As the announcer in baseball likes to say when one of the Rockies hits a home run: “You can kiss it goodbye!” Well, that’s about all that can be said about this summer of 2010. Poof! It was over before we even knew it. Now comes the fall; filled with football games, warm days and cool nights. Change is in the air.
The Metro Denver real estate market limped along through the summer months. No longer bolstered by the Federal government’s tax payer incentive program, home buyers and sellers were left to survive on their own. Mortgage interest rates dropped to historic lows, which spawned a plethora of homeowners interested in refinancing. Problem was, home values had slipped and appraisals were coming-in low; leaving many homeowners on the sidelines (or in the dugout) unable to take advantage of lower rates.
Year to date sales of single family homes in Metro Denver are down 7.12% through August/2010 (7,646 sold) as compared to August/2009 (8,232 sold).
On the surface, Metro Denver single family home values have stabilized and are improving. At this time last year, through August/2009, home values were down approximately 6.98% as compared to through August/2008 (average sales price was $279,639). Based on those numbers, average home value sales in Metro Denver have increased about 2.67% over the course of the past two years.
Real estate markets are composed of peaks and valleys; ups and downs. Between the peaks and valleys are plateaus. This is where a calmness normally prevails. People aren’t fighting the currents of change. They have become more accepting; more realistic. This may be where the Metro Denver real estate market is today.
From a real estate perspective, we may never again see the past in the future i.e. annual double digit appreciation of home values followed by annual double digit depreciation of home values. We now live in a more cautious and rational economic environment.
In real estate, there will always be opportunities to be profitable. They exist today, but they are predicated on a person’s willingness to either wait or take some degree of risk. How long the wait will be is unknown. How great the risk is also uncertain. But for some, the willingness to roll the dice will eventually be rewarded. They’ll hit a home run!
A look at the current real estate market. An information source provided by RE/MAX Alliance.
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