Opinions on Real Estate Trends/Good areas for Seniors (Denver: fit in, 2013)

[Colorado22]

Just looking for some opinions on the real estate trends here in the Denver Metro area. We just purchased our home in the Southwest Littleton area in April. There were 2 other offers on our house the day we contracted on it so of course we feel we overpaid for our home due to the tight inventory and crazy market here right now. We are planning to stay in our house for the long run and we put a good chunck down so hopefully it will work out for us long term! Who knows, right? We are definitely not banking on getting the same return on our house as people who bought 20 years ago.

My parents on the other hand will be selling their almost paid off house in another state and are planning to move out to this area and pay cash for their home. I am wondering if it would be better for them to wait about a year or so for the market to even out a little. I'm just worried that if they buy now they will be overpaying. They want to spend about $300K-$400k range for a one story patio type home or Condo. They like the Verona area in Highlands Ranch. Since they aren't concerned with interest rates I'm thinking if rates go up as expected prices might stabilize or go on and we won't have this multiple offer situation going on in the good areas.

Any opinions? Also--what areas in the SouthWest metro area do you think are good for seniors? They are active and in their 60s. So far we are looking at Verona, Songbird in Littleton and the Town Center area of Highlands Ranch. An HOA with snow removal would be ideal. They want to be close to a Kaiser facility. Any input would be fantastic!!

[Colorado22]

I meant to say, prices might go down if rates go up....

[davebarnes]

When we sold our house in late 2010-early 2011 it was a buyers' market.
It took us 7 months, 63 showings and 26 open houses for a house in Bonnie Brae.
People looked at 100+ houses and made lowball offers.

In February 2012 the market flipped overnight (almost literally) to a sellers' market.
Look at a house on day 1 and make an offer by Noon. Houses were selling quickly, but there weren't bidding wars.

No one saw this change coming.

Now, in mid 2013, we have multiple offers, bidding wars, selling in a day.
And, inventory has plummeted from 21,000 in January 2011 to 10,000 today.
No one predicted this.

Asking prices have increased by 12% in the last 12 months and inventory has continued to decline.
No one predicted this.

Real-estate agents keeping saying that inventory will increase, but they have no facts upon which to make that forecast. It is just wishful thinking.
Some experts say that homeowners who have refied down to 3.x% have decided not to sell as they now love their lower monthly payment. So, they are going to stay put.
Builders are trying to expand building, but are having labor (hard to believe) and material shortages.
Household incomes have not grown so how can prices continue to increase? They are in California thanks to Chinese and institutional buyers, but we don't have that in greater Denver.

If you are buying for the long haul (10+ years) then don't waste your energy on trying to time the market.

[WI2CA2CO]

My wife and I are in very similar circumstances as your parents. After looking at a few homes we decided to build in a 55+ community. The area of Denver we are building in has received some less than favorable press on occasion but we feel our neighborhood will be perfect for us (only time will tell). We wanted to be near similar aged people with a community center, park and social events all included. Hopefully your parents are of one mind in their priorities and when the right place comes along, they know it. Good luck to them.

[Colorado22]

Thanks for the input! I am trying to convince them that you only live once and they should come when their grandkids are still young and they can enjoy them. They are from California so are not thrilled about the idea of snow but I don't think it is ever too late to take on a new adventure and what better place than beautiful Colorado I also want to be able to help them and take care of them as they get older. I do notice a lot of seniors in our area in particular so I think they would fit in well here. They have endured crazy market swings in CA and it is a seller's market again in their neighborhood so I think they should go for it.

[davebarnes]

Denver housing market recovers but sellers remain scarce - The Denver Post

Denver's housing rebound is in full swing, but sellers are acting as though they didn't get invitations to the party."The question each and every day is: Where are the sellers?" said Gary Bauer, an independent real estate research analyst.

There is more

[Antares45]

Originally Posted by davebarnes

Household incomes have not grown so how can prices continue to increase? They are in California thanks to Chinese and institutional buyers, but we don't have that in greater Denver.

Chinese are investing in California real estate? Really? Guess we can add housing bubbles to their list of exports, then:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?featur...&v=JGA_ZlZCljw