Mike Hendren, GRI, CDPE

Last night, the "blue moon" heralded what for me was a near perfect end to 2009 - delicious food, terrific wines, and the wonderful company of close friends.

Today, revealed a beginning to 2010 that was just as good - more great food and time spent with family and friends - all in the context of a truly beautiful day. It really doesn't get any better!

Resolutions? For me - not really. Just the determination to make the coming year better as I hope we all strive to make each new day a little bit better than the last one.

"Once in a blue moon" - There are several definitions. They vary from the 3rd full moon in a season that will have 4 full moons, to the 13th full moon in a calendar year, to the most accepted which is a 2nd full moon in a given month.

Last night, we were treated to a blue moon that was the 2nd one in December and the 13th one in 2009 - a double bonus!

The photo is not last nights moon, but one taken several years ago.

Happy New Year!

Homeowners, if you are in financial distress and fear you may lose your home to foreclosure, please contact a Realtor® in your area who is an expert in distressed properties. They may be able to help you avoid foreclosure.

As you can see from the following tables, foreclosure has much more drastic and long term financial consequences than a short sale does.

This document is available HERE in its entirety (including footnotes) as a pdf file.

I've found a brand new website that is just photography tutorials of all kinds. The website is Photogler.com

It was founded by Andy Beal who picks the images for the site from those put in his group on Flickr, "Photogler". It's only been going for a couple of months now, but every couple of days, Andy adds an image with descriptions of techniques used by the photographer. It's a great place to go to learn new techniques and also to get ideas for your next photo shoot!

Who knows - you just might see something there from someone you know. :-)

This November's sold data outperformed, 2008, 2007 and 2006 in the number of single family and condo units closed for the month. This is the first time in four years that we have seen a month outperform several years prior for the same period. Of course, the $8000 Tax Credit, low interest rates and increased consumer confidence because of low housing prices fueled this years November closings.

Additionally, the current number of Denver listings is at the lowest level for December in more than 5 years. These low inventory numbers are in both single family homes and condominiums. The continued decrease in listing inventories has continued now for 4 years and should continue to put pressure on buyers as competition for available homes increases - resulting in increasing prices. So far, this trend has been most pronounced in the lower price ranges below $250,000.

With the extension of the $8000 first time home buyer Tax Credit and the addition of the $6500 Tax Credit for existing home owners, and continued record low interest rates, now is the time for serious buyers to make their move.

Today’s real estate market for sellers is a choice of your home being a beauty contest or a fire sale. You must be the best looking home or the lowest priced property to attract today’s buyer. Value is the key word and it either derives from your home's features and condition - or price.