Kathie Shandro - RE/MAX Denver Real Estate

As I wrapped up the first six weeks of 2009, I decided to assess the current state of affairs in the Denver real estate market. The results brought a smile:

1. First time homebuyers continue to find tremendous value in the low home prices, low interest rates and the $8,000 tax credit. I'm currently advising several young professionals who are interested in building wealth through real estate investment.

2. Investors are competitive bidding on bank-owned properties that are priced below market value. One of my Denver real estate clients bid $112k on a house listed for $104k. Think he's crazy? He lost the first two houses to competitive bidding and was tired of not getting the structurally-solid homes that are almost ready-to-go. The appraisal came in today at $129k. He's going to invest about $20k in repairs (new windows, kitchen appliances, flooring, new light fixtures and new interior doors/doorknobs). And then he'll sell it for $170k. Not bad for a month's work.

3. There's a great deal of pent-up demand among move-up and down-size clients. They're watching the market with great interest, and they're ready to list and sell their properties as soon as we see indications of balance in the market.

4. Many Denver neighborhoods have strong home values. Sales in Highlands Ranch were down 48% in January, but the prices weren't down significantly. Wash Park and Potter Highland are doing exceptionally well, too.

5. The Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation issued its study, Toward a More Competitive Colorado, noting several positive factors about Colorado:

• First in students scoring at the highest levels of ACT & SAT college-entrance exams
• Second in Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) grants
• Third-highest percentage of adults with bachelor's degrees
• Fourth in venture capital investments
• Fifth in creating new companies

All-in-all, it appears that 2009 will be a great year to buy and sell real estate in the Denver area. I'm pleased that I have several clients whose short and long-term financial goals are well-served by the current economic conditions in the Denver real estate market.

I'm open for business. If you have questions about Denver real estate investments, call 800-515-0657. You can find me at www.Denver-HomesForSale.com.

Looking for some good news?

Since January, three independent sources have rated Denver's residential real estate market in terms of risk for Denver investors and Denver homebuyers. And all three companies rated us well in comparison to other MSA's (metropolitan statistical areas) in America.

HomeVestors, the "ugly house" people, issued a list of the top ten real estate markets. The short list included Denver as a key area to invest in real estate in 2009.

Additionally, The PMI Group published its 2009 Winter Index. The index predicts that over half of the nation's MSA's will see further declines in housing prices through 2009 and into 2010. However, The PMI Group also provided a list of ten MSA's that were stable, and Denver made that short list, as well.

And - especially noteworthy - the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices recognized Denver as faring third best among the top 20 U.S. cities in 2008.

Denver, in fact, has several communities that enjoyed gains in home prices in 2008. Washington Park, Bonnie Brae, Observatory Park and Highlands Ranch all fared well. More on those communities later ...