Professionally staged properties prompt faster sales and can increase the value of your transaction!

Note that I said “professionally staged” here. So you may be asking how you can actually go home with more money in your pocket if you pay someone else to do the work of putting your home in its best possible presentation!

Styled, Staged and Sold — A publication of the National Association of REALTORS®, breaks it down this way:

Recent statistics gathered by Stagedhomes.com shows that 94 percent of homes staged by an Accredited Staging Professional sold in 29 days or less, compared to an average of 145 days for homes that were not staged. What’s more, homes staged by Accredited Staging Professionals stay on the market 83 percent less than a home that has not been staged.

Doing the Math

Think of it in terms of listing price. If you have priced your home in the upper range for the neighborhood, potential buyers will expect it to appear from all angles (photographed or in-person) as if it deserves that place in the price range. Proper staging emphasizes the best features of a home and maximizes space and layout. It’s an integral part of proving your home’s worth.

When non-staged homes don’t wow the buyers, and they reach a listing time of 90 days or more, sellers may contemplate reducing the price to attract more attention.

On a $250,000 home a price decrease of 5% translates to over $12,000 lost.

A professional home staging costs far less. Since the goal is for me to help you sell your house in the shortest time possible, for the most money possible, I have to point this distinction out to you!

Finding a Stager

Stagers are professionals in their own right. They have trade associations and educational opportunities. A quick internet search can bring up those nearest to your own location. Of course, referrals are always a great way to connect with a business, so ask your agent, friends who have recently sold homes, and your social networks for recommendations on who to use!

Marketwatch just reported on a press release that lists the one dozen top tourism events in Denver for this year.

How does this relate to the real estate industry? Well, anytime you can increase exposure to Denver, its great views, gorgeous climate and incredible quality of living, you’re increasing the number of potential relocations for people who are looking to retire, move their careers, or find a better place to raise a family.

Which events/attractions are top of the list?

Things to do in Denver 2012

• Art is the clear winner. With the opening of a new art museum adjacent to the Downtown Denver Art Museum and three prominent visiting displays at existing museums, this is the year to celebrate great artistic accomplishments of the past!
• Sports are also a major player in the year’s event lineup. We have the USA Pro Cycling Challenge finishing in Denver, and NCAA Women’s Final Four tournament taking place at the Pepsi Center. Both are major tourist draws that will prove a boon to the local economy.
• Museums and Zoos: This year marks the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, which is great news for the Molly Brown Museum. Also, the Denver Zoo will unveil a new elephant exhibit that should wow visitors both new and old. Finally, the Wild Animal Sanctuary is vastly expanding it’s 20 foot high pathway above the sanctuary into a mile of raised walking that allows visitors to observe the park’s more than 290 lions, tigers, bears, wolves and other large carnivores.

Of course, this is only a partial summary of the full list. If you want to see more of the top dozen events, check out the press release in full.

And if you are fully convinced that Denver is where you would like to make your next home purchase, contact me to see what’s available!

image courtesy of www.legendswebdesign.com

The Bottom Line on MSNBC.com just published an article on this tricky debate. They based their recommendations on data and opinions garnered from Paul Diggle, a housing economist at Capital Economics.

In the end, their recommendations are a mixed bag. It boils down to a lot of “if this, then this…” and some predictions of where the housing markets and rental markets are headed in the next few years.

According to Diggle and his expert advice…for many people now may be the right time to buy a home.

Factors in Favor of Buying

These market factors are favorable to buying a home now, for renters who meet the right conditions:

• A 33% drop in home prices
• A 15% rise in the cost of renting
• Projected flat housing prices for the next 2-3 years, then rising
• Historically low interest rates

Cautionary Thoughts

Some renters may not benefit from buying, despite all these favorable conditions and predictions. If you plan on moving in a few years, or you have a low credit score and insufficient down-payment ability, then you might find yourself choosing to cope with the rising costs of rent.

Focus isntead on placing yourself in a better financial position, however, so that when you are locating somewhere for a longer term, the home-buying option is one that you can pursue if it’s still a good fit at that time.

What to Do Next if Buying is the Right Choice

If you are one of the many for whom home-buying makes great sense in the current market (especially for those of us in the relatively strong Denver economy), before you do anything you should get together with a professional real estate agent whom you can trust and feel comfortable working with through the complicated process of finding and buying your home.

If you are close to that “buying phase” but still need just a little time to get your financials together, just set your goals and make future decisions with that homeownership goal in mind (like renewing rental agreements, etc…)

Congratulations to those of you who have decided that 2012 is the year to buy! Contact me if you have any questions or would like to get started right away on searching for your new dream home.

The 2011 annual migration patterns report from Atlas Van Lines (a popular residential moving company) was released this week, and their data confirms what we already know is true–Colorado is a great place to live, work & play.

According to the report, Atlas moved more families/individuals into Colorado in 2011 than they moved out of it.

The numbers are fairly close, at 53.5% of the relocations being into the state and 46.5% of them outward-bound. However, the balance is definitely in our favor. With so many other states suffering from years of outward migration, this is simply another vote of confidence in Colorado’s economic future.

The Denver Business Journal was quick to report on the story. They point out that a few other western states also benefited from  positive migration numbers.

The most encouraging piece of information the report gives us is by letting us look at a data summary that goes all the way back to 2002. For every one of the ten years in the study, Colorado has had positive inward migration numbers compared to the number of families moving away.

Tell Me  Your Thoughts

I’m thinking that I’d love to get into the minds of the individuals who have relocated here and see what their biggest motivating factor might have been. This would be a good topic for a site survey!

If you are a transplant to Colorado, or have ever left and then moved back, leave a comment letting us know your thought process.

The Denver Business Journal recently reported on data from two different sources that put a positive spin on the luxury housing market in Denver and the surrounding area.

Coldwell Banker released their report based on MLS data of all homes being sold for over $1 million in price last month (November 2011). A competing report was released by another local agent, Gary Bauer.

While the numbers are comparing both the performance for month-to-month and year-over-year, with some mixed results, the overall picture is good! Here are some of the Ups and Downs:

↑ Number of luxury homes sold: 45 — compared to 37 in October ’11 and 44 in Nov ’10

↑ Percent of asking price received at close: 94% — compared to 88% in October ’11 and 89% in Nov ’10

↑↓ Days on market: 167 — compared to 196 in October ’11 but up from 151 in Nov ’10

I’m most interested in the significant change in inventory from last year to this. According to Bauer’s report:

Inventory of 650 residential homes was down 34 percent from the same level in 2010, and down 22 percent for condos.

Why does this matter so much? While it’s tricky to interpret inventory numbers as a market indicator by themselves, they can point to a couple of different things.

1) Sellers in the high-end market may be holding off, worrying that they won’t get an offer that is close enough to their asking price.

 2) Buyer demand in this market could be quite high, since they have a relatively limited number of choices in their desired range.

As the authors of the first report have said,

“The Denver Metro Area’s luxury market continues to be steady despite the challenges from the slow economy and volatile stock market. The problem isn’t lack of buyers; they’re out there looking for the right home. The problem is not enough homes on the market right now.”

I know that my readers will inevitably notice this, so I might as well admit it–I’m passionate (maybe even obsessive) about keeping my finger on the pulse of Colorado’s market conditions and economy. I look at the reports, a lot, and I’ve got a keen eye for the positive data when it is released. Maybe you could say I’m a “good news junkie.”

Nothing makes me happier than to be able to be able to pass along that good news when it pertains to our local economy. The recently released monthly report from the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment gave me plenty of reason to cheer.

According to the Elbert County News website, this is a summary of the report’s findings:

Colorado employers added nearly 9,000 jobs from September to October… [and]… the state’s unemployment rate dipped to 8.1 percent, down from 8.3 percent in September and 8.9 percent in October 2010. Colorado’s jobless figures are better than the October national average of 9 percent, an improvement from the 9.7 percent of a year ago.

Good News for Housing Market?

This is me going out on a bit of a limb, but I think that the strong job gains particularly in professional and business services are a boon to the housing market, because this demographic represents an important percentage of serious homebuyers. Other industries that showed significant gains were leisure & hospitality and construction. Manufacturing, unfortunately, has not fared as well.

Keep Going Strong

I’ll keep my eye out for the newest reports. Hopefully we will get to see 2011 end with a bang in terms of the employment rate!  Strong holiday sales would definitely help, so happy shopping to all.

Denver has been my home for the past 38 years. I can honestly say that whenever I travel, the moment I arrive back on Denver soil it is like coming home to magic.

I love the weather here in Colorado. From the crisp cold winter air to the warmth of summer to the blazing mountain fall colors–and all of the gorgeous sunny days in between–I know that gray skies will never “get me down.” Actual cloudy days are a blink-and-it’s-gone occurrence.

Fact: The most quoted statistic puts Colorado at an average 300 days of sunshine per year!

I love the views here in Denver. We natives (and almost-natives) cannot imagine a life without the gorgeous Rocky Mountain skyline gracing the western horizon. Whenever you need a moment of peace in your day, you can take a deep breath and lose yourself in the sight of those snow-topped peaks.

I love the people in Denver. I meet many of them in this career, and they are my kindred spirits in their love of this incredible state and all of the live/work/play opportunities that exist here. If you are considering a move here, give me a call or drop me an email and I gladly discuss the options and benefits of relocating to Denver.

I’ve been hooked by this place and I love helping others discover the magic for themselves! Together we’ll help you put down roots and create a thriving life here in Colorado.

The Denver Tech Center (DTC) was created with a unique and singular goal. According to DTCMeridian.com:

The Denver Technological Center (DTC) was established in 1962. The idea was simple: to establish a truly high-quality environment in which people could live and work.

DTC began as a vision of a better environment for companies who wanted to locate closer to their new suburban residences. What has been created is a neighborhood environment of mixed-use development where businesses and people flourish.

The traffic system within the Center offers exceptionally good internal mobility. Parking is subdued, hidden under buildings, or by landscaped berms, to reduce the visibility of automobiles without sacrificing accessibility.

The low profile roads, parking and underground utilities allow the buildings, landscaping, plazas and people to be the focal points.

Just yesterday, the Denver Post reported that another DTC area project will be bringing in new jobs to the area (from a new data center being built by Latisys). This is on top of the recent announcement that Arrow Electronics will be relocating their company headquarters here.

When companies relocate, so does some of their existing workforce!

This brings in plenty of potential new homebuyers. Basic economic principles tell us that an increase in demand will lead to an increase in prices.

If you’re thinking about buying, or buying-up, in the DTC area, this may be the right time to do so! Low interest rates and potentially increasing demand create a situation where the decision to wait might cost more than just a lost opportunity. Contact me for additional market assessment and to get you quickly into a great residence in this fabulous mixed-use community!

Sometimes I wish the saying “everything that goes up, must come down” was more often phrased “everything that plummets down, will bounce back up.”

In terms of the US economy and its markets, the proof is in the history books. Recessions end, markets recover, and investment losses become new fortunes made for those who bought low.

What keeps me excited about housing trends for next year? Two big things:

• Historically low interest rates
• The potential for even lower rates to come