Is the real estate market showing any sign of picking up? (Denver: broker, how much)

[2bindenver]

Originally Posted by MorningGlory

What are BAs and TBs?

Sorry. Buyer's Agents and Transaction Brokers The two main forms of legal relationships we can enter with buyers.

[2bindenver]

Originally Posted by jazzlover

By the way, I just liquidated my last real estate holding, and am most glad to be out the real estate market.

Sorry to hear that. Real estate will be the best long term investment most people ever make.

You pay for real estate either way. Owning means someday sharing in the profits, renting means...sorry, I have nothing positive about long term renters, except to say thank you for taking good care of my investment for me.

As long as our population grows, they will have to live somewhere...I might as well rent to them, and wait for my property portfolio to grow into something to be proud of.

Everything is on sale. It's a great time to buy.

[MorningGlory]

Originally Posted by dj32

morningglory,

best of luck. I know things are stressful. Where is your home located?

I think it is all market specific here in Denver. I watch the Wash Park market heavily and builders are still scraping and building like crazy, and the price keeps increasing. I've posted this on the forum before. Based on the listing prices, our home value would have been a fantastic return on investmetn in just a couple of years. However, I'm still trying to figure out how things are sellling in this neighborhood and what the true comps are. I assume things have to be doing well given what prices they are trying to get. I've asked this question on this forum before to the realtors, I'm not sure anyone here works in this market. Bottom line- Attractive neighborhoods in Denver proper seem to be doing ok- realtors, am I wrong in that assessment???

I live outside of Woodland Park. Most of the people with high-paying jobs work out of the Springs and make the 35-40 minute commute. Yes, we are looking in Denver and their market doesnt seem to be doing too poorly!

[Tom Emmerling]

Originally Posted by MorningGlory

We had our house on the market for most of the summer. Our realtor is a licensed stager, she was awesome. The problem was we had maybe one showing a week! Trying to keep the house perfect with kids and pets was just doing us in, so we decided to pull it and wait till things improved.

We have already dumped a fortune into the house to get it in good condition and as a result are low on cash. The carpet could still use replacing, but we think next time we list (Feb?) we will try a carpet allowance. Does that generally work, or do buyers want it replaced first?

Since it sounds like you can not afford to put anymore money into your house a carpet allowance would be a good incentive for buyers. It also gives them the flexibility to chose the carpet that they like. So in some ways it does work. However you need the house to look good and appealing to them when they walk in the door. Sometimes when the carpet does not look good it makes the whole house not look good. Some buyers can not invision the house with new carpet in it, and don't get past the old carpet. You might want to have the carpet professionally cleaned so it looks good. Make sure it does not have any pet odor to it. That is a huge turn off for buyers.

So there are ups and downs to both sides. I think you are making the right decision though since you can not afford to put any more money into the house right now.

[tfox]

Originally Posted by 2bindenver

You pay for real estate either way. Owning means someday sharing in the profits, renting means...sorry, I have nothing positive about long term renters, except to say thank you for taking good care of my investment for me.

Actually, I'm inclined to disagree. Rental markets and Property markets don't always run in-sync with one another, so there are certainly places where renting makes a lot of sense.

I don't see Denver as one of those markets. Here, on average, a mortgage on an average home runs about in-line with what a renter will pay in rent. Maybe not the most favorable investment market to jump into right now, but overall the consensus would be that all things being equal, it's probably better to own than rent. I think it also indicates that while our market may dip, we're not wildly away from the fundamentals.

On the other hand, many markets are very skewed. Look at the bubble-inflated coastal markets. Rents are in some cases a tiny fraction of the current mortgage one is likely to receive on such properties. That's an indication of two things: first, rent is likely a better deal, and second, it's probably an objective indicator that a correction is in order.

[jazzlover]

Originally Posted by 2bindenver

Sorry to hear that. Real estate will be the best long term investment most people ever make.

You pay for real estate either way. Owning means someday sharing in the profits, renting means...sorry, I have nothing positive about long term renters, except to say thank you for taking good care of my investment for me.

As long as our population grows, they will have to live somewhere...I might as well rent to them, and wait for my property portfolio to grow into something to be proud of.

Everything is on sale. It's a great time to buy.

Stocks have historically outperformed real estate. But I wouldn't want to be too long in either real estate or stocks right now. Our debt-ridden society (both government and individuals) has gotten to the point that we are debasing our currency--inflation won't be far behind. Actually, inflation already is roaring--it's just that the fed's stats won't show it, because their calculation excludes the two things that everyone must have--food and fuel. Anybody who goes to the gas station or the grocery store knows there is inflation out there. The latest Fed rate cut (to try to plug the 4-foot hole in the Good Ship Mortgage Bubble) will just fire up inflation some more. Eventually the Fed will have to raise rates (or they will go up on their own because of inflation) to stabilize out-of-control inflation. THEN, we will have one hell of a recession/depression and the tattered remains of the real estate market will sink to the bottom. The only question will be how much stuff (stock market, bonds, banks, pension funds, etc.) it takes with it. That will be when the few folks who actually managed to hold on to some cash will have a field day "bottom-fishing" in the real estate market--just like they did in the Great Depression.

[Carrie_Blair]

In addition to the long laundry list of things to help your home sell, you really want to get it on the internet in as many places as possible. We have so many people moving to Colorado and they are looking for houses now on the internet. They are doing research on their own. They are not looking at the local newspaper or can't see the sign in your yard. In working with mostly out of state buyers, I will say that professional like photographs make a huge difference and finding your home on the internet is key. You want to get an agent who will market your home extensively on the internet. Get it out there in front of thousands of people who wouldn't see it otherwise. It also helps if you find someone that will provide full-service listings for less commission. We all know it comes down to numbers and you have to "afford" to be able to sell your home. When it comes down to closing costs, every dollar makes a difference.

It sounds like you have done everything "by the book" concerning prepping your home and ensuring it shows well. The ideas about offering perks are good ones too. However, it still comes down to getting it in front of enough potential buyers. It is a numbers game in a sense.

Although it may seem like a slow market right now (the front page of today's Business Section in the Denver Post had an article about it) you can still successfully sell your home. There are so many buyers moving here this fall/winter/spring and they need homes to buy. Get those potential buyers into your home to see it and you will get an acceptable offer.

It is a pain to keep a home looking nice and tidy for showings. I feel for you. You seem like you're doing a great job researching and preparing to relist your home. There are new things you may want to try.

[MorningGlory]

Originally Posted by Carrie_Blair

In addition to the long laundry list of things to help your home sell, you really want to get it on the internet in as many places as possible. We have so many people moving to Colorado and they are looking for houses now on the internet. They are doing research on their own. They are not looking at the local newspaper or can't see the sign in your yard. In working with mostly out of state buyers, I will say that professional like photographs make a huge difference and finding your home on the internet is key. You want to get an agent who will market your home extensively on the internet. Get it out there in front of thousands of people who wouldn't see it otherwise. It also helps if you find someone that will provide full-service listings for less commission. We all know it comes down to numbers and you have to "afford" to be able to sell your home. When it comes down to closing costs, every dollar makes a difference.

It sounds like you have done everything "by the book" concerning prepping your home and ensuring it shows well. The ideas about offering perks are good ones too. However, it still comes down to getting it in front of enough potential buyers. It is a numbers game in a sense.

Although it may seem like a slow market right now (the front page of today's Business Section in the Denver Post had an article about it) you can still successfully sell your home. There are so many buyers moving here this fall/winter/spring and they need homes to buy. Get those potential buyers into your home to see it and you will get an acceptable offer.

It is a pain to keep a home looking nice and tidy for showings. I feel for you. You seem like you're doing a great job researching and preparing to relist your home. There are new things you may want to try.

Thank you for your advice. We will relist in February, and cross our fingers. it is good to know that so many people are moving here! Honestly I've never understood why EVERYONE doesn't want to live in CO, but I guess I must be biased! I totally agree about the internet exposure. When we relist I will double-check with our agent, but I am pretty sure she had us in multiple places with multiple photos. On realtor.com she had I think 6 photos. Our market is just slow right now. I asked an agent last week about it and she said "Its completely dead. Wait a year if you can!" Ugh.

[Plain Jane 3953]

[SIZE=2]Just for informational purposes, for someone like me who is in the market to purchase a home, I am certainly holding on until the market settles down. Also, I shall be looking to purchase from alternative sources, such as the Relogic website and also "ForSaleByOwner.com". I find it shocking that Estate Agents continue to charge 6% or thereabouts – I simply won’t be part of it.
[/SIZE]

[Noahma]

were listed for 2.5% commission with our agent.