When Will Boulder Homes Exceed $1MM? [Analyze This]
by Osman Parvez ---- By now, you've seen the article in the Denver Post about $1MM home prices in Boulder. It created quite a buzz. You might have also seen the response in the Daily Camera, with some of my colleagues refuting the claim. Neither article does a good job of exploring historical home price growth in Boulder nor forecasting prices into the future. Let's dig into it. The chart above chart shows median sold prices for arms-length house transactions between June 1 and August 31 (i.e. "summer") within the city proper. Affordable housing, town homes, and condos are [...]
Gorgeous 2 Bed, 1 Bath Condo (Pre-MLS Opportunity)
by Osman Parvez ---- Right now, I know of many unlisted properties for sale. In most cases, the owners are still taking steps to prepare them for sale. One is just about ready now, so I can tell you about it. 2 bedroom, 1 bath condo at South Creek in South Boulder. Gutted and remodeled with hardwood floors and new paint. It features an garden level patio and is in a great location. Seriously, this condo is beautiful inside and it's ready for the next owner. We haven't finished staging it yet. It should hit [...]
Development Map Update | Food Truck Parks and Contentious Affordable Housing
by Osman Parvez ---- I woke up early expecting to shovel this morning. Sadly, there was no white stuff on the ground. Here's a Development Map update instead. Added 11/17/15 BHP's new affordable housing development - at 4525 Palo Parkway (44 tri-plexes, townhouses and apartment units in nine buildings. Units will consist of 13 one-bedroom units, 14 two-bedroom units and 17 three-bedroom units). Tempers are boiling over and there are LOTS of negative comments from the neighbors on this project. Expect the planning board meeting on 11/19 to be contentious. Read the public comments in the 600+ page board packet. The [...]
Is This Boulder’s Future?
by Osman Parvez ---- A client sent me this video about what's happening in the San Francisco Bay Area housing market. It's an eye opener. Is this Boulder's future? Let's hope not. Million Dollar Shack: Trapped in Silicon Valley's Housing Bubble ---- Want to get blog updates via email? Click HERE. Ready to buy or sell? Schedule an appointment or call 303.746.6896. You can also like our Facebook page or follow us on Twitter.As always, your referrals are deeply appreciated. -- The ideas and strategies described in this blog are the opinion of [...]
Osman, How Much Should I Offer? [Investment Analysis]
by Osman Parvez ---- We took one of our buyers to see an investment property at the Wimbledon in Boulder last week. At the end of the showing, they wanted to buy it. They asked "Osman, how much should we offer?" How much to offer and how much to list are the most common questions we get from our clients. To give you a sense of the type of work we do to answer the question, let me walk you through the analysis. This is far beyond the service you'll receive from a typical Realtor. We believe that [...]
This Week: A Castle for the Kids [Fresh Listings, Get ‘Em Hot]
Cleo knows how sniff out good houses Here are the 12 best houses and condos to come on market this week in Boulder, Louisville, Lafayette, and Longmont. As usual, we sifted through the listings and culled the overpriced, bad locations, refreshed listings, and other undesirable properties from our list. Ready to see some houses? Let's go. To schedule a private showing, which includes a discussion of valuation and price trends, call Osman at 303.746.6896. Single Family Homes 2265 Floral Drive | $729,000 | More Details Look familiar? It should. This ranch style Boulder house was on the market earlier this [...]
Development Map Updates
by Osman Parvez ---- Time for updates to our development map. - S'park, located just North of Boulder Junction. Sutherland Park will feature 246 residential units spread across multiple buildings in a mixed use development. Only 25 residential units will be for sale. The rest are rentals of which 45 will be affordable housing and the remaining, market-rate. I wonder if the low rate of owner occupancy will impact financing and marketability. Time will tell. Pearl West Making Progress - Boulder Junction Townhomes, located next to Boulder RV on 30th Street. 32 row houses having 3 bedrooms each, surrounding a [...]
Louisville or Boulder? [Analyze This]
by Osman Parvez ---- Boulder buyers often consider Louisville as a more affordable alternative. Over the years the spread between these markets has widened. This isn't just happy talk and hand waving. Let's look at the data. Enter the wayback machine. A few years ago, we helped a Doctor decide between purchasing in Boulder or Louisville by analyzing all the sold homes with 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms and running a regression. This is what it looked like. The chart above confirms what you probably already suspect. Boulder is a more expensive market but historically, it's also appreciated faster. [...]
Your VOTE is important! NOW is the Time.
Hey Boulder! Don't forget to vote. Boulder's future is on the line. Ballots are due tomorrow, November 3rd. It's too late to mail, you must drop it off. Polling locations are HERE. Bill Moyers Essay: Your Vote is Important -- Here's Why (2008) from BillMoyers.com on Vimeo.
Commuter Condos to Castles on the Hill [Fresh Listings – Get ‘Em Hot]
Ready to see some houses? We've sorted through this week's fresh listings. As usual we scrubbed the old inventory, bad locations, egregiously overpriced, and otherwise undesirable properties from the list. We're also including Louisville and Lafayette into this week's mix. Here are this week's picks. To schedule a private showing, which includes a discussion of valuation and price trends, call Osman at 303.746.6896. Single Family Homes 409 Mapleton Avenue | $995,000 | More Details Great location for a ranch style house, albeit one that needs a full gut and remodel. Post war construction, but expect some struggle to get past [...]
Boulder Sales Volume Up Almost 20% [Analyze This]
by Osman Parvez ---- 560 residential units traded hands last month in Boulder County, a 19% increase from the previous year. Within the city of Boulder, sales volume was up 15%. Longmont saw a year over year increase of 34%. As smaller cities, Superior, Louisville, and Lafayette are typically more erratic on a month to month basis. September was no exception, with sales dropping 21% in Lafayette but rising 78% in Louisville. Superior was a wash. Sales volume is a good proxy for demand. Be sure to compare it to our analysis of inventory conditions for the bigger picture. [...]
Long’s Urban Oasis
by Osman Parvez ---- If you're new to Boulder, you've probably wondered about Long's Gardens - a patch of land visible from Broadway, just North of the North Boulder Rec Center. It's a third generation Iris farm founded in 1905 with a long history in Boulder. Check out this video: From a real estate perspective, this patch of land is unique in Boulder. It's the city's only urban farm with 15+ acres of land being utilized by Long's Garden, the Mountain Flower Dairy, and Growing Gardens. I would like to see this land protected by a permanent conservation [...]
CU Kiddie Condos, Flips, and Family Homes – This Week’s Fresh Listings [Get ‘Em Hot]
It's that time of year. Fresh listings are getting few and far between so we've broadened our scope this week beyond Boulder to include Longmont, Louisville, Lafayette, and Superior. As usual, we've culled the bad locations, the sneaky refreshed old listings, known poor construction, and other un-worthies. Ready to see some real estate? Let's go. To schedule a private showing, which includes a discussion of valuation and price trends, call Osman at 303.746.6896. Single Family Homes 331 Indian Peaks Trail W | $825,000 | More Details The more desirable west side of Indian Peaks. Large, family friendly, and built in [...]
A Change in the Wind? Boulder Inventory Update [Analyze This]
by Osman Parvez ---- Happy Autumn, dear blog readers. Hot off the presses, here's our latest inventory analysis of Boulder real estate market conditions through October 1st. Think you know what's happening? You might be surprised... This first chart (above) shows inventory for Boulder houses. The brown line represents the total number of houses listed in inventory. The blue is the percentage that are currently under contract. The typical seasonal pattern shows a significant drop in both inventory and percent under contract. This year is far from typical. Total inventory has remained steady and the percentage under contract has trended [...]
Short Term Rentals and Over Occupancy Enforcement [Council Watch]
by Osman Parvez ---- We attended last night's City Council meeting. Council approved an ordinance limiting short-term rentals to primary homeowners for up to 120 days. Rental licenses would be required. Once implemented, second home owners will not be able to rent their property legally. Implementation won't begin until January. Council's supposed intention is to encourage long term rentals. While council members considered the impact to second home owners, and acknowledged it would catch some people in the net they didn't want, they passed the ordinance anyway. I expect the impact will be a new revenue stream for the [...]
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Testimonials
Osman was a refreshingly honest realtor. He stressed through the entire process that his goal was to make me happy with my home purchase. I greatly appreciated the fact that he never shied away from pointing out the negatives as well as the pluses of different places while leaving the final decision up to me.
We can highly recommend Sophie. Her attention to detail and communication skills are great. Our home was in area that most realtors are not familiar with, but Sophie took extra time to get to know the neighborhood in order to give us quality service. She also brought in a professional photographer to make our home look its best. Even though the listing was in winter, the house sold quickly. With Sophie’s business and people skills, we have no doubt she will be a top realtor in the area.
