good reminders from realtor.com...
Although the real estate business tends to slow down in the fall, the season still can be an attractive time to put a home on the market. If you want to sell your house in the next few months, it can be done.
Potential buyers—such as empty nesters or millennials who aren’t worried about moving after the school year has started—will compete for fewer homes on the market and will likely want to seal a deal before the holiday season kicks into high gear.
Here are three tips to help make your home more attractive in autumn, so you can sell your house before winter comes.
1. Clean Up
As many regions slowly shift from a sellers’ market to a moderate or buyers’ market, you’ll want to do everything you can to make your house look its best.
Pay particular attention to eliminating clutter and safety hazards that can crop up with cooler weather:
•Make sure your yard, walkways and gutters are free of leaves and debris.
•Mow your lawn so it looks neat.
•Trim trees so unexpected winds don’t knock down branches that could damage your home or hurt anybody.
•If it is rainy, be sure you have a good doormat so visitors can wipe their feet and not traipse mud and water through the house.
•If you already have snow, be sure stairs and walkways leading to your front door are not icy.
•Wash decks and wipe down windows so they sparkle instead of appear streaked by rain.
•Vacuum and wash down the fireplace, especially if it hasn’t been used in months.
•If you live in a region where it’s still warm enough to use the patio, make sure the area is inviting and arranged with the views from indoors in mind.
•Above all, make sure your doorway and the rest of the house is clear from knick knacks, bicycles and toys that make your home appear cluttered.
2. Create Autumn Curb Appeal
If your house’s exterior looks drab, you may want to consider painting it a warm color, planting seasonal flowers, or placing pumpkins strategically along your walkup to accent your home’s appeal with instant color.
Potential buyers will make an instant judgment when they see your home, and you want to be sure it’s positive.
While you don’t want to go overboard with fall decorations that detract from the home itself, a few displays like a festive front-door wreath—and lighting so people can clearly see the path to your front door—can make your home feel fresh, even in the fall.
3. Keep the House Cozy
Entering a cold house could leave an unfavorable impression. So warm up your home with a fresh coat of paint and set the thermostat at a comfortable temperature.
Another way to warm up a home is with light, especially as days get shorter leading into winter. Be sure to open blinds and curtains so plenty of light illuminates the home’s interior.
A few embellishments like red, orange or golden yellow pillows can breathe new life into dull sofa—or a fall centerpiece can highlight a certain area of the home.
While you don’t want your home to look like the latest department store display, well-chosen embellishments that give potential buyers the impression you’ve paid attention to the fine details and taken care of any problems with the home will help you put your best face forward.
And remember, there’s nothing wrong with trying to sweeten the deal with the comforting aroma of a freshly-baked, cinnamon-laced apple pie or pumpkin cupcake to leave a lasting impression of your home as the potential buyer takes a bite.
Monday, September 26, 2016
Pros and Cons: Buying a Property for a College Student
another good meat and potatoes article from rismedia.com
There’s no way around it, supporting a college student can be very expensive. Food, books, and most importantly, housing — all add a hefty expense on top of tuition. That’s why the idea of purchasing a property for a college student can be a good investment strategy for families and an alternative to paying rent for four years. If you have clients with children going off to college, use this list to help them weigh the financial pros and cons of buying their college student an off-campus home.
Pros:
•Offers possible tax benefits, appreciation in value, rental income, etc. Educate your clients on the area and demographics of the town in which they’re considering a purchase, as well as the current property values and typical rent prices.
•Provides a stable living situation for their child and helps avoid rising rent prices and security deposits.
•Eliminates any need to pay storage costs for furniture during summer breaks. In addition, they can rent the property out during the summer to make money.
Cons:
Creates homeowner costs such as a mortgage, insurance, and repairs. Have your clients determine a budget and create a list of estimated costs.
•Unlikely to turn a profit or even recoup the costs of buying and selling the property after their student graduates (e.g., 3-5 years).
•Must be prepared for the typical “college renter” consequences, i.e., the occasional party trashing, heedless roommate damage, etc. College students don’t have the best reputation when it comes to taking care of properties. Make sure your clients are financially prepared to cover possible repairs.
•Inherent risk: their student could decide to transfer to a different school, or move back home. Make sure your clients have thought about what they would do if something like this happened.
There’s no way around it, supporting a college student can be very expensive. Food, books, and most importantly, housing — all add a hefty expense on top of tuition. That’s why the idea of purchasing a property for a college student can be a good investment strategy for families and an alternative to paying rent for four years. If you have clients with children going off to college, use this list to help them weigh the financial pros and cons of buying their college student an off-campus home.
Pros:
•Offers possible tax benefits, appreciation in value, rental income, etc. Educate your clients on the area and demographics of the town in which they’re considering a purchase, as well as the current property values and typical rent prices.
•Provides a stable living situation for their child and helps avoid rising rent prices and security deposits.
•Eliminates any need to pay storage costs for furniture during summer breaks. In addition, they can rent the property out during the summer to make money.
Cons:
Creates homeowner costs such as a mortgage, insurance, and repairs. Have your clients determine a budget and create a list of estimated costs.
•Unlikely to turn a profit or even recoup the costs of buying and selling the property after their student graduates (e.g., 3-5 years).
•Must be prepared for the typical “college renter” consequences, i.e., the occasional party trashing, heedless roommate damage, etc. College students don’t have the best reputation when it comes to taking care of properties. Make sure your clients are financially prepared to cover possible repairs.
•Inherent risk: their student could decide to transfer to a different school, or move back home. Make sure your clients have thought about what they would do if something like this happened.
Do You Know the Best State for Homeownership?
interesting article from RISMedia.com...
Owning a home is usually considered part of living the American Dream. But becoming a homeowner is neither easy nor affordable for everyone. Even if you manage to make the leap to homeownership, having a house of your own could seem burdensome if you’re stuck with high property taxes and insurance costs. Moreover, as a homeowner, many factors that affect the real estate market – including interest rates and the economy – are entirely out of your control.
SmartAsset wanted to rank the best states in America for homeowners. To complete our analysis, we considered nine different factors.
We ranked all 50 states based on factors including foreclosure rates, burglary rates and property tax rates. We also looked at the median listing price per square foot, the annual change in home prices (per square foot), home affordability and the annual cost of property taxes and homeowners insurance.
Key Findings
• Watch out for Wyoming. For the second year in a row, Wyoming ranks as the state with the best environment for homeownership.
• The cost of homeownership is high in the Northeast. Owning a home can be expensive in places like Massachusetts and New York. When you consider that states like New Jersey and Connecticut have double-digit foreclosure rates and high housing costs, buying a home in this region might seem like a risky move.
1. Wyoming
Thanks to its relatively low property tax rate and low average closing costs, many folks in the state of Wyoming can afford to own a home.
Wyomingites enjoy quite a few perks, including clean air and gorgeous views. And with an average burglary rate of 289.1 per 100,000 people, residents barely need to worry about someone breaking into their homes.
2. South Dakota
If you own a home, you generally want its value to increase over time. That way, you can build equity and hopefully sell your house one day for a nice chunk of change.
Home values in South Dakota are on the rise. In 2015, the home price per square foot went up by 7.5 percent. In our 2015 analysis, we saw the home price per square foot appreciate by 6.3 percent. Data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows that the median home value in the state is still only $142,300.
3. Idaho
Conditions for homeowners in Idaho have improved since last year. In 2015, home prices increased by 9.8 percent on a per-square-foot basis, making Idaho the state with the highest rate of price appreciation. In 2014, home prices per square foot only increased by 1.7 percent.
Homeowners in the Gem State might also be happy to know that foreclosure and burglary rates have declined since 2015 by 31.5 percent and 12.7 percent, respectively. Annually, property taxes and insurance cost just $1,777. That means homeowners in Idaho pay less than their counterparts in all but three states.
4. North Dakota
North Dakota has the lowest foreclosure rate in America. Data from RealtyTrac shows that as of May 2016, there was only one foreclosure for every 162,356 homes. While that’s certainly something to celebrate, falling oil prices could cause problems for the housing market in the state. We will watch the foreclosure rate to see how it is impacted, as well as North Dakota’s overall ranking in next year’s study.
5. Utah
If you’re looking for an affordable place to purchase a home, you might want to consider moving to Utah. On average, homeowners in Utah pay fewer closing costs than those in all but three U.S. states. The cost of homeowners insurance remains low as well and it hasn’t changed since we last conducted our study in 2015. Folks who own homes pay just $580, on average, each year to protect their property.
6. Colorado
In our latest study on the best housing markets for growth and stability, three Colorado metro areas ranked in the top 10. Based on the data we pulled for this analysis, we concluded that Colorado as a whole was a great place for people wanting to own homes. The state’s average effective property tax rate (0.58 percent) is among the lowest rates in the nation. Plus, it has the second highest rate of home price appreciation (per square foot).
7. Minnesota
Minnesota ranks as the seventh best state for homeowners in 2016. While it didn’t rank as well as it did in our 2015 study, it still ended up in the top 10. In 2015, the home price per square foot climbed by 6.6 percent and the average price of a home is now just over three times the median household income.
In addition to its relatively healthy housing market, the state of Minnesota has a relatively low unemployment rate of 6.5 percent, according to 2014 data from the U.S. Census.
8. Montana
Montana is one of the least-densely populated states in the country. Recent data from the Census Bureau says that there are only 6.8 people per square mile. If you prefer to have plenty of breathing room, living in Montana might not sound like such a bad idea.
According to RealtyTrac, the state’s foreclosure rate is fairly low (there’s one foreclosure for every 5,142 homes). What’s more, its average effective property tax rate is 0.84 percent. That means that tax rates for Montanans are on average lower than those for their neighbors in North Dakota and South Dakota.
9. Iowa
According to 2014 data from the U.S. Census Bureau, there are over 3 million
people living in the state of Iowa. With a median home value of $133,100, the average home in the Hawkeye State costs 2.5 times the median income.
Census Bureau data also reports that just 22.4 percent of homeowners with mortgage debt are cost burdened, meaning that they spend at least 30 percent of their household income on housing costs.
On a national level, 2015 data from the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University shows that over 25 percent of homeowners spent more than 30 percent of their income on housing-related expenses.
10. Virginia
In our ranking of the best states for homeowners, Virginia was the only state on the east coast to make it into the top 10 in both 2015 and 2016. The ratio of the state’s median home price to its median income (3.82) hasn’t changed since last year, but our analysis shows that its foreclosure rate and burglary rate have fallen.
Owning a home is usually considered part of living the American Dream. But becoming a homeowner is neither easy nor affordable for everyone. Even if you manage to make the leap to homeownership, having a house of your own could seem burdensome if you’re stuck with high property taxes and insurance costs. Moreover, as a homeowner, many factors that affect the real estate market – including interest rates and the economy – are entirely out of your control.
SmartAsset wanted to rank the best states in America for homeowners. To complete our analysis, we considered nine different factors.
We ranked all 50 states based on factors including foreclosure rates, burglary rates and property tax rates. We also looked at the median listing price per square foot, the annual change in home prices (per square foot), home affordability and the annual cost of property taxes and homeowners insurance.
Key Findings
• Watch out for Wyoming. For the second year in a row, Wyoming ranks as the state with the best environment for homeownership.
• The cost of homeownership is high in the Northeast. Owning a home can be expensive in places like Massachusetts and New York. When you consider that states like New Jersey and Connecticut have double-digit foreclosure rates and high housing costs, buying a home in this region might seem like a risky move.
1. Wyoming
Thanks to its relatively low property tax rate and low average closing costs, many folks in the state of Wyoming can afford to own a home.
Wyomingites enjoy quite a few perks, including clean air and gorgeous views. And with an average burglary rate of 289.1 per 100,000 people, residents barely need to worry about someone breaking into their homes.
2. South Dakota
If you own a home, you generally want its value to increase over time. That way, you can build equity and hopefully sell your house one day for a nice chunk of change.
Home values in South Dakota are on the rise. In 2015, the home price per square foot went up by 7.5 percent. In our 2015 analysis, we saw the home price per square foot appreciate by 6.3 percent. Data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows that the median home value in the state is still only $142,300.
3. Idaho
Conditions for homeowners in Idaho have improved since last year. In 2015, home prices increased by 9.8 percent on a per-square-foot basis, making Idaho the state with the highest rate of price appreciation. In 2014, home prices per square foot only increased by 1.7 percent.
Homeowners in the Gem State might also be happy to know that foreclosure and burglary rates have declined since 2015 by 31.5 percent and 12.7 percent, respectively. Annually, property taxes and insurance cost just $1,777. That means homeowners in Idaho pay less than their counterparts in all but three states.
4. North Dakota
North Dakota has the lowest foreclosure rate in America. Data from RealtyTrac shows that as of May 2016, there was only one foreclosure for every 162,356 homes. While that’s certainly something to celebrate, falling oil prices could cause problems for the housing market in the state. We will watch the foreclosure rate to see how it is impacted, as well as North Dakota’s overall ranking in next year’s study.
5. Utah
If you’re looking for an affordable place to purchase a home, you might want to consider moving to Utah. On average, homeowners in Utah pay fewer closing costs than those in all but three U.S. states. The cost of homeowners insurance remains low as well and it hasn’t changed since we last conducted our study in 2015. Folks who own homes pay just $580, on average, each year to protect their property.
6. Colorado
In our latest study on the best housing markets for growth and stability, three Colorado metro areas ranked in the top 10. Based on the data we pulled for this analysis, we concluded that Colorado as a whole was a great place for people wanting to own homes. The state’s average effective property tax rate (0.58 percent) is among the lowest rates in the nation. Plus, it has the second highest rate of home price appreciation (per square foot).
7. Minnesota
Minnesota ranks as the seventh best state for homeowners in 2016. While it didn’t rank as well as it did in our 2015 study, it still ended up in the top 10. In 2015, the home price per square foot climbed by 6.6 percent and the average price of a home is now just over three times the median household income.
In addition to its relatively healthy housing market, the state of Minnesota has a relatively low unemployment rate of 6.5 percent, according to 2014 data from the U.S. Census.
8. Montana
Montana is one of the least-densely populated states in the country. Recent data from the Census Bureau says that there are only 6.8 people per square mile. If you prefer to have plenty of breathing room, living in Montana might not sound like such a bad idea.
According to RealtyTrac, the state’s foreclosure rate is fairly low (there’s one foreclosure for every 5,142 homes). What’s more, its average effective property tax rate is 0.84 percent. That means that tax rates for Montanans are on average lower than those for their neighbors in North Dakota and South Dakota.
9. Iowa
According to 2014 data from the U.S. Census Bureau, there are over 3 million
people living in the state of Iowa. With a median home value of $133,100, the average home in the Hawkeye State costs 2.5 times the median income.
Census Bureau data also reports that just 22.4 percent of homeowners with mortgage debt are cost burdened, meaning that they spend at least 30 percent of their household income on housing costs.
On a national level, 2015 data from the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University shows that over 25 percent of homeowners spent more than 30 percent of their income on housing-related expenses.
10. Virginia
In our ranking of the best states for homeowners, Virginia was the only state on the east coast to make it into the top 10 in both 2015 and 2016. The ratio of the state’s median home price to its median income (3.82) hasn’t changed since last year, but our analysis shows that its foreclosure rate and burglary rate have fallen.
6 Ways To Win A Bidding War Without Overspending
some good food for thought from trulia.com
It’s possible to win a bidding war without paying a cent more than you budgeted for.
When you hear “bidding war,” visions of rapid-fire auction chanting might come to mind: One dollar bid, now two, now two, will you give me two … sold! This sort of bidding war at auctions is all about the dollars. But when you enter a bidding war for a home, other factors besides money can come into play. The important thing to keep in mind is not to offer to pay more than what you can afford. Here are six ways to win a bidding war without overspending.
1. Know what you can really afford
As far as emotional purchases go, buying a home ranks right up there with choosing a wedding dress — only the financial stakes are much higher. Unless you know ahead of time exactly how much house you can afford, you could easily be sucked into spending too much. Your lender or financial adviser can help you determine that number. Then it’s time to play ball.
“Submit your best and final offer early,” says Skyler Irvine, senior partner at Myriad Real Estate Group in Phoenix, AZ. “If $1,000 keeps you from pulling into the driveway of your dream home just because you wanted to play hardball, then you might regret this more than you can imagine.” But the flip side is also true. “If you get outbid because someone offered more than you were comfortable with spending, then you didn’t lose anything and made a smart financial decision.”
Here’s a real-life strategy from a client of Naples, FL, agent Gordon Campbell on how to submit the best offer in a “best and final” situation without going too high: “They simply added a clause stating that they would pay $1,000 more than the next ‘best and final’ capped at the original price as seen in the MLS.” The outcome? “They got the property for slightly more than the other bidder.”
2. Talk with the listing agent
You can put in an offer, but unless your agent makes the effort to speak with the listing agent, your offer, in a multiple-offer scenario, will probably not stand out. Gary Hughes, a Virginia agent, recently received 13 offers for a property he listed. “Twelve were just emailed, and the buyers’ agents did not speak to me,” he says. But one agent called and had the lender follow up. “The lender and the buyer’s agent were able to address a concern in a way that assured me it would get to settlement. It wasn’t the highest offer, but it was close. Those conversations made all the difference.”
3. Propose a shorter closing
It’s always beneficial to find the seller’s motivation for selling (if you can). Let’s say they just accepted a new job in another part of the country. This seller is probably highly motivated to sell quickly. “If you can close the deal in two or three weeks, you may win over the higher offer that comes with a six-week closing period,” says Eric Bowlin, a real estate investor.
But just how do you go about closing faster? Here’s one way: “Tighten up your inspection time frame so sellers know that they can get through to a closing date quicker,” says William Golightly, a Florida agent. And California agent Tracey Hampson says, “Ten days is more than enough time to get a termite and home inspection done.”
Buyers can also be preapproved, or even better, get a conditional approval, from their lender. Going through the mortgage process first allows you to close just as fast as all-cash buyers do.
4. Rent the house back to the sellers
Some sellers aren’t interested in a short closing at all. In fact, the opposite could be true. Sellers who don’t have to sell quickly but who are just making a change, such as downsizing or upsizing, might want a long closing or some sort of flexible deal to give them time to find their new home. “Being able to rent back the property to the seller for a few months while they solidify their next purchase can go a long way into not needing to overbid on the property,” says Aaron Norris, a California real estate investor with The Norris Group.
5. Submit an as-is offer
The fewer conditions you put on buying the house, the more attractive you look to sellers. Consider offering to buy the house as-is. Miami Beach, FL, agent Jill Hertzberg says, “You can opt out of conducting inspections.” But since this is an extremely risky proposition, Hertzberg suggests instead of waiving the inspection altogether, decrease the inspection period to two days maximum. Lilia Biberman, a Boca Raton, FL, agent says to only waive the inspection “if you have a firm grasp of all the possible defects a property may possess and the costs associated with remedying those defects.” Also, if you’ll be paying in cash, you don’t need a financing contingency, which protects buyers who don’t secure financing in time.
6. Pay more in cash
In a bidding war, the value of the house (the price people are willing to pay) doesn’t always match the appraisal, which could come in lower. If you can throw in the extra cash to make up for a low appraisal, don’t keep that piece of information a secret. “If you are willing to bring cash to close — such as adding the difference between the appraisal value and sales price to your down payment — make sure to put that in writing,” says Tiffany Alexy, a North Carolina agent.
It’s possible to win a bidding war without paying a cent more than you budgeted for.
When you hear “bidding war,” visions of rapid-fire auction chanting might come to mind: One dollar bid, now two, now two, will you give me two … sold! This sort of bidding war at auctions is all about the dollars. But when you enter a bidding war for a home, other factors besides money can come into play. The important thing to keep in mind is not to offer to pay more than what you can afford. Here are six ways to win a bidding war without overspending.
1. Know what you can really afford
As far as emotional purchases go, buying a home ranks right up there with choosing a wedding dress — only the financial stakes are much higher. Unless you know ahead of time exactly how much house you can afford, you could easily be sucked into spending too much. Your lender or financial adviser can help you determine that number. Then it’s time to play ball.
“Submit your best and final offer early,” says Skyler Irvine, senior partner at Myriad Real Estate Group in Phoenix, AZ. “If $1,000 keeps you from pulling into the driveway of your dream home just because you wanted to play hardball, then you might regret this more than you can imagine.” But the flip side is also true. “If you get outbid because someone offered more than you were comfortable with spending, then you didn’t lose anything and made a smart financial decision.”
Here’s a real-life strategy from a client of Naples, FL, agent Gordon Campbell on how to submit the best offer in a “best and final” situation without going too high: “They simply added a clause stating that they would pay $1,000 more than the next ‘best and final’ capped at the original price as seen in the MLS.” The outcome? “They got the property for slightly more than the other bidder.”
2. Talk with the listing agent
You can put in an offer, but unless your agent makes the effort to speak with the listing agent, your offer, in a multiple-offer scenario, will probably not stand out. Gary Hughes, a Virginia agent, recently received 13 offers for a property he listed. “Twelve were just emailed, and the buyers’ agents did not speak to me,” he says. But one agent called and had the lender follow up. “The lender and the buyer’s agent were able to address a concern in a way that assured me it would get to settlement. It wasn’t the highest offer, but it was close. Those conversations made all the difference.”
3. Propose a shorter closing
It’s always beneficial to find the seller’s motivation for selling (if you can). Let’s say they just accepted a new job in another part of the country. This seller is probably highly motivated to sell quickly. “If you can close the deal in two or three weeks, you may win over the higher offer that comes with a six-week closing period,” says Eric Bowlin, a real estate investor.
But just how do you go about closing faster? Here’s one way: “Tighten up your inspection time frame so sellers know that they can get through to a closing date quicker,” says William Golightly, a Florida agent. And California agent Tracey Hampson says, “Ten days is more than enough time to get a termite and home inspection done.”
Buyers can also be preapproved, or even better, get a conditional approval, from their lender. Going through the mortgage process first allows you to close just as fast as all-cash buyers do.
4. Rent the house back to the sellers
Some sellers aren’t interested in a short closing at all. In fact, the opposite could be true. Sellers who don’t have to sell quickly but who are just making a change, such as downsizing or upsizing, might want a long closing or some sort of flexible deal to give them time to find their new home. “Being able to rent back the property to the seller for a few months while they solidify their next purchase can go a long way into not needing to overbid on the property,” says Aaron Norris, a California real estate investor with The Norris Group.
5. Submit an as-is offer
The fewer conditions you put on buying the house, the more attractive you look to sellers. Consider offering to buy the house as-is. Miami Beach, FL, agent Jill Hertzberg says, “You can opt out of conducting inspections.” But since this is an extremely risky proposition, Hertzberg suggests instead of waiving the inspection altogether, decrease the inspection period to two days maximum. Lilia Biberman, a Boca Raton, FL, agent says to only waive the inspection “if you have a firm grasp of all the possible defects a property may possess and the costs associated with remedying those defects.” Also, if you’ll be paying in cash, you don’t need a financing contingency, which protects buyers who don’t secure financing in time.
6. Pay more in cash
In a bidding war, the value of the house (the price people are willing to pay) doesn’t always match the appraisal, which could come in lower. If you can throw in the extra cash to make up for a low appraisal, don’t keep that piece of information a secret. “If you are willing to bring cash to close — such as adding the difference between the appraisal value and sales price to your down payment — make sure to put that in writing,” says Tiffany Alexy, a North Carolina agent.
Once called America’s “most perfectly planned community,” Northglenn is again looking good to buyers
interesting article from DenverPost.com....
When the first model homes in Northglenn opened to the public, more than 15,000 people showed up for tours in a single day.
It was June 30, 1959, and the two- and three-bedroom brick homes ranged in price from $11,700 to $30,000. Within six days, according to historical accounts, buyers had spent $1.375 million — the demand for homes so high that Jordon Perlmutter and Samuel Primack‘s Perl-Mack Enterprises could barely keep up.
“Dollar for dollar, America’s greatest home values,” a Perl-Mack advertisement for Northglenn proclaimed.
Nearly 60 years later, the Adams County suburb is again gaining notice for the strength of its real estate market.
Real estate website Realtor.com last week named the ZIP code covering the original Northglenn neighborhoods — 80233 — one of the 20 hottest housing markets in the U.S. this year. Ranked No. 3 — behind the Fort Worth, Texas, suburb of Watauga and Pleasant Hill, Calif., located in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area — Northglenn homes are selling in about 11 days, according to the report.
While sales have slowed slightly from last year, that’s still 20 days faster than Adams County, 29 days faster than the Denver metro area and 67 daysfaster than the U.S. median. The analysis also took into account how frequently active listings are being viewed by prospective buyers on Realtor.com.
Large millennial populations, a strong job market and the opportunity to purchase into otherwise expensive housing markets played a role in all of the top spots, Realtor.com said. The Colorado Springs ZIP code of 80916 ranked No. 4, with a median price of $178,000 and listings remaining active for about 17 days.
Affordability is a key selling point for Northglenn, said Laura Ruch, broker associate with Keller Williams Preferred and current board chairwoman of the Denver Metro Association of Realtors.
“That’s one of the biggest reasons you’re seeing the hot market that you’re seeing — there really are a lot of available homes in that under-$300,000 market,” Ruch said. “If you look in 80233, the Northglenn-specific area, currently active homes, you only have three that are active above $300,000.”
In 80233, which also includes parts of Thornton, the median list price is $278,000, compared with $477,000 for the overall metro Denver area, according to Realtor.com. Millennials are the dominant homebuyer in the area, making up 36 percent of mortgages.
“You’re going to see oftentimes multiple offers,” Ruch said. “Even though we’ve seen the typical seasonal slowdown, it has not stopped the aggressive market.”
Much of Northglenn’s housing stock dates back to the 1960s — modest, brick, ranch-style homes that were part of Perl-Mack‘s original buildout of Northglenn, one of Colorado’s first master-planned communities. (Life magazine, at one point, named it “the most perfectly planned community in America.”)
That can mean lower list prices come with the need for new owners to update and remodel, Ruch said.
“The homes that were built here were really solidly built homes,” Northglenn city manager James Hayes said. “Buyers don’t realize it until they start looking in detail, but some of the typical residential lots are a lot larger than you’d normally see in a suburban environment. You get a nice brick ranch with a decent size lot and room to enjoy yourself.”
The city hasn’t been sitting idly by, either, Hayes said. Particular focus has been given to efforts that create a family-friendly environment, bringing in new restaurants and businesses to infill locations such as Webster Lake Promenade at East 120th Avenue and Interstate 25, and adding new community events, including the Food Truck Carnival in the spring and Pirate Festival in the fall.
Just last week, Northglenn held a public open house about the possible redevelopment of the city’s municipal campus into a mixed-use, public-private civic center, including new recreation facilities, a senior center and the D.L. Parsons Theater. The city will get rail service in 2018 with the opening of the RTD N Line, and has plans to build a new justice center for its police department and municipal courts.
“We’re trying to refresh our brand and let people know that this is still a vibrant community,” Hayes said. “There are great people here, great family atmosphere, great housing, great opportunities to start businesses.”
With a population of 39,197, Northglenn’s median household income of $53,616 falls below the metro average of $69,205, according to census data.
Northglenn’s relatively central location between Denver and Boulder and housing stock with some “personality” were what sold Julian Mitchell, 31, on the city when he was house hunting a few years ago.
The owner of a liquor store in Thornton, Mitchell bought a three-bedroom, two-bath house in one of Northglenn’s older neighborhoods in October 2014, the houses in Northglenn at the time falling right into his price range of around $200,000.
“A big thing for me, I needed a finished basement. When I found this place, I was like, ‘Oh, this is perfect,’ ” Mitchell said. “It was close to work and it wasn’t giant cookie-cutter houses.”
Jonathan Perlmutter, the son of Perl-Mack developer Jordon Perlmutter, said while the family only holds a few properties in Northglenn today, his father would probably “have a smile on his face” to hear that Northglenn’s housing market was on the rise again.
Jordon Perlmutter, a pioneer in Colorado real estate development, died in December at age 84.
“My dad really had a vision for how Northglenn would evolve, and I think it’s coming around,” said Jonathan Perlmutter, a principal
with Jordon Perlmutter & Co., the development firm his father created after disbanding Perl-Mack. “The north area is moving forward.”
When Northglenn originally opened, most homebuyers used VA or FHA financing. The annual income of residents fell inside the $6,000 to $9,000 range, according to historical accounts. The average U.S. family income in 1960 was $6,691.
“It’s good-quality homes yet affordable today,” Jonathan Perlmutter said. “A lot of people are keeping the core of those homes and either popping the top or doing something that modernizes the home, yet keeps that classic brick-type feel.”
When the first model homes in Northglenn opened to the public, more than 15,000 people showed up for tours in a single day.
It was June 30, 1959, and the two- and three-bedroom brick homes ranged in price from $11,700 to $30,000. Within six days, according to historical accounts, buyers had spent $1.375 million — the demand for homes so high that Jordon Perlmutter and Samuel Primack‘s Perl-Mack Enterprises could barely keep up.
“Dollar for dollar, America’s greatest home values,” a Perl-Mack advertisement for Northglenn proclaimed.
Nearly 60 years later, the Adams County suburb is again gaining notice for the strength of its real estate market.
Real estate website Realtor.com last week named the ZIP code covering the original Northglenn neighborhoods — 80233 — one of the 20 hottest housing markets in the U.S. this year. Ranked No. 3 — behind the Fort Worth, Texas, suburb of Watauga and Pleasant Hill, Calif., located in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area — Northglenn homes are selling in about 11 days, according to the report.
While sales have slowed slightly from last year, that’s still 20 days faster than Adams County, 29 days faster than the Denver metro area and 67 daysfaster than the U.S. median. The analysis also took into account how frequently active listings are being viewed by prospective buyers on Realtor.com.
Large millennial populations, a strong job market and the opportunity to purchase into otherwise expensive housing markets played a role in all of the top spots, Realtor.com said. The Colorado Springs ZIP code of 80916 ranked No. 4, with a median price of $178,000 and listings remaining active for about 17 days.
Affordability is a key selling point for Northglenn, said Laura Ruch, broker associate with Keller Williams Preferred and current board chairwoman of the Denver Metro Association of Realtors.
“That’s one of the biggest reasons you’re seeing the hot market that you’re seeing — there really are a lot of available homes in that under-$300,000 market,” Ruch said. “If you look in 80233, the Northglenn-specific area, currently active homes, you only have three that are active above $300,000.”
In 80233, which also includes parts of Thornton, the median list price is $278,000, compared with $477,000 for the overall metro Denver area, according to Realtor.com. Millennials are the dominant homebuyer in the area, making up 36 percent of mortgages.
“You’re going to see oftentimes multiple offers,” Ruch said. “Even though we’ve seen the typical seasonal slowdown, it has not stopped the aggressive market.”
Much of Northglenn’s housing stock dates back to the 1960s — modest, brick, ranch-style homes that were part of Perl-Mack‘s original buildout of Northglenn, one of Colorado’s first master-planned communities. (Life magazine, at one point, named it “the most perfectly planned community in America.”)
That can mean lower list prices come with the need for new owners to update and remodel, Ruch said.
“The homes that were built here were really solidly built homes,” Northglenn city manager James Hayes said. “Buyers don’t realize it until they start looking in detail, but some of the typical residential lots are a lot larger than you’d normally see in a suburban environment. You get a nice brick ranch with a decent size lot and room to enjoy yourself.”
The city hasn’t been sitting idly by, either, Hayes said. Particular focus has been given to efforts that create a family-friendly environment, bringing in new restaurants and businesses to infill locations such as Webster Lake Promenade at East 120th Avenue and Interstate 25, and adding new community events, including the Food Truck Carnival in the spring and Pirate Festival in the fall.
Just last week, Northglenn held a public open house about the possible redevelopment of the city’s municipal campus into a mixed-use, public-private civic center, including new recreation facilities, a senior center and the D.L. Parsons Theater. The city will get rail service in 2018 with the opening of the RTD N Line, and has plans to build a new justice center for its police department and municipal courts.
“We’re trying to refresh our brand and let people know that this is still a vibrant community,” Hayes said. “There are great people here, great family atmosphere, great housing, great opportunities to start businesses.”
With a population of 39,197, Northglenn’s median household income of $53,616 falls below the metro average of $69,205, according to census data.
Northglenn’s relatively central location between Denver and Boulder and housing stock with some “personality” were what sold Julian Mitchell, 31, on the city when he was house hunting a few years ago.
The owner of a liquor store in Thornton, Mitchell bought a three-bedroom, two-bath house in one of Northglenn’s older neighborhoods in October 2014, the houses in Northglenn at the time falling right into his price range of around $200,000.
“A big thing for me, I needed a finished basement. When I found this place, I was like, ‘Oh, this is perfect,’ ” Mitchell said. “It was close to work and it wasn’t giant cookie-cutter houses.”
Jonathan Perlmutter, the son of Perl-Mack developer Jordon Perlmutter, said while the family only holds a few properties in Northglenn today, his father would probably “have a smile on his face” to hear that Northglenn’s housing market was on the rise again.
Jordon Perlmutter, a pioneer in Colorado real estate development, died in December at age 84.
“My dad really had a vision for how Northglenn would evolve, and I think it’s coming around,” said Jonathan Perlmutter, a principal
with Jordon Perlmutter & Co., the development firm his father created after disbanding Perl-Mack. “The north area is moving forward.”
When Northglenn originally opened, most homebuyers used VA or FHA financing. The annual income of residents fell inside the $6,000 to $9,000 range, according to historical accounts. The average U.S. family income in 1960 was $6,691.
“It’s good-quality homes yet affordable today,” Jonathan Perlmutter said. “A lot of people are keeping the core of those homes and either popping the top or doing something that modernizes the home, yet keeps that classic brick-type feel.”
2 of America's hottest ZIP codes for home sales are in Colorado
an interesting local area Denver trend...
from Denver Business Journal....
Two of America's top four ZIP codes for "hottest" real estate markets are in Colorado, according to a new report.
Realtor.com ranked the nation's "hottest" ZIP codes "on the time it takes properties to sell and how frequently homes are viewed in each ZIP code."
ZIP code 80233 in Northglenn was ranked No. 3 in the country and 80916 in Colorado Springs was ranked No. 4.
Why is Northglenn so "hot?"
It has a larger than normal millennial population and it's in an area of economic growth with a strong job market, so houses stay on the market only for an average of 11 days, according to Realtor.com
"Homes for sale in this year’s hottest ZIP codes are selling almost as quickly as they hit the market,” said Jonathan Smoke, chief economist for Realtor.com, in a statement.
Last week it was reported that Denver trails only Seattle in the country when it comes to days on the market, with Denver homes selling after only 11 days, compared with Seattle's 10 days.
from Denver Business Journal....
Two of America's top four ZIP codes for "hottest" real estate markets are in Colorado, according to a new report.
Realtor.com ranked the nation's "hottest" ZIP codes "on the time it takes properties to sell and how frequently homes are viewed in each ZIP code."
ZIP code 80233 in Northglenn was ranked No. 3 in the country and 80916 in Colorado Springs was ranked No. 4.
Why is Northglenn so "hot?"
It has a larger than normal millennial population and it's in an area of economic growth with a strong job market, so houses stay on the market only for an average of 11 days, according to Realtor.com
"Homes for sale in this year’s hottest ZIP codes are selling almost as quickly as they hit the market,” said Jonathan Smoke, chief economist for Realtor.com, in a statement.
Last week it was reported that Denver trails only Seattle in the country when it comes to days on the market, with Denver homes selling after only 11 days, compared with Seattle's 10 days.
Saturday, September 10, 2016
The Worst Buildings Award
interesting contest in the UK....
from Cnn.com
Yikes! London luxury tower crowned UK's worst building
The winner of the 2016 Carbuncle Cup, awarded to Britain's worst building as a provocation to debate each year by Building Design, an online British architecture magazine, is Lincoln Plaza in London, a 31-story luxury residential tower complete with business lounge, cinema, spa, hotel and a "fabulous array of lifestyle facilities" by BUJ Architects for Galliard Homes.
This computer-generated, cartoon-style carbuncle -- it makes Cesar Pelli's nearby Canary Wharf Tower look positively prim -- is described by BD's jurors as the "architectural embodiment of sea-sickness." Its symptoms: a "brain-numbing jumble of discordant shapes, patterns, materials and colours."
It is difficult to disagree. BD admits that this is hardly the first time it has had London's new wave of Thames-side towers in its critical sights. While Galliard Homes argues that design is "a matter of personal tastes," architecture is a public art and buildings like Lincoln Plaza or last year's Carbuncle Cup winner, 20 Fenchurch Street (the bendy City skyscraper better known as the Walkie Talkie) fly in the face of civic sense and architectural intelligence.
Read: The secrets behind Japan's coolest micro homes
It is as if these buildings are willful provocations, each trying to outdo one another in the bad taste stakes. London and towns and cities in the rest of Britain, the thinking goes, ought to deserve much better than these outsized eyesores.
Construction controversy
The Carbuncle Cup takes its name from a speech -- infamous to modern British architects -- given by the Prince of Wales to the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1984. Prince Charles likened a proposed high-tech style addition to the National Gallery by ABK Architects to "a monstrous carbuncle on the face of a much loved and elegant friend."
The carbuncle was duly lanced, and Trafalgar Square refaced with a whimsical postmodern classical extension to the National Gallery by the American architects Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates. This, in turn, was savaged by Peter Davey, editor of the Architectural Review, who described it as "picturesque, mediocre slime."
Read: Which of these homes will be the 2016 House of the Year?
Clearly it is hard for architects to please all the people, and critics, all the time. This gloriously and, perhaps, particularly British school of architectural criticism dates back to the early 19th century, when the coruscating William Cobbett -- pamphleteer, farmer and journalist -- set off on his "Rural Rides," published in book form in 1830.
Trotting past "shewy" new Regency villas rising between market gardens and venerable farms west of London, Cobbett barked, "All Middlesex is ugly," blighted, that is, by modern architectural carbuncles.
While the genteel buildings Cobbett loathed seem innocuous enough today, and even perfectly charming, this streak of critical dissent was nurtured in British minds and breasts. Fierce Victorian architects and critics like Augustus Welby Pugin, John Ruskin and William Morris took up the cause, slashing at carbuncles all around them.
In the 20th century, the fight was taken up anew by the disparate voices of, among others, John Betjeman and Ian Nairn.
Nairn was the author of 1955's "Outrage," an unsparing polemic that noted the banal architecture protruding from the end of Southampton blurring into that of the beginning of Carlisle. Modern Britain was in danger of becoming one humungous carbuncle.
It's funny because it's true
Few British critics have been wholly free since of this legacy, at once aesthetic, pugnacious and even self-lacerating. Of course concerned critics exist elsewhere in the world, wringing their hands over the apparently inexorable rise of gormless, glass-towered skylines -- Sydney, Seattle, Shanghai -- but the British continue to lead the assault on third- and fourth-rate development.
The Carbuncle Cup -- founded in 2005 and transformed by Amanda Baillieu, BD's editor at the time, into a rival to the RIBA's worthy yet almost ineffably dull annual Stirling Prize for good new buildings -- is normally on the money in terms of the buildings it clobbers. The prize's unashamedly populist stance takes genuine architectural concerns to a wide audience.
It is also good fun in a knockabout British musical hall or Punch and Judy fashion, with jurors going overboard with alliterations and other baroque wordplay to make their disdain for the latest clown-like design known.
Last year, London's Walkie Talkie building was dismissed as "a gratuitous glass gargoyle graffitied over the skyline of London," while this year's finalists were slapped down tartly.
"Contextual incongruity, myopic cladding, woeful detailing, mind-numbing mediocrity, clumsy massing, incoherent form and of course poor planning are just some of the woes on gruesome display."
And, as long as they are, the Carbuncle Cup will continue to be awarded.
from Cnn.com
Yikes! London luxury tower crowned UK's worst building
The winner of the 2016 Carbuncle Cup, awarded to Britain's worst building as a provocation to debate each year by Building Design, an online British architecture magazine, is Lincoln Plaza in London, a 31-story luxury residential tower complete with business lounge, cinema, spa, hotel and a "fabulous array of lifestyle facilities" by BUJ Architects for Galliard Homes.
This computer-generated, cartoon-style carbuncle -- it makes Cesar Pelli's nearby Canary Wharf Tower look positively prim -- is described by BD's jurors as the "architectural embodiment of sea-sickness." Its symptoms: a "brain-numbing jumble of discordant shapes, patterns, materials and colours."
It is difficult to disagree. BD admits that this is hardly the first time it has had London's new wave of Thames-side towers in its critical sights. While Galliard Homes argues that design is "a matter of personal tastes," architecture is a public art and buildings like Lincoln Plaza or last year's Carbuncle Cup winner, 20 Fenchurch Street (the bendy City skyscraper better known as the Walkie Talkie) fly in the face of civic sense and architectural intelligence.
Read: The secrets behind Japan's coolest micro homes
It is as if these buildings are willful provocations, each trying to outdo one another in the bad taste stakes. London and towns and cities in the rest of Britain, the thinking goes, ought to deserve much better than these outsized eyesores.
Construction controversy
The Carbuncle Cup takes its name from a speech -- infamous to modern British architects -- given by the Prince of Wales to the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1984. Prince Charles likened a proposed high-tech style addition to the National Gallery by ABK Architects to "a monstrous carbuncle on the face of a much loved and elegant friend."
The carbuncle was duly lanced, and Trafalgar Square refaced with a whimsical postmodern classical extension to the National Gallery by the American architects Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates. This, in turn, was savaged by Peter Davey, editor of the Architectural Review, who described it as "picturesque, mediocre slime."
Read: Which of these homes will be the 2016 House of the Year?
Clearly it is hard for architects to please all the people, and critics, all the time. This gloriously and, perhaps, particularly British school of architectural criticism dates back to the early 19th century, when the coruscating William Cobbett -- pamphleteer, farmer and journalist -- set off on his "Rural Rides," published in book form in 1830.
Trotting past "shewy" new Regency villas rising between market gardens and venerable farms west of London, Cobbett barked, "All Middlesex is ugly," blighted, that is, by modern architectural carbuncles.
While the genteel buildings Cobbett loathed seem innocuous enough today, and even perfectly charming, this streak of critical dissent was nurtured in British minds and breasts. Fierce Victorian architects and critics like Augustus Welby Pugin, John Ruskin and William Morris took up the cause, slashing at carbuncles all around them.
In the 20th century, the fight was taken up anew by the disparate voices of, among others, John Betjeman and Ian Nairn.
Nairn was the author of 1955's "Outrage," an unsparing polemic that noted the banal architecture protruding from the end of Southampton blurring into that of the beginning of Carlisle. Modern Britain was in danger of becoming one humungous carbuncle.
It's funny because it's true
Few British critics have been wholly free since of this legacy, at once aesthetic, pugnacious and even self-lacerating. Of course concerned critics exist elsewhere in the world, wringing their hands over the apparently inexorable rise of gormless, glass-towered skylines -- Sydney, Seattle, Shanghai -- but the British continue to lead the assault on third- and fourth-rate development.
The Carbuncle Cup -- founded in 2005 and transformed by Amanda Baillieu, BD's editor at the time, into a rival to the RIBA's worthy yet almost ineffably dull annual Stirling Prize for good new buildings -- is normally on the money in terms of the buildings it clobbers. The prize's unashamedly populist stance takes genuine architectural concerns to a wide audience.
It is also good fun in a knockabout British musical hall or Punch and Judy fashion, with jurors going overboard with alliterations and other baroque wordplay to make their disdain for the latest clown-like design known.
Last year, London's Walkie Talkie building was dismissed as "a gratuitous glass gargoyle graffitied over the skyline of London," while this year's finalists were slapped down tartly.
"Contextual incongruity, myopic cladding, woeful detailing, mind-numbing mediocrity, clumsy massing, incoherent form and of course poor planning are just some of the woes on gruesome display."
And, as long as they are, the Carbuncle Cup will continue to be awarded.
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