MyTownCryer

1. Homestead Elementary School – A Blue Ribbon School
2. Willow Springs Open Space – 120 Acres of Open Space
3. The Community Recreation Facilities – 3 Pools & Cabanas, 8 Tennis Courts and Pedestrian Trails throughout the community
4. Homestead’s Swim Team – Although it has a winning record like no other, the childhood bonds and parent-to-parent introductions become lifelong.
5. Tree Lined Parkways – The summer canopy of leaved trees now connect from one side of the street to the other.
6. Housing Types & Enclaves – Single Family Detached, Patio Homes, Town-homes, Condominium Flats & Apartments including: Homestead in the Willows, Homestead on the Parkway, Homestead at Willow End, Homestead Village I, Homestead Village II, Sturbridge, Olde Mill, Mill Run & Homestead Villas.
7. Architecture – Traditional Colonial Styles & Updated Hybrid Designs with Complimentary Exterior Appeal
8. Price Ranges – There are opportunities in Homestead from the low $100Ks to over $1M and everything in between.
9. The Pedestrian Nature of the Community – Everyone is out walking, running, talking and enjoying the outdoors.  And, best of all, Mom’s and Dad’s walking their kids to and from school.
10. The Low Owner Turnover & Retention – Many people have had 2 & 3 different homes in the community.  Some have been transfered out of state and returned.  Some have had larger houses and moved over to a patio home for their later years.  Homestead accommodates everyone.

What would Denver be like with 2 Million more friendly neighbors in town?

Did you know there are thinkers out there? People spending time thinking about your future while you go about your daily routine. They actually spend time thinking about what the Denver Metro Area will look like 10, 20 and even 30 years from now.  Can you believe it?  Here’s what DRCOG has to say about it…

What will the Denver region look like in the year 2040? How can our region accommodate millions of new people and jobs? How might different development patterns and infrastructure investments influence our region’s quality of life?

DRCOG has developed an interactive computer tool called MetroQuest that allows policy makers, business leaders and the general public to explore these questions by visualizing alternative future scenarios for our region.

Have you ever wanted to participate in the decision process, but felt you didn’t have the time, energy or skill set to understand the issues in the small amount of time you currently have to “think” about such issues?  Well, here is your virtual chance.

Click here to explore your future, your kids future and your grandkids future for Denver.

I went so far as to take time to answer the survey questions.  Will the questions the survey asks be personal compromises that you or I will have to make moving forward?  This was very thought provoking for me!  I’d love to hear what you have to say.  Where they make me choose in the survey, I don’t think one has to choose in the Denver Market in regards to Denver Real Estate, and that’s what makes it so great to live in the Mile High City!

I arrived in Denver driving a 1957 VW Microbus in 1972.  I had worked odd jobs my senior year of high school, and just before rolling out of town, I purchased this rig from a friends brother.  A new set of tires, a new battery, a tune up and a tank of gas was all it needed.  At the time I arrived in Denver then, I had had several previous visits, but this time. it was different.  I was on my own.  I was a freshman at the University of Denver, the Harvard of the West!

I didn’t know it then, but Denver would become my lifelong hometown from that moment forward.  I lived around the DU campus until 1986.  North, south, east and west of campus, hardly a neighborhood escaped my residency over that span.  Now 38 years later, Denver holds my roots, my memories, my family and my future.

All that being said, I have 10 favorites I am proud to share with you now in no particular order.

1. Red Rocks Amphitheater If you have not been to a concert here, it is a must see!
2. The University of Denver It is a special place in my life where I now have a son attending.
3. Washington Park It is a fantastic gathering place for young and old, riders and walkers and runners and skaters.
4. The Highline Canal Once a source of water for many land owners, this snake actually links much of the city to a fabulous web of bike trails.
5. Coors Field We had MLB at Mile High Stadium for a few years, but when Coors Field opened, baseball became something very special in Denver!
6. Mile High Stadium and Invesco at Mile High After leaving Baltimore and then the Colts moving to Indy, the Broncos became my team of choice and these two stadiums were the venues.
7. The Pepsi Center My first Stanly Cup Championship was right at this spot.
8. St. Lukes Hospital My lovely wife, Deirdre, gave birth here to all three of our redheaded children.
9. Homestead Elementary School, West Middle School and Cherry Creek High School My three children spent much more time at these schools than me, but clearly, my time at all three places should not be taken lightly!
10. Most Precious Blood The place where our wedding vows were confirmed by Father Luke in 1982.

As you can see, your favorite things about Denver will definitely be different than mine, but no less meaningful to you in their own way.  Feel free to make comments and share your favorite special Denver places.  At this point in my life, you can take me out of Denver, but you can’t take the Denver out of me!

Recently, we were asked by a client with a significant inventory problem in Denver, “Other than pricing which is a given, what would be the next best marketing idea to garner greater attention for their properties?”  We responded with the hypothesis, “By offering a higher co-op to the buyer’s broker, the net result would be positive.”

They asked us to prove it. So, we went into the market as the report below illustrates and provided the data.  Then we completed a four property test offering a 4% co-op.  The data and the test confirmed virtually the same results.

Let me demonstrate how:

The Denver metro Brokers normal co-ops range from 2.8% to 3.0% (As Reported in our Metrolist Managed System).  By lowering gross commissions, it forces listing brokers to lower their co-op.  The attached co-op analysis demonstrates the impact of reduced co-op commissions and the negative impact on that asset.

Attached are various co-op analyses and graph from our Denver Metro MLS.  Please note how the listing’s performance is positively or negatively impacted in “direct” proportion to the “co-op commissions”. The analysis was based on a data set of over 24,000 single family homes that sold within the last 12 months in the Denver Metro Area regardless of price.

The following is a summary of the Denver Metro MLS co-op performance on the accompanying chart:

1% to 2.7% CO-OP:

Days on Market: 123

Average Price to Original Listed Price: 88.35%

2.8% to 3.0% CO-OP:

Days on Market: 103

Average Price to Original Listed Price: 90.85%

3.1% to 5% CO-OP:

Days on Market: 79

Average Price to Original Listed Price: 97.22%

The Affect of Coop Rates on Sales Price and Marketing Time

“The proof is in the pudding!”

Land Appreciates, Improvements Depreciate

• Long term, land value is ultimately all that remains. (Location, Location, Location)
• Bathrooms, kitchens, entertainment features, etc. all decline in market appeal and depreciate over time.
• When on a budget, buy the best land value (Location) you can afford, and worry about the house later.
• Beneath it all is the land.