The recent economic down-swing has affected almost everyone in some way, but homeowners have been among the hardest-hit with foreclosures of over 4 million homes in the last six years.
Former homeowners can now take heart as they look to again buy a home in Denver or anywhere across the country. The normal re-buy waiting period of up to seven years is shrinking, especially for those whose foreclosure or short sale resulted from a job loss, illness, or other extenuating circumstance.
How long you’ll wait depends on your lender as well as your situation. Homeowners with a foreclosure must wait seven years if borrowing from Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac but only three years if using the Federal Housing Administration.
If you had to sell your Denver home through a short-sale, the wait time to re-buy can be reduced or waived depending again on your particular circumstances. For example, the FHA generally requires a three-year wait after a short sale, but they might cancel this wait period if the short sale was due to a job loss.
Waiting times are also potentially shorter for borrowers who can put a higher down payment on their next Denver home. If you’re borrowing from Fannie Mae and can provide a down payment of 20 percent or higher, you may only have to wait two years to re-buy versus the normal seven year waiting period.
Re-buying after foreclosure or short-sale means you will probably have to pay a higher interest rate, but in this market “higher” might mean 4.5 or 5 percent—which doesn’t feel like much of a penalty!
So don’t let past issues keep you from hunting down where next to live in Denver. You can probably purchase again more quickly than you think.
Let the professionals at the Bandy Team help you buy or sell a Denver home, contact us for a no-obligation consultation. If you’re thinking about buying a home in Denver, we can show you some terrific properties in Denver, including homes in Cherry Creek, town homes in Lowry, and real estate in Stapleton. You may also be interested in horse property in Elizabethor Parker horse property, and a variety of golf course homes in Canterberry.
Marianne Bandy
A recent study by TransUnion LLC, a credit information-management service, offers yet more proof that people want to live in the metro Denver area.
According to the study, average rental charges for apartments in Denver have increased more than 10 percent in the past year, which would indicate that Denver’s economy is strong enough to be drawing in new residents.
At a time when U.S. vacancy rates for rentals were at their lowest in ten years, Denver’s average rents went from $777 in Q4 2010 to $857 in Q4 2011. Average national rents went from $831 to $820 for the same time period.
This data, pulled from over 200,000 rental applications of property rental managers who used TransUnion rental screening solutions, is even more significant when you factor in tightened acceptance criteria for renters, such as higher deposit amounts.
But even with the tighter requirements, the report showed that property managers still had increased acceptances of more than two percentage points. This tells us that Denver and other fast-recovering rental markets have enough interested renters to allow for selective rental terms.
For current Denver residents, this study is great news. Renters usually come to an area with the intent to eventually buy a home and put down roots. And let’s face it—buying is a much better investment than renting, not to mention the intangible values of better neighborhoods and controlling your future housing. An increased demand for Denver homes will bring about higher home values, which benefits sellers and those looking to refinance an existing mortgage.
So welcome those renters! They mean that life in Denver is good and getting better. And if you’re looking for an alternative to volatile stock market investing, now is a great time to buy Denver rental properties. Prices are still low and interest rates are at historic lows.
Let the professionals at the Bandy Team help you buy or sell a Denver home, contact us for a no-obligation consultation. If you’re thinking about buying a home in Denver, we can show you some terrific properties in Denver, including homes in Denver Highlands and real estate in Washington Park (also known as Wash Park). You may also be interested in horse property in Franktown or homes in Parker, including a wide variety of homes in Canterberry and real estate in Stonegate.
Marianne Bandy
If you’re a current Denver homeowner looking to refinance or a potential Denver home buyer, the labor market has just given you something to smile about.
The recent Jobs Report confirmed that job numbers have gone up and the unemployment rate has gone down. More than 257,000 private-sector jobs have been created since the previous Jobs Report, and the Unemployment Rate has dropped by 0.2 percent landing at 8.3 percent—the lowest rate since February 2009.
And according to the Commerce Department, December personal incomes jumped up 0.5 percent, which was higher than expected and a vast improvement over November’s 0.1 percent. In fact, this is the largest increase in the past nine months.
So how does all this help with home buying and refinancing for Denver residents? Although it’s been one step forward and two steps back at times the labor market is slowly improving, giving people confidence that their employment won’t be pulled out from under them.
Combine this job confidence with interest rates that are still at near-record lows and you have a good scenario for folks to think about (and possibly make) larger purchases such as a home or a home refinance. And once the trend starts, more people will opt in causing prices to rise.
So now really is a great time to buy or refinance a home, and lenders are ready and waiting. If you act now, you’ll likely save yourself lots of money and get your pick of the many beautiful Denver homeson the market.
Let the professionals at the Bandy Team help you buy or sell a Denver home, contact us for a no-obligation consultation. If you’re thinking about buying a home in Denver, we can show you some terrific properties in Denver, including homes in Denver Highlands and real estate in Washington Park (also known as Wash Park). You may also be interested in horse property in Franktown or homes in Parker, including a wide variety of homes in Canterberry and real estate in Stonegate.
Marianne Bandy
If you’re looking for a great place to buy or invest in real estate, head straight to Denver, Colorado says Greg Rand, CEO of OWNAMERICA. Appearing recently on the FOX Business Channel, Rand discussed all the things that make Denver the choice of both real estate owners and investors for 2012 and beyond.
Living in Denver offers a quality of life that is drawing people in droves from the northeast, southeast and California to name a few. It has a low cost of living and a high quality of life that includes fresh air, outdoor sports, and a stable, young population with an average age of 31.
The city’s foreclosure rate is half the national average, and the 7.8 percent unemployment rate also sits well below national numbers. There’s been little over-development in Denver and it is home to nine Fortune 500 companies. The median Denver home price is $244,100 and the per capita income $29,844.
But according to Rand, what really “draws people like a magnet” to relocate to Denver is a very stable housing market which has not collapsed in the past 15 years. This stability, combined with some general housing shifts and all of Denver’s other assets, has also attracted the particular attention of Real Estate Investment Trusts or REITs, companies that use pooled money from investors to invest in real estate.
As homeownership in general has dropped, the demand for rentals has begun to grow and caused rents to rise. This in turn has driven up the values of apartment complexes because their value is based on rental rates. However, prices of single-family homes, two-to-four family homes and condos are going down. Rand believes that this will move both public and private REITs to invest billions in the single-family housing market in 2012—and homes in Denver will be of prime interest.
So if you want a fantastic place to live, great investment opportunities—or both—Denver should be at the top of your list.
To see the entire interview with Greg Rand on FOX, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9frmEv-vPA&feature=share.
Let the professionals at the Bandy Team help you buy or sell a Denver home, contact us for a no-obligation consultation. If you’re thinking about buying a home in Denver, we can show you some terrific properties in Denver, including homes in Denver Highlands and real estate in Washington Park (also known as Wash Park). You may also be interested in horse property in Franktown or homes in Parker, including a wide variety of homes in Canterberry and real estate in Stonegate.
Marianne Bandy
Market Metrics:
The name of the game as we enter 2012 is INVENTORY! Take a look at these numbers for 2011, and you will see many categories were very similar to 2010, but the inventory numbers are the first signs of the changing market!
Active Listings inventory continues to decline 13% month over month and 40% year over year. Under Contract activity and Closed Transactions activity remain at seasonal levels with a continual decline month over month. The New Year starts with renewed hope that 2012 will be better than 2011 and the indicators are pointing that way.
December Monthly Market Recap:
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Single Family: |
Condos: |
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Active Inventory is 8,854 units at month end |
Active Inventory is 2,139 units at month end |
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Sold units is 2,531 |
Sold units is 625 |
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Average Days on Market is 107 |
Average Days on Market is 106 |
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Median Sold Price is $230,000 |
Median Sold Price is $120,700 |
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Average Sold Price is $275,610 |
Average Sold Price is $166,420 |
December Year-to-Date Market Recap (2011 versus 2010):
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Single Family: Condos: |
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Active Inventory 8,854 versus 13,941 (↓36%) Active Inventory 2,139 versus 4,316 (↓50%) |
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Sold Units 31,437 versus 30,777 (↑2%) Sold Units 7,950 versus 8,041 (↓1%) |
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Median Price $230,000 vs $235,000 (↓2%) Median Price $124,900 vs $136,000 (↓8%) |
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Average Price $279,858 vs $282,080 (↓1%) Average Price $159,141 vs $161,005 (↓1%) |
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Sales Volume $8.8B versus $8.7B (↑1%) Sales Volume $1.2B versus $1.3B (↓2%) |
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Days on Market 105 versus 90 (↑17%) Days on Market 116 versus 98 (↑18%) |
Days on Market:
By definition, Days on Market is calculated as the number of elapsed days from the original listing date to the status change date. Therefore if a home is listed for sale on January 2nd and the seller(s) accept an offer on January 22nd, the Days on Market for this property is 21 days at this point in time.
Days on Market is one of several metrics that are used to follow the market trends.
Remember - Real estate is local. While the above is a representation of the Denver market as a whole, please contact me to better understand your specific real estate market.
Advice to Sellers:
Welcome to 2012! What changes can one expect in 2012?
The year will start with the lowest inventory of unsold homes in more than a decade.
New home builders will have new models emphasizing efficiency, lifestyle, and a smaller footprint. For some sellers, this will be competition that has not been seen for several years.
External influences will continue to impact the market; such as employment, the economy, and consumer confidence.
As a home seller, one must keep in mind that with the beginning of 2012:
Is it a good time for your home to be on the market? With the incredible low inventory of houses for sale, home sellers should consider putting their home on the market now to avoid more competition later in the spring. Contact me to discuss the options available to sell your home during 2012.
Advice to Buyers:
The number of active listings, those homes available for sale, continues to be the lowest it has been in years. Prioritize your needs and wants, look at what is available in the market, and be prepared to be flexible as you look at homes.
The low inventories of houses for sale, especially in the under $300,000 price, will cause prices to increase in the spring and summer, as more buyers hit the market in the traditional heavy buying season.
Total single family homes sold in 2011 was up 2% from 2010, which reversed a trend of declining sales for the first time since 2005.
Rents continue to rise in the Denver market as the inventory of rental properties remains tight.
Talk to me today about your Lifestyle Preferences, the benefits of home ownership, and home affordability.
Let the professionals at the Bandy Team help you buy or sell a Denver home, contact us for a no-obligation consultation. If you’re thinking about buying a home in Denver, we can show you some terrific properties in Denver, including homes in Denver Highlands and real estate in Washington Park (also known as Wash Park). You may also be interested in horse property in Franktown or homes in Parker, including a wide variety of homes in Canterberry and real estate in Stonegate.
Marianne Bandy
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Certified Short Sale Expert (CDPE). Top producing real estate team for buyers & sellers, serving Denver area, Parker, Aurora, Centennial, Highlands Ranch. Listing agent + 6 buyer specialists.
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