August 2011

Louisville, CO real estate: Our current market spotlight is on Louisville, whis is currently one of the better-performing residential re-sale markets in the Boulder area.  You can review some of the recent statistics from BARA on our Market Update page, but in general Louisville single-family homes have recently been selling faster than in other areas of Boulder Valley.  Specifically, in the month of June 2011, Louisville had the lowest number of average days on the market at 48.  Year-over-year, ending 6/30/2011, the average sales price in Louisville was up 4.4% to $430,237 - the second highest increase in the Boulder-area market.

Using 12-month data from IRES through 7/31/2011, Louisville residential re-sale numbers reflect the following: The number of

QRM: What is a Qualified Residential Mortgage and what does it mean for the Boulder real estate market?  In a nutshell, the QRM is a proposed new federal mortgage-loan regulation under the Dodd-Frank Act that would require a 20% downpayment.  Specifically, under the proposed regulation a lender must hold 5% of the risk (loan amount), unless the loan is a QRM.  So, a lender originating a non-QRM loan would, in effect, have some "skin in the game" with respect to the new loan as opposed to just pooling the loan for sale in the secondary market.  Here's a video from NAR with a lot more details:

Watch the QRM Video by Clicking Here

A lot of people have feared that this new regulation would eliminate all mortgage loans that don't meet the new QRM criteria,

The Stealth Bomber flew over Boulder today (8/27/11), and I was lucky enough to capture a quick shot as he banked to the east and eventually flew south.  The video below is a little shaky, but you can clearly see the bomber.  I was just north of town and was looking to the south, and it was awesome to see this plane in the air!



I think I heard something about the bomber being at the air show in Jeffco, but I was shocked to see it flying over Boulder and just had to try and capture it.

Boulder foreclosures and short sales, are they out there and are they good deals?  The "short" answer is "yes, and "maybe".  According to IRES today, there are seven attached and detached properties listed for sale in the City of Boulder that are identified as lender-owned, or foreclosures.  In addition, eleven properties are officially listed as short sales, but this number is likely a bit low as they are not always ID'd correctly.  In any case, they're out there.

Whether these kinds of distressed properties are, in fact, good deals and whether they're the right kind of deals for you to pursue . . . that's a little more difficult to answer.  Some buyers, for example, are simply not good candidates for short sales because, among other things, of the

Creekside Longmont homes for sale:  Creekside in south Longmont is ideally located between Plateau and Pike Roads, and offers Boulder County home buyers a variety of home styles and prices.  Situated along a meandering creek, this mature neighborhood has long been popular because it is so convenient to local shopping, highly-acclaimed Niwot High School, and offers some incredible mountain views.  You can always browse all Creekside homes listed for sale by visiting our website, or by simply bookmarking www.HomesinCreekside.net.

This coveted Longmont neighborhood features an inviting, 10-acre park and playground area with basketball courts, and encompasses the subdivisions of Watersong, The Farm at Creekside, Creekside, Rainbow Ridge and Rainbow Ridge

The J.D. Power and Associates 2011 Home Buyer/Seller Study, recently released, ranks RE/MAX #1 in "Highest overall satisfaction for home sellers and home buyers among national, full-service real estate franchises".  This is the fourth annual study of home buyer and seller satisfaction with the nation's largest real estate franchises, and represents more than 4,200 evaluations from 3,680 respondents in the U.S., who bought or sold a home during the 12-month period ending in April, 2011.  You can read more details of the study using this link.

RE/MAX of Boulder has received more than its share of national awards as well, continuing the tradition of excellence and the highest level of service our clients have come to expect.  In addition to establishing the