I guess we would all be rich if we could could look into our crystal ball and look into the future. Let’s take a minute and look at what is happening in the real estate market.

The tax credits are expired and all those home buyers that were able to take advantage of the government programs are happy campers today. Just yesterday one of my buyers called to let me know they received their $8000.00 check and have plans to spend it wisely. It helped a lot of buyers but didn’t really change the real estate market in most areas.

In Colorado, especially around Denver, the market is recovering well and buyers are once again out looking for a dream home to meet their needs and are finding a good selection of affordable homes to choose from.

The really good news is we have historically low interest rates which means lower monthly payments for home buyers. We have never seen interest rates as low as they are today and have been that low for several months. Just look at this graph and see how fortunate we are to be buying at around or below 5% interest.

I went into real estate in 1973, yes I was really young, with interest rates about 7% and had no idea what was ahead of us. As you can see rates started climbing in the 70’s and actually peaked out around 18% in 1981. We found out that if a home didn’t have an assumable loan, or the seller was not willing to finance the home, it just didn’t sell. Many of the ways to assume and carry back are not allowed today so it would have been much worse if we were working under today’s mortgage guidelines.

Yes interest rates are terrific, so let’s talk about price. The Denver area is very complex and in some areas the prices of homes are down 10% or more from just a few years ago. Condo’s and town homes have taken a larger reduction than single family homes, however there are many areas that are doing just fine and are seeing home values on the increase. The best areas are those with average home prices in established neighborhoods. Areas like Highlands Ranch, Littleton, Centennial and most areas of Aurora are doing well as they were not boom town subdivisions off the beaten path and the job market remained fairly stable.

Higher priced homes over $450,000 were hit the hardest and multimillion dollar homes have been close to a standstill. Just in the last few months we have started to see jumbo loans come back and are now helping  the buyers needing a mortgage over $417,000, so a few of those more expensive homes are starting to sell.

The number of homes going on the market in all price ranges are going up, which means the selection is on the buyer’s side of the ledger sheet once again.

So I agree with many other professionals that now is a great time to buy a home.  If you have an existing home to sell, get it on the market early and price it right. Don’t expect to buy a new home contingent upon selling your home first, as sellers are not willing to take that gamble.

There is a big difference in real estate agents, so interview a few and make your decision on who to represent you based on their experience, their desire, and the services they offer. Make sure you can talk to them and they are available to take care of your needs. If you’re trying to hire an agent based upon the fee they charge you will most likely get what you pay for.

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