom, 2 bath 2-story that has been unofficially converted into a duplex. It is located in one of Denver’s more desireable neighborhoods at 1st and Logan, and if it were legally subdivided and a little fixed up, it would easily sell for $380,000, but because the previous owner failed to pay attention to the minor zoning details, it will probably go on the market for less than $250,000.
We can arrange for a sneak preview of this great Denver real estate deal before it goes on the market, ust as we can for numerous other yet-to-be-listed investment properties in the Denver front range area. Contact us to see how. In addition, the MyH-O-M-E.com website has been upgraded to include an expanded search capability. Now, you can store your property search criteria for an auto-email notification of newly-listed properties! Check it out!
