Today’s Reading
by Osman Parvez Looking for a local real estate news update to keep you awake this Monday morning? Here's a few articles that caught our eye... Commercial real estate is picking up along the US36 Corridor. Investors have pumped more than $153MM into office space, including the $35MM purchase of The Views office complex in Interlocken last month. Other projects in the works include Deepak Chopra's $40MM condo and health spa located next to the Westin Hotel and a $200MM residential and retail community by California based Pacific Builders. Don't want to hire a general contractor for that dream home? [...]
Open Space Funding
by Osman Parvez Boulder is stepping up acquisition of open space land. This coming Tuesday night (5/2/06), City Council will vote to authorize a $20.1MM bond issue to fund the initiative. Voters previously authorized the city to issue up to $58MM in bonds in a 1997 ballot measure and after the issue of the $20.1MM, the city will have remaining authorization for $4.8MM. Here's the City Council Agenda Item on the bond issue. According to the Daily Camera, the funds will be used to purchase land in four areas: A series of parcels in and around the city of Boulder [...]
Big Boxes and Boulder
by Osman Parvez Another Big Box in Boulder? Well, probably not. A recent poll surveyed residents on a new "Big Box" retailer in Boulder. 35% of respondents (registered voters who live in or near Boulder) wanted another Big Box in Boulder while 48% opposed the idea. The survey came after Leo and Terry Palmos, the owners of property at 28th Street and Jay Road, indicated that they'd like to see their property annexed for a Big Box store. Last year, City Council asked planning staff to find sites for a big-box retailer within city limits as alternatives to the Palmos [...]
A Wall of Water Hits Boulder
by Osman Parvez If you happened to be in Boulder yesterday morning, you may have heard the sirens. Boulder was practicing for a flood evacuation. While there is little statistical chance of a massive flood rampaging down Boulder Canyon into the City of Boulder, on July 31, 1976 just such a flood did occur nearby. The Big Thompson Flood killed 145 people, destroyed 418 houses, and caused more than $40 million in damages - in about two hours. Whether or not you live or work in the flood zone, have a plan for you and your family including a safe [...]
The Bubble – Should You Worry?
by Osman Parvez With all the doom and gloom housing scenarios sprouting on various blogs and being carried by the national media, it's easy to feel pessimistic. You might even start to think the Sky is Falling. Well, should you be worried about Boulder real estate? Are you even wondering if you should sell your property and rent while the market sorts out? The answers lie in research about your local real estate market. Unless you live in Phoenix, Las Vegas, or Miami, don't base your real estate decisions on (often sensationalized) news blurbs about rising inventory and slowing sales [...]
Historic Preservation Flouter Goes to Jail
by Osman Parvez The Daily Camera is reporting that a Mapleton Hill homeowner was arrested for violating historic preservation ordinances. For those of you that wish to avoid going to the slammer, you may want to read about the options for maintaining/improving your historic windows. ---- Like this analysis? Subscribe to our client research report. 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. [...]
Cultiva!
by Osman Parvez Boulder Valley Rotary is volunteering to help out the Cultiva! program tomorrow morning (Saturday, April 8th at 9am) at the Hawthorne Community Garden in North Boulder. I'll be there and would like to invite you to join us. If you're in the mood to exercise your green thumb, please come on out to help. For more information or directions, call me at 303.746.6896 p.s. The weather looks good, so don't forget your sunscreen and work gloves. ---- Like this analysis? Subscribe to our client research report. Want to get blog updates via email? Click [...]
Speak Your Mind
by Osman Parvez I attended the CBS4 sponsored Community Forum at Boulder High School on Tuesday night. It was a very interesting presentation of ideas from the community and the CBS4 people did a great job moderating the discussion. It reminded me a bit of Nantucket's Town Meetings, but with a little less drama and no voting. Summary: A resident of Mapleton Hill spoke out for something to be done with the closed Mapleton Elementary School. School Board President Helayne Jones was present to respond, noting declining enrollment as the primary factor driving the 2003 school closings. Also, according to [...]
Boulder Junction Update
by Osman Parvez Like the Little House in the country that over time becomes surrounded by the big city, Boulder's Historic Transit Depot currently sits in a parking lot surrounded by Whole Foods, Barnes and Noble, Landmark Cinema and more. According to the Daily Camera, planners want it to be part of the new Boulder Transit Village. Meanwhile, owners of the shopping center want it moved to make way for new development - sooner than Transit Village will be ready. However, preservationists don't really want to see the building moved twice. Things could interesting... ---- Like this analysis? Subscribe [...]
Bobos in Boulder
by Osman Parvez Here's an interesting post from a condo buyer in the Holiday Neighborhood, a New Urbanist development in North Boulder that has been progressing along nicely. He writes, "What I find interesting about the project is how it depends on a market demand for socially responsible policies. This isn't corporate social responsibility for its own sake. Nor is it top-down social engineering. The project is working because consumers want the product. (To be sure, some of the features may have been included to please local regulators. As you might imagine, it's not easy to build in Boulder.) Like [...]
Rising Sun
by Osman Parvez Looking for company on a training ride, our friend Ray stopped by the house this past weekend. Although my bathroom scale thinks otherwise (lies!), theoretically I'm training to ride my first century (100 mile bike ride) with him this summer. Ray Tuomey is the Marketing Vice President for Namaste Solar Electric, a Boulder-based, employee-owned solar electric company that designs and installs renewable energy technologies in homes and businesses in our community. Namaste has been involved in many local solar panel installations in Boulder, including a recent project for the Boulder Homeless Shelter saving the organization up to [...]
Boulder Inventory of Homes Available
by Osman Parvez To help a prospective client, we recently did a detailed market analysis within his specified investment criteria. Along the way, we updated our full market statistics through the month of February for all local areas. The chart below is Boulder's inventory of single family homes. As you can see, inventory levels are typically seasonal here in Boulder. And for the first two months of 2006, the inventory of available properties looks to be on par with last year, a sharp contrast to areas experiencing a downturn. ---- Like this analysis? Subscribe to our client research report. [...]
Historic Windows and Restoration Projects
by Osman Parvez I had the pleasure Monday night to attend a panel discussion on possible conflicts between the Green Points System and the Historic Preservation Program in Boulder. Bearing the cumbersome title, Historic Preservation/Environmental Sustainability Integration Project, an ad-hoc panel composed of a couple of architects, a window specialist, an energy efficiency expert, and an associate of Amory Lovin's Rocky Mountain Institute discussed a key area of conflict for the two programs. What's the conflict all about? Primarily, it's about windows. And, according to some homeowners we know who've gone to bat on this issue, getting the windows upgraded, [...]
Boulder Fix ‘n Flips
by Osman Parvez A few weeks ago, we prepared an analysis for a client of last year's fix 'n flips in Boulder. "Fix n' flip" defined as properties purchased, repaired or remodeled, and then resold for a substantially higher price within a few months. After analyzing 2005's sales data, I came up with four properties that were clear examples in the City of Boulder. Three projects had enough profitability to be successful, with an average purchase price of $427K, gross profit of $156K, and holding period of 188 days. One looks like it just broken even. The analysis includes "before" [...]
Boulder to Lyons Trail Moves Forward
by Osman Parvez ---- City Council approved the Community and Environmental Assessment Process for the Boulder Feeder Canal at last night's meeting. That's one more step in the direction of getting this decades long project finally underway. Here's the agenda item once again. Page 14 contains an expected timeline going forward. You can also download and watch the city council meeting on this agenda, including public comment on the issue. You'll need to install Real Player (free) to view the video. ---- Like this analysis? Subscribe to our client research report. Want to get blog updates via [...]
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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.
