Denise Wambsganss
Realtor
303-880-8771
dwambs@msn.com







Thursday, December 6, 2012


REAL ESTATE NEWS for Metro Denver: December 2012
 

Starting in March residential homes prices began leaping upward and have not stopped since. In September, something happened that has not occurred since 2007. 

 For the first time in five years the average price of a metro Denver home exceeded the prices we hit at the top of the market back in 2007!

 This is a stunning comeback for our market which is typically the Housing cycle is a 7 year cycle. So looks like we are in the beginning of the upward swing of the 7 year cycle! 

The metro Denver real estate market continues its incredible recovery, leaving our downturn a distant memory. Consider these facts:
·         The inventory of homes for sale is down 30% in the past 12 months.

·         The number of sold homes is up 11% in the past 12 months.

·         The average Days on Market is down 34% in the past 12 months.

·         The average price of a home is up 13% in the past 12 months.  

The condo market is extremely strong right now. In 2011 the average price of a condo in metro Denver went up 16%. Incredibly, prices are up another 18% so far in 2012. The inventory of condos for sale is at a record low of 2.4 Months of Inventory (MOI) where a balanced market would have 6 MOI. It appears that prices will continue to rise. So, if you are serious about purchasing a condo or a home it might be a good time to get serious. The longer you wait the more you will pay and the less you will get, as well as potentially paying a higher interest rate.

For more information call Denise Wambsganss – Realtor – Your Castle Real Estate
303-880-8771  dwambs@msn.com  Feel free to call for a free Market Analysis of your home.

 

Friday, October 5, 2012

Metro Denver Real Estate Stats as of Sept. 30 2012


 

AVERAGE PRICE OF PROPERTIES CLOSED:

 

                                                         SingleFamily     Condos            Residential

This Month                                               $282,305     $186,843         $306,633

Last Month                                               $285,692     $183,359         $311,893

This Month, Last Year                             $254,078      $159,980         $280,289

Year to Date Average, This Year             $278,100     $176,961         $302,809
It is a GREAT time to put your home on the market.  If you are looking to purchase a home you better start thinking about moving on it NOW before prices continue to rise and you purchase less for more $.  Give me a call or email.  Denise Wambsganss - Realtor - with Your Castle Real Estate - 303-880-8771  dwambs@msn.com

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

TITLE INSURANCE
 
Every time I work with a Buyer or Seller they ask about Title Insurance.  I find it can be very confusing, so I have a description of the two kinds of Title Insurance below and why they exist. 
Title Insurane Descriptions 

If you have recently purchased or refinanced a home, chances are you have had to get title insurance. Basically, title insurance protects you against problems affecting the title to your home. There are two types of title insurance—a Loan Policy, and an Owner’s Policy. A Loan Policy protects the lender for the amount of the loan, while the Owner’s Policy protects you, the homeowner, for your investment in the property—your equity. In both cases, the title process covers an exhaustive search of public records to make certain the title to the subject property is clear, and covers against future loss if a claim against the property is made. While discovering an issue with your title can seem rather remote, one out of every four title searches reveals a problem with the title. Examples include tax liens, forged signatures in the chain of title, recording errors, title search errors, undisclosed easements, and title claims by missing heirs and/or ex-spouses. Fortunately, these problems would be uncovered in a title search before you even close on your home. 
If you want to brainstorm about anything related to Real Estate dont' hesitate to call or email Denise Wambsganss - Realtor - Your Castle Real Estate 303-880-8771 dwambs@msn.com

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

WOW, Look at how the Real Estate marketin is changing !!
METRO DENVER REAL ESTATE STATISTICS

AS OF AUGUST 31, 2012

Based Based

On Properties On Properties


This report summarizes the sales of

Under Contract Closed


residential real estate units during the

reported-on period. Please note:


This Month 5,196 4,685

Last Month 5,236 4,618

1) The reported units have been

Percentage Change - 0.8% + 1.5%

adjusted for the calendar month

(as defined by MLS cut-off dates each


This Month, Last Year 4,537 3,973

month) in order to put such periods on

Percentage Change, + 14.5% + 17.9%

a comparable basis.

Compared To This Year


2) Under Contract units reflect


Year to Date, This Year 40,348 31,163

those properties reported as "under

Year to Date, Last Year 33,485 26,643

contract" during the period - i.e., a

Percentage Change + 20.5% + 17.0%

binding contract was executed

between buyer and seller.

3) Closed units reflect the passing

of title. The close date generally lags

30-90 days behind the under contract


UNSOLD HOMES ON THE MARKET:


date and is often distorted by many

outside factors unrelated to the extent


This Month 10,826

of real estate activity.

This Month, Last Year 16,631

Percentage Change - 34.9%


This representation is based in whole or in part



This Month 10,826

on data supplied by Metrolist, Inc. Neither the

Last Month 10,827

member Boards of Realtors nor their MLS

Percentage Change - 0.0%

guarantees or is in any way responsible for its

accuracy. Data maintained by the Boards or



WEEKLY SALES RATE:


their MLS may not reflect all real estate activity

in the market.



This Month 11.08%

This Month, Last Year 6.30%


AVERAGE PRICE OF PROPERTIES CLOSED: Single

Family Condos Residential



This Month $285,692 $183,359 $311,893

Last Month $288,884 $190,269 $312,920

This Month, Last Year $260,821 $168,050 $284,065

Year to Date Average, This Year $277,567 $175,660 $302,329

Year to Date Average, Last Year $257,436 $158,593 $281,964


MEDIAN PRICE OF PROPERTIES CLOSED:

Condos Residential


This Month $148,950 $262,000

Last Month $154,000 $259,000

This Month, Last Year $130,000 $235,000

Year to Date Median, This Year $138,900 $250,000

Year to Date Median, Last Year $124,000 $229,950


The above representation may or may not reflect all real estate activity in the market.


© 2012 Garold D Bauer, All Rights Reserved, Information Deemed Reliable But Not Guaranteed
If you would like to brainstorm about REAL ESTATE or discuss putting your home on the market or buying a home please contact Denise Wambsganss 303-880-8771  dwambs@msn.com

Thursday, August 16, 2012


Colorado Third Lowest in Closing Costs !!

 This article is from John Rebchook at JRCHOOK@gmail.com.

 InsideRealEstateNews.com a great website to follow !



Not only are mortgage rates as low as they have ever been, but Colorado consumers have another incentive to buy a home – Colorado can boast having the third-lowest mortgage closing costs in the nation, according to a national study released on Monday.

The report by Bankrate showed that it cost $3,199 to close on a typical mortgage in Colorado, almost 15 percent lower than the national average of $3,754.

Seriously, he said the low closing costs in Colorado is somewhat good news for the housing market.

“It will feed the perception, the correct perception, that demand for housing is going up and prices are starting to rise slowly,” McMaken said. He said if more people decided low closings costs are a reason to buy a home now, rather than wait, it could hurt the owners of high-end apartment buildings.

“In the big scheme of things, employment is more important,” than closing costs. In recent months, Colorado has not enjoyed a lower unemployment rate than the national average, he said. Eventually, a higher unemployment rate could discourage people to move to Colorado from other states, he said.

Colorado has seen a dramatic drop in closing costs.

In 2011, Colorado the average closing cost in Colorado was $3,917, putting it in 23rd place. Closing costs declined 17 percent during the past years, more than twice the national decline of 7 percent, according to Bankrate.com’s research.

“This is the second year in which lenders are required to estimate third-party fees within 10 percent of the final cost,” said Greg McBride, Bankrate’s senior financial analyst.”It seems like they’re getting more accurate, which helps explain the sharp decrease in these fees over the past year.

If you have any questions about Real Estate feel free to contact Denise Wambsganss with Your Castle Real Estate at 303-880-8771 or dwambs@msn.com  I love to share information !

Wednesday, June 27, 2012


Important News Release –

The Denver Post printed inaccurate information

– Please read below for ACCURATE information

concerning Colorado Real Estate. -

Last Wednesday, the Denver Post printed an article called “Colorado Could Be Facing a New Wave of Foreclosures” suggesting there may be a surge of shadow inventory coming to our market in the near future. Based upon in-depth analysis, done by the company I work for, Your Castle Real Estate, of the hard data we performed to quantify the so-called shadow inventory and assess its potential affect on our market, we believe their conclusion is both misleading and incorrect and as such does a disservice to home buyers and sellers in the metro Denver area. Below is a synopsis of our analysis.

--------------------------------------

First, let’s define Shadow Inventory so we’re all playing on the same field. We define it as the number of properties that are either REO or 90+ days late on their mortgage in a given area.

If the inventory is REO, that troubled property could be:

· Actively on the market, available for purchase today 
     On the market, but under contract 
Not actively on the market, a part of the shadow inventory that has to be sold eventually
          
If it is a consumer-owned property, the property could be:
·         Actively on the market, available for purchase (as a short sale or regular sale)

·         Under contract or pending bank approval or short sale terms

·         Not on the market – but likely to get a loan modification

·         Not on the market – but likely to be sold as a regular ale or short sale soon, in an orderly way

·         Not on the market – the owner is in denial, and the home will eventually become a foreclosure.  This is still part of the Shadow inventory that may hit the market someday.

The metro Denver area does not have a large Shadow Inventory based on three key data points:

1. According to NAR, Denver has had the highest average home appreciation gain of any of the 30 largest cities in the U.S. in the past 3 years, at $29,900. The average gain (loss, actually) of the largest 30 cities is -$18,400. Just for kicks, the worst performing city is Las Vegas, at -$59,900.

2. Because Denver’s home prices didn’t appreciate as much during the bubble and began the correction before most markets, Denver has already processed the majority of its REO inventory. According to NAR, metro Denver has only 9,740 homes currently owned by banks. Only San Antonio and Kansas City have smaller REO inventories. Miami has the largest REO inventory with 159,000 properties.

3. Denver has the second fewest number of 90+ days late residential mortgages of the top 30 cities in the country at 29,000, again according to NAR. Chicago has 284,000 and Miami has 124,000 90+ days late mortgages respectively.

Our contention is that while there certainly is Shadow Inventory in our market, there is no Shadow Inventory PROBLEM. Why? Because we have relatively very little Shadow Inventory in our market, and even on the extremely slim chance that a large portion of that inventory suddenly and magically descended on the market in a short period of time, we currently have such a low level of inventory it would actually help our market not hurt it! Five years ago when we had 27,000 properties on the market a huge influx of inventory would indeed have been a problem. Today, with an inventory of only 10,000 properties a dump of 8,000 more properties on the market would only get us back to 2010 inventory levels. In fact, we need this inventory to sell!

So if you just read the Denver Post or the Wall St. Journal and don’t want to buy now because of the Shadow Inventory menace, I’d like to explain that while this may be a problem in other parts of the country, it’s not a problem for us. Our Shadow Inventory problem is pure fiction!

 
The reason I have chosen to work for Your Castle Real Estate is because of the massive amount of analysis and trend information that the owner, Lon Welsh, does for his Real Estate Agents, making sure we know how to accurately work with our Buyers and sellers !!! There is no other company in the Metro area that has more accurate information for buyers and sellers and I think the article from the Denver Post is a great example of inaccurate information going out to the public.

 If you have any questions concerning Colorado Real Estate please feel free to contact me:  Denise Wambsganss – Realtor – Your Castle Real Estate
303-880-8771 dwambs@msn.com

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Denver Rated as the THIRD –BEST Performing City
for housing of the major metropolitan areas
by Case-Shiller

Week on InsideRealEstateNews.com
Case-Shiller Ranks Denver Third The closely watched Case-Shiller index released today shows that in March the Denver-area housing market was the third-best performing city of the major metropolitan areas it tracks. Denver also boasted its biggest percentage increase in almost two years. Denver showed a 2.6 percent year-over-year gain in March, compared with a 2.6 percent decline for the 20 metropolitan statistical areas tracked in the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices.

Luxury Market Bounces Back in May The luxury housing market in the Denver area bounced back in May, with 50 sales of $1 million or more, a 31.6 percent jump from May 2011, according to a report by the Kentwood Real Estate Co. The dollar volume last month showed a similar percentage increase, hitting $71.5 million from $54.4 million in May 2011. The most expensive home sold last month fetched $3.6 million, 18 percent higher than the most expensive home in May 2011, which sold for $3.05 million.

  New Home Numbers Low, But Percentage Gains Huge Home building in the Denver area rose by 43.4 percent in the first four months of the year, compared to the same period in 2011, according to a report released today. An increase in building permits for single-family, detached homes is a trend for more than a year, said Jeff Whiton, President and CEO of the Home Builders Association of Metro Denver, which released the building permit report.

  CHFA Unveils Tax Credit Program In celebration of National Homeownership Month, CHFA has launched a new program to help Colorado's first-time homebuyers save up to $2,000 annually on their federal income taxes. The program, called CHFA SmartStep, combines CHFA's most affordable 30-year fixed rate mortgage with a Mortgage Credit Certificate and optional down payment assistance.

Home Prices Break $300,000 June 4th, 2012 The Denver-area housing market was hot in May. The number of previously owned homes and closings rose by almost 24 percent from May 2011, while the average price of a single-family home closed last month topped $300,000 for the first time since 2007, shows a report released today It is a GREAT time to buy or Sale a home in Metro Denver. For specific statistics and information about YOUR neighborhood or home give me a call or email me. Denise Wambsganss – Realtor- Your Castle Real Estate 303-880-8771 dwambs@msn.com

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Metro Denver Real Estate Update

Buyer’s Market OR Seller’s Market Or BOTH ! Here’s a riddle: how can it be both a buyer’s market and a seller’s market at the same time? It sounds like a paradox but in fact it perfectly describes our current Denver Metro real estate market. Here’s how: In the market below $300k where 80% of the homes are sold it’s a blistering seller’s market. You heard it right, a seller’s market! There are only three months of inventory sitting on the market right now, where six months is considered a normal, balanced market. There are simply more buyers than sellers right now and this is translating into multiple offers on listings, sales prices often well above asking prices, and marketing times plummeting. Particularly hot is the market below $225k, which has only two months of inventory. It’s not uncommon for a listing to have 10 showings and a full price offer in the first week. There are a number of factors that have caused this dynamic, one of which is the dramatic reduction in the number of bank-owned and short sale properties on the market. This reduction in distressed inventory has left regular home sellers in a great position and contributed to the sizzling seller's market. Ok, so we know it’s a seller's market. Then, how can it also be a fantastic buyer’s market at the same time? It is, because according to the National Association of Realtors the Home Affordability Index is at its highest recording ever. Just like it sounds, the HAI is a measure of how affordable homes are in a given area. It’s calculated by comparing the median price of a home in the Metro Denver market to the median worker’s income level, taking into account the current interest rate for a 30-year fixed rate loan. What this means is that the median income earner can buy more house today than ever before. Why? Because home prices, while rising quickly, are still well below their peak prices of 5-6 years ago and interest rates are at never-before-seen historic lows. Take it all together and the average home on the market HAS NEVER BEEN MORE AFFORDABLE. So, while it seems like a paradox that it can be both a great time to sell and a great time to buy, it’s actually quite true. Call me and I’d be happy to explain more how we got to this state in the market and how you can take advantage of it. DENISE WAMBSGANSS – Realtor – Your Castle Real Estate – 303-880-8771 dwambs@msn.com

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Real Estate Market Summary The big headline these days in the Denver real estate market is the massive drop in inventory (homes for sale) over the past couple of years. In the past 12 months the price of homes under $85k has risen a massive 19%. Homes between $85k and $135k are up 10%. Homes from $135k - $210k are up 6%. It’s only when you get to prices above $300k that prices are still dropping (down 13% for homes priced above $460k). The key to buying or selling a property successfully is to understand what the market is telling us. Right now it’s telling us that there are not enough homes on the market in the under $300k segment. Please feel free to call me to discuss this further and see how you can make this market work for you whether you are a buyer or a seller. In 2009 approximately 43% of homes sold in Colorado were REO’s (Homes that had been through Foreclosure) in 2012 only 7% of the homes on the market are REO’s (Homes that have been through the Foreclosure process). BIG CHANGE. To summarize Here’s something many people don’t know – the inventory of homes for sale in the Denver metro market is at a 10 year low! There are not enough homes for sale that are priced below $315,000 for the amount of buyers looking to purchase a home. Most of our clients still think it’s a strong buyer’s market and that they can get a great discount on a property with little effort. But the market has changed radically in the past year and this is no longer true. This shows that the Metro Denver housing market is VERY ECLECTIC. I would be happy to consult with anyone who is interested in buying or selling a home. My ability of accessing information about individual neighborhoods is a crucial part of what makes me a Real Estate Consultant, not JUST a Real Estate Agent. Please feel free to Call Denise Wambsganss – Realtor – Your Castle Real Estate 303-880-8771 or email me at dwambs@msn.com