Housing Bubble

There is so much talk about the “housing bubble”. Most of the people talking about the bubble have no idea what they are talking about and have done little to no research into the topic. They seem to think that houses are like stocks…what a laugh. There are only a few things that a person HAS to have and housing is one of them, stocks aren’t even close to the top of the list.

There have been “experts” calling for a bust in the bubble for a few years now and so far they have been wrong. A burst would mean that nationwide there would be a drastic reduction in housing prices yet that almost never could happen. Heres why, real estate is a local product that is effected by local events more than national ones. Yes rising interest rates will slow many markets, but that will not crush the market. People still bought homes when the rates got around 20%.

Jobs effect the market so drasticly that even in these “boom” years there have been many towns that have been flat or even lost value over the last 5 years. There are some major metro areas that haven’t had a huge rise in values, while others that have had large gains also had huge job booms. Now I know it will be easy to dismiss one rambling from a real estate agent, but if you want some facts take a look at NAR’s research into the topic.

Keep an open mind and read the facts. Most people will be surprised at what is predicted for their local market. Some areas are in for a correction, most will fair much better.

Written by Ken Smith of the Suburban House Hunters Team

Home Sales on the Rise!

Sources are hitting the street stating that USA home sales have reached new records during the month of October. Read more about this here, and here.

We're your Boulder Colorado Real Estate experts!

Real Estate Taxes Changing?

The president's tax-reform advisory panel submitted two final proposals Tuesday morning to the Treasury Department, both of which offer significant changes to your tax breaks.

Nothing has been signed into law yet, but of significant interest to home owner's is the panel recommended lowering the mortgage interest cap, which is the amount of a loan on which home owners would receive a tax break for interest paid, from $1 million to the average regional housing price in the range of $227,000 to $412,000.

Generally speaking, if said recommendation was to be included in the tax law, the higher your mortgage loan and the higher your tax bracket, the more likely it is that you'll see less of a tax break than you would under the current system.

Talk to your Boulder Colorado Real Estate expert for further information on how these changes might impact you.

Good Funds at Closing

Ensuring that a Lender provides good funds at the time of closing is imperative to the success of a real estate transaction. A recent published article sheds light on how to ensure that there are no issues on the day of your real estate closing.

Read this recent real estate article here: Good Funds at Closing

Researching Schools When Making a Real Estate Decision

Out of any location’s amenities that have the possibility of influencing a buyer's decision to purchase a home, closeness to excellent schools is one of the most significant.

Whether you are looking for a Boulder Colorado Catholic School, or you are researching Boulder Colorado Schools, you’re best served to start your school search early on in the game. Give yourself, and your child, plenty of time to conduct the proper interviews and visits that a school selection decision warrants.

30 Year Fixed Rate Mortgage Trending Up

It appears that the 30-year fixed mortgage rate has been trending up since early September, after it dropped from a peak of 5.50 in mid August. Many speculations can be made about rates, and how they impact buying decisions, so speak with your Lender about what it would mean to lock in now versus in another three months.

Average rates on 30-year fixed mortgages in Boulder Colorado rose 3 basis points to 5.58 on Wednesday. A basis point is one-hundredth of a percent. The mortgages in the survey had an average of 0.60 discount and origination points.

Top 5 Questions to Ask Your Listing Agent

When you think about selling your home, what are some of the most important questions that you need to ask the listing agent with whom you are talking? Let's walk through five pertinent questions that you can ask your listing agent, that will not only give you insight into what type of experience you will have during the sales process, but also how successful you will be in selling your home.

1. How many homes have you sold in my area in the past six months?
2. What are the techniques that you use to attract buyers to your listings, and how effective have your techniques been?
3. What is the average closing sales price of homes that you list versus the average listing price?
4. What is the average days on market (DOM) of homes that you list?
5. Can you talk to me about the ways in which you ensure my needs as a seller are satisfied?

These are just five questions, of many, that you can ask your listing agent when you are considering the sale of your home. Each one of these questions will probe the depths of what type of agent you're dealing with, what their philosophies are, and ultimately, given their track record, what type of experience you will have during the sale of your home. For further real estate advice, contact your Boulder Colorado Real Estate Expert.

Boulder Colorado - Best Small City

MSN recently released an article citing Boulder Colorado as one of "The Best Small Cities" in which to reside. My home, Boulder Colorado, has been ranked as the number one small city in which to live numerous times in the past years, by numerous sources. I will have to say that Boulder Colorado is a hip place to live. Boulder is a town of 100,000 residents, and with the university, the small town attracts big city events and culture - it's a really nice mix. You can "get out" within minutes into some of the most beautiful scenery around, or stay downtown with great restaurants and solid nightlife.

Boulder Colorado Real Estate Website Design Award

After intense competition over the period of several weeks, Boulder Colorado's number 1 real estate estate website, Boulder Colorado Real Estate, has been awarded the PURE GOLD real estate web design award - it has been said that "Success leaves clues", nowhere is this more apparent than on the Internet. The decision to award our Boulder Colorado Real Estate website with the PURE GOLD award was based on design, interactivity, and most importantly, on real estate content.

Mortgage Rates - Will They Impact Boulder Colorado Real Estate?

Alan Greenspan, poised to be replaced in approximately four months as Federal Reserve Chairman, has raised interest rates 11 times since June 2001 - last week's decision by the Federal Open Market Committee to hike the rate banks charge each other for overnight loans by a quarter percentage point to 3.75 percent is steadily becoming a common phenomenon.

Mortgage rates have been fluctuating lately, and we aren't seeing the 4% rates that we could have gotten 3 years ago, but we've been staying under 6% for the most part. The Boulder Colorado market has not stepped off course from a steady rate of appreciation, and despite the natural disasters lately, there is no sign that it will.

Stay tuned to see how Boulder Colorado Investment Property, as well as overall residential sales (Boulder Colorado Real Estate) are impacted by President George Bush's decision on a Federal Reserve Chairman replacement.

Boulder Real Estate Press

We seem to be getting some notice from property talk, check us out over there - they have done a fine job of collecting articles from across the globe for the knowledge and betterment of the real estate community.

For your hip real estate news, and Boulder Colorado Real Estate advice, keep it locked to the 411.

Real Estate Yard Signs?

The city of Boulder Colorado has been cracking down on the use of Boulder Real Estate signs over the past year, is it the same in your area? We all know that a real estate sign located in the public right of way is illegal, and in Boulder Colorado, could warrant you a $1,000 fine and/or 90 days in jail.

The Boulder Colorado sign code states:

“With respect to real estate signs, the council finds that a small “for sale” or “for rent” sign is an important means of advertising real estate and does not create a traffic hazard…”

The code goes on to state:

“…One temporary, non-illuminated real estate sign per property or per dwelling unit street frontage, set back at least eighteen inches from the nearest public sidewalk, that does not exceed 6 square feet per face in area and a total of 12 square feet in area and four feet in height in the RR, RR1, ER, LR, MR, MX, HZ, MXR, HR, HZ, and MH zones or 16 square feet per face and a total of 32 square feet in area and seven feet in height in any other zone, but only if the sign remains in place no more than seven days after sale or rental of the subject property. The area of such a sign shall not be deducted from the allowable sign area or number of freestanding signs for the building or business unit. If the property owner or tenant is not using this real estate sign allowance, such person in possession of the property may place a non-commercial sign conforming with these limitations in lieu of such a real estate sign.”

The code is quite a mouthful to handle (and covers all the bases, including 'non-illuminated' signs). LetÂ’s give the Realtors a break out there for those Sunday open house signs, temporarily providing a means to promote and drive traffic to their listing, for the benefit of the Seller. I completely respect the intent of the sign code in Boulder Colorado (and there are some choice spots, specifically on Broadway, where small conglomerates of condos are riddled with signs), but much like anything in our lives, letÂ’s use some common sense on where to place signs, and for how long they should be placed.

Existing Home Sales Rise

The National Association of Realtors released information yesterday stating that existing home sales rose 2.0% over levels in July, to 7.29 million units. August’s number is just behind June’s 7.35 million-unit record.

Interesting to note, inventory levels rose 3.5% at the end of August to 2.8 million existing homes for sale, which is approximately a 4.7-month supply of homes. Historically speaking, a supply of approximately six months reflects a market that is in balance between buyers and sellers.

Boulder Colorado saw 212 homes sold in the month of August, while inventory stood at 942 homes – Boulder Colorado Real Estate Market Statistics.

It will be interesting to see how the market statistics play out for the remainder of the year, given the recent natural disasters in the Southeast, and the Fed’s raising of interest rates. Stay tuned for more real estate information.

Stylish Boulder Colorado Living

Downtown Boulder Colorado convenience, class, and style are yours in this rarely available sunny downtown loft condo. Revel in your less than five-minute walk to Boulder Creek, Wild Oats, Boulder Public Library, and Pearl Street. This is truly stylish Boulder living at its finest!

Showings will begin Monday, September 26, 2005, and an open house will take place from 1:00-4:00pm on Sunday, October 2, 2005.

Dealing with a Low Appraisal?

My Dealing with a Low Appraisal article was recently published at PropertyTalk.com (in addition to the Sunday edition of Boulder's largest newspaper, The Daily Camera). You can take a peek at it by clicking on the above link. I will be writing articles for them moving into the future, so stay tuned for more content to come.

PropertyTalk.com has also featured the article in one of their USA Investment Property forums, what an honor!

Dept. of Justice files suit against NAR

The Department of Justice has filed suit against the National Association of Realtors (NAR) over a real estate industry rule that it considers unfair to online real estate agents and consumers.

It appears this lawsuit is more about limiting the access of listings taken by "traditional" brokerages, so that the customers of non full-service brokerages would not have ready access to those listings that are taken by full-service brokerages; the latter having more costs associated with the operation of their business, and obvious benefits that come with a full-service brokerage.

You can read about the new NAR policy by clicking here.

You can read more about the lawsuit at the following sites:

The Chicago Tribune
The Register

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What does it mean to be a REALTOR®?

Why the capital letters? Why the trademark? Aren't you just a real estate agent?

I have received the question "What does it mean to be a REALTOR®" from several different people. The answer is relatively simple. As a Boulder Colorado REALTOR®, I am held to a higher level of scrutiny around the way in which I conduct my business. Simply holding a real estate license in a particular state, and becoming a REALTOR® are two different things (for instance, not all licensed real estate agents are REALTORS®).

Let's take a look at the history around the word REALTOR® itself, the major distinguishing factor of holding the title, and try and boil down what the trademarked REALTOR® term actually implies. The NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (NAR) was founded as the National Association of Real Estate Exchanges on May 12, 1908 at the YMCA Auditorium in Chicago, IL. The term "Realtor" identifying real estate agents as members of the National Association of Real Estate Boards and subscribers to its strict Code of Ethics, was devised by Charles N. Chadbourn, a past president of the Minneapolis Real Estate Board, and was first used to designate members of the Minneapolis organization. The Minneapolis Board gave all rights to the word "Realtor" to the National Association in 1916. In 1949 and 1950 respectively, the Patent and Trademark Office registrations for the term REALTOR® and the REALTOR® emblem were approved. Dictionary publishers began to list the definition of "REALTOR" as a member of the National Association in 1967. In 1974, the name of the National Association of Real Estate Boards was changed to the National Association of REALTORS®.

Now that we know where the name came from, what does it mean to be a Boulder Real Estate REALTOR®?

A REALTOR® subscribes and pledges oneself to a strict code of ethics that not all real estate agents put themselves through. You can view the current code of ethics at NAR's website here: Code of Ethics. Essentially, the code is made up of rules and regulations, above and beyond common law, by which a REALTOR® must abide. Speaking honestly, these rules and regulations are fair, and are centered on honesty and integrity - rules around disclosure, accounting, competency, and equal services.

In Boulder Colorado, it's somewhat difficult to be in the real estate business with a major provider (Coldwell Banker, Remax, etc.) without being a REALTOR®. Colorado Real Estate Commission rules stipulate that you must work for a minimum of two years under a Broker (such as Coldwell Banker) before you are allowed to work for yourself, however, after that two years, if you are working with someone who runs their own firm, you should look into what kind of ship they are running.

Bottom line, when working with a REALTOR®, you're working with someone who has voluntarily dedicated himself or herself to conducting their real estate business in a fair, honest, and sincere manner.

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