About Arapahoe County, CO

Beacon Point Market Update

Beacon Point is a great newer community just south of the Aurora Reservoir and just east of Southlands Shopping Center in Aurora, Colorado. There are still many lots and new homes available in Beacon Point.

This market report represents homes that are currently on the market (24), homes that are under contract (7) and homes that have sold since January 1, 2012 (2).

The price range for active listings is $350,000 to $650,000. The price range for under contract listings is $256,500 to $449,000 and the price range for sold listings is $359,000 to $429,900.

Beacon Point offers walking trails and parks throughout the neighborhood as well as a state of the art clubhouse with fitness center, swimming pool and tennis courts.

~ Wrigley ~

I adopted a wonderful dog and named him Wrigley from the Denver Dumb Friends League Buddy Center in Castle Rock. (Yes, I am originally from the Chicago area, and moved to Denver over 20 years ago.) The information about him was minimal at the most. What I do know was that he was in a shelter in New Mexico for about 10 days before being transferred up here. He was only at this shelter for 2 days before I adopted him. They weighed him in at 24 lbs. at the first shelter, but when I brought him to a Vet, he was up to 27 lbs. and still on the very slim side. On his information they said he was a Shiba Inu and Australian Cattle Dog mix.

I had a pure bred Shiba Inu named Kobi. I could see, maybe, a little Shiba in him, however he was much taller and his ears were way larger than Kobi's. I looked up Australian Cattle Dogs to get some information on that breed. Yes, Wrigley had more of the ears, but the body just wasn't right. Wrigley has the build of a Greyhound.

It wasn't until I watched the Westminster Dog Show that things started to click. I had an AH Ha moment. While watching the herding group, there was a dog that looked similar to Wrigley. I had my computer so I looked up a Canaan. It's an ancient dog from Egypt. The Canaan can come in many colors; solids, with patches, brindle, white or black masks and can come in four types such as: a heavy sheepdog appearance, a Border Collie appearance, dingo-like appearance or a Greyhound appearance.

I know I can have a blood test done and sent in somewhere that will tell me what breed/mix of breeds my dog is. But for now, I am going to assume that he is at least part Canaan. What do you think???

Australian Cattle Dog Canaan Dog Kobi (Shiba Inu)

*** Australian Cattle Dog and Canaan Dog phots taken from Dog Image Web site on Google. ***

For singles looking to make themselves more attractive to the opposite sex, apparently being a homeowner is a big draw. According to CNNMoney, a recent survey shows that over one third of women would "much rather" date a homeowner than a renter. Eighteen percent of men would prefer dating a gal with her own digs.

If those numbers don't impress you, consider this: in the same survey, only two percent of women and three percent of men said they would prefer to date a renter over a homeowner.

And bad news if you're among those who've had to move back in with mom and dad for whatever reason: Fewer than five percent of all respondents said they'd date someone who lives in their childhood home. See the full story here.

So, singles: you can consider the keys to your own home the same as a peacock's brilliant feathers, telegraphing your desirablility to everyone around you. Consider us your very own Cupid this Valentine's Day. Maybe the white picket fence should come before the wedding bells.

Email Marty, or call him at 720-891-9000. Imagine he's got a little bow and heart-tipped arrow.

Buy Low- Sell High- How many times have you heard this and wished you had listened? When do the rich get

richer? When everyone else is getting poorer, or in real estate, when the market is at the bottom. When does the majority of the public decide it is a good time to buy or sell? Long after the wave of great opportuniites have come and gone. Let me ask you, are you buying gold right now? Are you seeing all of the commercials and ads for people buying gold and paying top dollar, it may be the ideal time to sell gold, but it is not an ideal time to buy it. When everyone jumps on board you can bet you have missed the boat.

So guess who is buying all the real estate right now, cash buyers! They are buying up all the low end housing they can get their hands on because they know we are at the bottom and starting to climb out. When these savvy buyers are investing cash for investment properties you had better believe it is the best investment going. The wealthy do not make money when everyone is jumping on the bandwagon, that is when they sell! And yet time and time again only 10% will be buying at the bottom and the rest will be scrambling to sell. Wishing they new the "secret" to making money.

Here is a great video reminder from the movie Trading Places one of my all time favorites, enjoy!

If you are waiting for the bottom, YOU MISSED IT! - Real estate is as local as the temperature. When the general public sees reports about the overall industry they need to consult with an experienced agent in their local market just as they would watch the local weather to see what is really happening in their area. If the average temperature in the country is 58 degrees, you had better believe the temperature at your house is completely different.

I typically work with more buyers than sellers and many over the past year have been sitting on the fence trying to time the market. Locally, and I mean very locally, the south metro Denver market prices have started to appreciate again and this has been going on for the past 4-5 months in the under $250K price range. The really nice homes in this market are getting multiple offers and many times more than asking price. As much as I try to educate my buyers on this upward trend it takes some of them writing a couple offers and losing out before it actually sinks in.

The "temperature" is hot for sellers of homes in good condition under $250K, but the temperature is "mild" in the $250-400K range, "lukewarm" in the $400-750K range, downright "cool" in the $750-1M price points, so you can see that even though the market is local, it is also distinct to price ranges.

The "Perfect Storm" is actually available right now. What is a "Perfect Storm" in real estate, for this post a "Perfect Storm" represents a Sellers market for a seller and also a buyers market for a buyer! John! How can this be??? Well Mr. and Mrs. Seller/Buyer, if you have a home that is valued under $250K and in great condition in a good location you should feel that a good agent can get you a very strong offer fairly quickly, at the same time if you are also in a position to buy in the market you should be able to get a considerable discount on the next home you buy.

Once again this is all very local and can fluctuate from neighborhood to neighborhood. So talk with a knowledgeable agent that not only knows your market locally, but the market you desire. Just yesterday I spoke with a long time agent who said she was helped a client sell their home in the $250K range at just under full price and they were able to buy a home that was listed at $550K for just under $450K and with the current rates at all time lows they also got an incredibly affordable monthly payment