Xcel Brings Intelligent Electricity to Life
by Osman Parvez ---- We like things smart in Boulder. Walk around our city and you'll bump into plenty of bookstores and well stocked libraries. Our coffee shops, bike paths, and buses are filled with bookworms and laptop toting smarties. Heck, we may even be the most intelligent city in America (according to Forbes). Now, get ready for smart electricity. Xcel Energy has selected Boulder as its first SmartGridCity and the new system has already started to come online. Earlier this year, Xcel announced that they would test an upgrade to their infrastructure and last month, the first of 15,000 [...]
FasTracks, Worth $7.9 Billion?
by Osman Parvez ---- Over the entire Denver/Boulder metro area, there's been a lot of buzz about a certain public transit project. Last month, the Regional Transportation District of Denver (RTD) completed its annual FasTracks evaluation and announced a new budget of $7.9 billion, a 68% increase from the original budget. The project has received quite a bit of press over the past few weeks. Starting at the FasTracks website, through editorials in the local papers, and speaking with dozens of people to gain their insights, here's my attempt to dissect the situation. First, I believe a brief review is [...]
Boulder Development Map Update
by Osman Parvez ---- We've just completed a huge update to our Boulder Development Map. With this update, we are publishing over 180 pictures of various development projects in Boulder on Flickr. Clicking on the place marks in the Google map will bring up a description with a thumbnail. Click on the thumbnail to visit the set of photos on Flickr. Some sets, such as The Peloton, contain over a dozen images. Here is a key to serve as a reminder: As always, if you know of any other projects or have photos you think we should include, feel free [...]
Which Way? The Market Diverges
by Osman Parvez ---- Dean Baker is reporting on the divergence between high and low-end homes. He writes, "In several of the former bubble markets higher end home prices appear to be stabilizing, while prices for homes in the bottom tier continue to fall rapidly." In the Case-Shiller data for markets Baker examines, the low end is dropping rapidly while the high end is better holding its value. In LA, the bottom 1/3 fell by 3.2% in June and 12.2% quarterly. The top 1/3 fell only by 0.2% and 0.8%, respectively. He notes similar patterns in other markets. As you [...]
Craving Classical? Boulder’s the Place to Be!
by Osman Parvez ---- Many in Boulder are lamenting the loss of KVOD, Colorado Public Radio’s classical music station, which no longer has decent reception in the city since the switch to 88.1 FM. However, from music festivals to solo recitals, classical music is being performed everywhere. Since 1978, the Colorado Music Festival has been a staple of summer at Chautauqua Park, commonly featuring pieces by Mozart, Stravinsky, and Beethoven. Last Friday, the festival wrapped up six weeks of concerts, with performances by dozens of artists, including the St. Petersburg String Quartet and fifteen-year-old Shannon Lee. A myriad of concerts [...]
Historic Farmstead Auction
by Osman Parvez ---- On August 3rd, the city of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks (OSMP) began taking bids for 131-year-old Woodley Farmstead off 75th and Arapahoe. In 2005, the city bought the thirteen-acre property for $1.26 million. Sealed, public bids will be taken through September 3oth, starting at $750,000 for a six-acre portion of the farm. It was recently written up in the Daily Camera: City officials want to put just under half the original parcel it bought back into private hands to better ensure the historic farm house and outbuildings there are maintained and preserved... The farmstead [...]
What’s Really Happening in the Boulder Market?
by Osman Parvez ---- A comment appeared yesterday. I thought it was a good one, deserving to be unearthed from the dark depths of the comment archives and shared. Anon wrote, "The blog has been interesting this summer. I like the new wider topic areas. However, I think the main purpose - analyzing the local RE market - has been largely ignored the last few months. Frankly, the insight and market insider knowledge isn't there, and three monthly reports float in a month after the month in question ends. I complain only because I find this info very interesting and [...]
We Love Boulder Outdoor Cinema
by Osman Parvez ---- Ahh... the smell of fresh, buttery popcorn. The dark air conditioned theater. The flickering screen. It was magical. This is what comes to mind when I think about my early memories of going to the movies. That and waiting in line for Star Wars. Now you can rediscover the magic of going to the movies through Boulder Outdoor Cinema. It's a Summer tradition. We like to pack a picnic dinner, bring a bottle of wine (against the rules, shhh), and invite a few friends. It's a great way to bring people together and always a fun [...]
Got a Job? You’re in Good Company
by Osman Parvez ---- I've said it before and I'll say it again. In real estate, for primary home markets (not vacation homes), employment is the critical factor. Yesterday, the Wall Street Journal had a piece on the unemployment rate, as measured by the number of Americans who register for jobless benefits. Curiously, the number of people registering has remained essentially constant even as the workforce has expanded. From A Jobless Stat That Has Kept Its Measure, by Mark Gongloff (link, subscription req'd): Since July 1978, the U.S. labor force has grown more than 50% to 154 million people from [...]
Boulder’s House Size Battle
by Osman Parvez ---- The City has put together a website to keep people informed of what's happening in efforts to limit house sizes. The site has background, next steps, documentation, and other useful information. Next up? A meeting on June 27 (tomorrow) where the City will consider several potential consultants. Residents are invited to observe. Unfortunately, I can't attend but if you happen to go, please leave a comment and let me know your impressions. Friday, June 27 at 1pm City Council Chambers 1777 Broadway ---- Like this analysis? Subscribe to our client research report. Want [...]
Boulder – #2 for Tech Jobs
by Osman Parvez ---- Right on cue, here's Business Week with Technology: It's Where the Jobs Are: The highest concentration of technology workers—286 for every 1,000 workers—was in, no surprise, Silicon Valley. Boulder, Colo., came in second, with 230, and Huntsville, Ala.; Durham, N.C.; and Washington rounded out the top five in density. Of course, as everyone knows from our regional experience with telecom, having a concentration can also cause trouble if the sector experiences a sharp downturn. The good news is that we appear to be moving towards greater diversification. We may soon become the country's leader in alternative [...]
Boulder Tomorrow + Affordable Housing Study
by Osman Parvez ---- Here's a new site worth checking out: Boulder Tomorrow It's mission is to "serve members of the Boulder community by providing interesting information and links to issues taking place in and around Boulder. We hope it will encourage you to get involved." That sounds admirable. Given the number of issues that crop up around here, if the organizers keep up with it, it should get plenty of traffic. From the about us page: Boulder Tomorrow is a professional organization of business and community leaders who know how to get things done. We're nonpartisan and not for [...]
2008 Remodeled House Tour
by Osman Parvez ---- Want to see how people have remodeled in South Boulder? Join us at the 2008 Martin Acres House Tour. It's a community event where you'll meet the owners and learn about how they've made big and small changes to their property. Silver Fern Homes is glad to support the 2008 house tour as a corporate sponsor. The event will be held this Saturday, May 3rd from 11am to 2pm. For details, please visit the neighborhood association's website. Tickets are only $2 and can be picked up at any of the participating homes. As you probably know, [...]
The Fed’s Foreclosure Map (New!)
by Osman Parvez ---- There's a new foreclosure map worth checking out. The Federal Reserve's dynamic map is a very powerful tool for seeing current areas in trouble and possibly forecasting the future. You can zoom down to the City level and see the difference between zip codes, toggling between Subprime and Alt-A loans. In Colorado 6.8% of subprime loans are in foreclosure and 1.9% of Alt-A loans. Here's a few maps I generated from the site (darker= higher percentage): Subprime loans that have had a late payment in the last 12 months: Subprime loans that were originated with low [...]
Why The Downside Is Limited
by Osman Parvez ---- A few comments have suggested that my recent downside estimate for the Boulder market was too shallow. If you're sitting on the sidelines looking for our local (or broader regional) market to collapse like the former bubbles, you'll probably be disappointed. Here's why. Enter the wayback machine and look at my post from two years ago comparing the Denver market with bubble markets. After showing you how these markets compare and overlaying trends, I wrote: Thus, more support for the notion there's no housing bubble in Boulder or Denver. Even so, we will still be impacted [...]
Welcome to House Einstein
Locations, Due Diligence, Negotiation
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.
