The State of the Market

We are asked this all the time, and of course the answer differs all the time, because its a moving target. Right now the market in general is slow. With the combination of the snow, Easter, and the tax season upon us, its a triple whammy against buyers and sellers. But it can easily change on a dime and kick in when you least expect it. We had a surge in February when the snow melted, and there will be other surges throughout the year.

Interest rates aren't going up or down much, so that is probably not going to drive the market either way.

Go to http://www.coloradodreamhomes.net for the best guidance on the market.

This Blog is dedicated to Parker Colorado Real Estate, Parker Colorado Homes, Elizabeth Colorado real estate, Elizabeth Colorado homes, Franktown Colorado homes, Franktown Colorado real estate, Lone Tree Colorado real estate, Lone Tree Colorado homes, Highlands Ranch real estate, Highlands Ranch homes, Castle Rock real estate, Castle Rock homes, and metro Denver Colorado real estate property listings. Search the Denver MLS directly for properties and homes at http://www.coloradodreamhomes.info/ and access a huge real estate resource at http://www.coloradodreamhomes.net/

What Can you Buy for $155 Million?

Local Listing at 7251 Centennial Drive, Parker, CO 80134

$155 Million Estate Tops List of Country's Most Expensive Homes for Sale

Top Price for a home locally is $6,200,000 in Parker, Colorado.

A “spec home” still under construction in Big Sky, Montana tops the list of the 1000 most expensive homes currently on the market in the U.S., according to the just-released Unique Homes magazine's special issue, Ultimate Homes, 2007. Built by Yellowstone Club developer Tim Blixseth, the “Pinnacle” home sits on 160 acres and comes with four 4,000-square-foot guest houses, security and staff quarters, a retractable helipad (with helicopter and pilot lounge), and an underground garage stocked with a fleet of Suburbans.

By comparison, the most expensive home currently listed in the Parker Colorado MLS is a $6.2 million dollar residence with 25,000 finished square feet. For $155 million, one could buy 25 homes like this in Parker Colorado.

"The home prices on this year's Ultimate Homes list reinforce the fact that the national market in luxury properties has generally remained healthy above the $5 million level," said Laurie Moore-Moore, Founder and CEO of The Institute for Luxury Home Marketing, a Dallas-based organization whose members have hundreds of millions of dollars worth of the top properties on the list.

There are currently 116 properties in the Parker, Elizabeth, Franktown MLS system priced at a million dollars or more," according to Jeff Kroll, a member of The Institute for Luxury Home Marketing and a Broker/Owner of Metro Brokers. "In this area we sell about 4 million dollar homes per month on average, so that is about a 29 month supply," says Kroll.

"The number of million-dollar-home sales isn't available yet for 2006," added Moore-Moore. "However, the number of million dollar homes sold in the country jumped from 10,000 in 1999 to over 109,000 in 2005, a reflection of the growth in the number of wealthy households. Although many marketplaces are seeing slowing appreciation, higher inventories and longer sales time, the top of the luxury market is outperforming the market in general."

New York leads the Ultimate Homes list with the most properties -- 240. Florida follows closely with a total of 234 properties, up from 183 last year, and California drops from second to third place with 205 properties on the list. Overall, thirty four states have properties that made the list. For more info on million dollar homes in Colorado, go to http://www.ColoradoDreamHomes.net.

This Blog is dedicated to Parker Colorado Real Estate, Parker Colorado Homes, Elizabeth Colorado real estate, Elizabeth Colorado homes, Franktown Colorado homes, Franktown Colorado real estate, Lone Tree Colorado real estate, Lone Tree Colorado homes, Highlands Ranch real estate, Highlands Ranch homes, Castle Rock real estate, Castle Rock homes, and metro Denver Colorado real estate property listings. Search the Denver MLS directly for properties and homes at http://www.coloradodreamhomes.info/ and access a huge real estate resource at http://www.coloradodreamhomes.net/

In the Hills Above Parker

Newly Listed!

This one is unique. Lovingly cared for by the original owner from 1969, this tri-level home features 4 beds, 2 baths, and sits on almost 3 acres of forested horse property. See more pix and experience this home at http://www.ColoradoDreamHomes.net

If you might be selling in the near future and want to take advantage of these deals, please visit our website at http://www.coloradodreamhomes.net/
This Blog is dedicated to Parker Colorado Real Estate, Parker Colorado Homes, Elizabeth Colorado real estate, Elizabeth Colorado homes, Franktown Colorado homes, Franktown Colorado real estate, Lone Tree Colorado real estate, Lone Tree Colorado homes, Highlands Ranch real estate, Highlands Ranch homes, Castle Rock real estate, Castle Rock homes, and metro Denver Colorado real estate property listings. Search the Denver MLS directly for properties and homes at http://www.coloradodreamhomes.info/ and access a huge real estate resource at http://www.coloradodreamhomes.net/

Parker Area Population Nears 1 Million?

The number of people living within 15 miles of Parker will approach 1 million in four years, the Parker Economic Development Council reports.

Using estimates calculated from census figures collected in 2000, the council recently released a detailed demographic report compiled by Claritas, a marketing research company that predicts population and economic growth.

Growth estimates for Parker and outlying areas include figures for areas within a 5-mile, 10-mile and 15-mile radius from the center of town at South Parker Road and Mainstreet. The number of residents expected to be living within 15 miles of the town center by 2011 is 901,500, the analysis shows. As of 2000, the number was slightly less than 687,000.

Between 1990 and 2000, residents living within a five-mile radius of the center of Parker rose by 181 percent from 15,900 to 44,700, the report says. The number is now in the neighborhood of 77,500. Roughly 90 percent of people now living within the 5-mile radius are white, while the Hispanic population is about 6 percent. About 2.5 percent of residents in the same area are black.

Of the estimated 118,000 households within a 10-mile radius, roughly 23 percent claim an annual income of between $100,000 and $149,999, the report shows. Nearly 2,300 households bring in more than $500,000 annually, while 2.5 percent make $15,000 or less. The average estimated annual income for the area is $111,500.As of 2000, women outnumbered men in all three radius zones surrounding Parker; there were 12,000 more female residents within the 15-mile area than men. Population estimates by sex were not available for 2006.The 2000 census shows that the majority of residents in the Parker area are between the ages of 35 and 44. However, there were 203,000 children and teenagers living within 15 miles of Parker seven years ago; those over the age of 55 accounted for only 110,700 of the people residing in the same area.

Nearly half - 48 percent - of the people living within 5 miles of Parker hold at least a bachelor's degree; 10 percent of those have earned a master's degree.In 2000, slightly more than 72 percent of the population above the age of 15 in the immediate Parker area were married. More than 7 percent were divorcees, while nine percent were men who have never married.

Look in next week's Chronicle for more on the PEDC demographic study and what it means for Parker and its future.

Contact Chris Michlewicz at 303-841-5497 or cmichlewicz@ccnewspapers.com.

For the best demographic info always go to http://www.ColoradoDreamHomes.net

Zillow.com Breeds Home Value Snoops!

This article from The Rocky Mountain News is a good read for any of you that have bought into the "Zillow Craze." If you believe the values in Zillow you have problems my friend. ZILLOW IS NOT ACCURATE AND CAN NEVER BECOME A CREDIBLE SOURCE OF A HOME'S VALUE. EVER.

Don't get that? Call us and we can have a chat about it...

From The Rocky Mountainn News 3/30/07:

Mary Winter:
Curious what your house is worth?


Who isn't?


Now you can get an instant estimate at Zillow.com.


Type in your address and within seconds the site spits out a dollar figure.
No passwords. No registration. No fee.


You can snoop around. See how much the homes you once owned are worth, what your boss' home is worth, what the guy-you-didn't-marry's home is worth and what all your neighbors' homes are worth.


Online voyeurism?
Yup. At least that's what Fortune magazine editors call it. And they claim it's fueling a "real estate revolution."


That could be hype, but the fact is, Zillow was founded by two very successful ex-Microsoft geniuses, one of whom launched the popular travel site Expedia.


Not that I'm convinced Zillow will change the real-estate industry as we know it. But yes, it's very cool place for a one-time visit, despite its shortcomings.


It doesn't include all 50 states yet, for example (although in Colorado, Zillow says it lists 80 percent to 100 percent of homes). Overall, Zillow has mined government data to come up with estimated values on 57 percent of housing in America, according to Fortune.


And accuracy?
I plugged in my Denver address and the "Zestimate" it gave me is what I believe my house to be worth. Three co-workers tried their addresses, however, and said their Zestimates were at least 10 percent under what they think their homes would sell for. Another co-worker told me Zillow lists his older home as a one-story, when in fact it's a two-story, so his Zestimate was seriously off.


Denver real estate agents Nancy Brauer and Patrick Finney told me they haven't found Zillow especially useful.


"My impression is, it's more of a cursory check to see what a ballpark (value) on your home would be," said Finney, who uses sophisticated, customized real estate software in his business.
I also have reservations about Zillow.

How many times will users actually revisit the site after they've played on it once or twice, taken a trip down memory lane to see what their old houses are worth and checked out what their ex-husband's new digs are listed at?

Zillow, in other words, could be a flash in the pan: the citizen's band radio of the modern age.
On the other hand, I, like many others, suffer real estate anxiety, and I think Zillow could get us hooked.


With foreclosures at record numbers and the subprime mortgage industry giving Wall Street the heebie-jeebies, a person would be foolish not to worry about real estate investments. What if the market tanks like it did in the mid-'80s in Texas when the oil patch hit hard times and I took a bath on a cute little home that took me years to unload?


Zillow can only rekindle that fear.
Sleepless nights will see me logging on in the dark, feverishly checking to see whether the Zestimate on my home has dropped another $5,000, as it did once already this month.
It's possible that Zillow will make a gazillion dollars on advertising sales, but I don't think it will ever be a place where I go and pick out a home to buy. I mean, how can you buy a home virtually?

A home purchase requires boots on the ground. Before I buy, I want to check out the water pressure, inspect the roof, poke around in the backyard, look for cracks in the ceiling.
I want to make sure the guy next door doesn't keep a couple of old trucks on blocks out front and six barking Rottweilers out back.

How can you do that online?
The answer is, you can't. In my humble zestimation.

For a more information about what is needed to get a homes true market value, go to http://www.ColoradoDreamHomes.net

This Blog is dedicated to Parker Colorado Real Estate, Parker Colorado Homes, Elizabeth Colorado real estate, Elizabeth Colorado homes, Franktown Colorado homes, Franktown Colorado real estate, Lone Tree Colorado real estate, Lone Tree Colorado homes, Highlands Ranch real estate, Highlands Ranch homes, Castle Rock real estate, Castle Rock homes, and metro Denver Colorado real estate property listings. Search the Denver MLS directly for properties and homes at http://www.ColoradoDreamHomes.info and access a huge real estate resource at http://www.ColoradoDreamHomes.net