536 Apollo Dr [Boulder Notable Sale]
Boulder NOTABLE SALE: 536 Apollo Dr | $2.9M A mid 90’s two-story that survived the fire in Spanish Hills. Although the finishes were dated, this was a generously sized home (+8,000 SQFT) in a location minutes from Boulder proper. The views were excellent and the layout conducive for a remodel.Deal notes: On the market for more than two months before an acceptable offer was received. It sold for $50K below the list price. Like this content? Check out Fresh Listings. It's our review of the most compelling new listings to hit the Boulder and Denver real estate market | SubscribeNote: The Realtors [...]
2211 Bluff Street [Boulder Notable Sale]
BOULDER NOTABLE SALE: 2211 Bluff Street | $1.31M The north side of Bluff Street in Boulder has a steep slope, limiting the size of back yards. It also contains a number of townhomes in close proximity, most built around the same time period. Still, it's close to historic districts and in proximity to both downtown and the Google Campus. 2211 Bluff is an early 80's townhome, with one bedroom on the main and two on the upper level. It shares a wall with the neighbor and doesn't have an HOA, which could make ownership (and financing) interesting. From a functional perspective, [...]
What’s Happening in Local Real Estate? [Boulder Colorado]
Increased Rates & Restricted Inventory Rates have inched up past 4.0% and new mortgage applications have plunged. For our local market, which has seen a steady decrease in inventory, year after year, for more than a decade - the impact should be to a mildly cooling appreciation rate. Partial data for February shows 67% of houses and 53% of townhomes and condos were sold for more than list price. The median premium paid was 7.7% for houses and 6.7% for attached dwellings, respectively. Contrast that to January, when nearly 80% of houses sold received a premium. Is this a sign of a cooling [...]
2205 Stony Hill Rd [Notable Sale]
NOTABLE SALE: 2205 Stony Hill Road | $1.65M Why Notable?We're a little surprised that this dated Devil's Thumb listing ended with a sale price $150K over list. When we wrote about it in November, we expected it to sell much closer to $1.5M. It's a smaller, garage-forward, multi-level house with a choppy floor plan and in need of updates. The lot size will probably support a small addition, and everything else can be addressed, inside and out, but the location will likely remain somewhat busy. We look forward to seeing how the new owner transforms it. Like this content? Check out Fresh [...]
833 Laurel Avenue [Notable Sale]
NOTABLE SALE: 833 Laurel Avenue | $1.48M Why Notable?A 70's era two story in Park East on a decent size lot, sporting a relatively fresh remodel. The house features all above grade square footage, five bedrooms, three baths, and a two-car attached garage. Finishes were current. Deal notes: On the market for less than a week, the property sold for $75K over list, with conventional mortgage (i.e. not cash). There were no disclosed concessions. Like this content? Check out Fresh Listings. It's our review of the most compelling new listings to hit the Boulder and Denver real estate market | Subscribe Note: The [...]
1545 Ithaca Drive [Notable Sale]
NOTABLE SALE: 1545 Ithaca Drive | $1M Why Notable?A basic Bi-Level in Table Mesa with original everything, including trippy shag carpet. From a location perspective, the property will get light-splashed from traffic on Findlay, but this part of town doesn't see tons of vehicle traffic. It will likely be redeveloped. For point of reference, we listed and sold a thoroughly updated home that started from the same basic platform a couple of years ago. It's about two blocks away. See 1405 Findlay Way for what's possible.Deal note: On the market for less than a week, 1545 Ithaca sold for $100K over list, [...]
656 Juniper Ave [Notable Sale]
BOULDER NOTABLE SALE: 656 Juniper Ave | $2.75M Why Notable?Another home on a flag lot, but this time with one difficult to correct problem: no yard. Functionally, the home had a split layout and a low bedroom count (where are the home offices going to go?), but the design was at least architecturally interesting. The location just north of Newlands supported the valuation but wasn't close to the quality of some of the neighboring estate homes. Ultimately, inadequate outdoor space and the sheer amount of work needed to remodel the interior killed our client's interest.Mr. Market agreed. It was listed at $3.2M in October and after a month, the seller [...]
3633 21st Street [Notable Sale]
BOULDER NOTABLE SALE: 3633 21st St | $4.5M Why Notable?We took our clients to see this home several times while it was on the market, but couldn't get our heads around the choppy layout, location, and deferred maintenance at the inflated list price. The home was substantive, and the location very private (flag lot), but also east of 19th Street with no real views. Deal Notes: The home was listed at $5.15M at the end of September, well after the peak of the seasonal cycle. After a couple of weeks on market, the seller cut the price to $4.95M. About a week after that, it [...]
601 Canyon Blvd Unit B [Notable Sale]
BOULDER NOTABLE SALE: 601 Canyon Blvd Unit B | $1.2MWhy Notable?We were quite surprised when we first saw this development underway. It's turned out to be an astounding investment play, although our initial theory of it being constructed as a rental was incorrect. We suspect the developer wishes they kept it in their portfolio. Unit B is one of four townhomes in a building constructed in 2013. It features two bedrooms, three baths, and a reasonable ~1,300 SQFT. Finishes have aged reasonably well, and the location is in close proximity to everything cool in Boulder. It's a very trendy lock-and-leave style property in the perfect location for accessing all of Boulder's [...]
What’s New at House Einstein – Dec 5, 2021
Note: The following was published as the introduction to the latest Fresh Listings Newsletter, a review of the most interesting new listings and notable sales in Boulder, Denver, and surrounding areas.What's New at House Einstein?We had four closings this past week, with deals in Denver, Westminster, and Boulder. After multiple offers, our listing on Chinook, the one with the two-story indoor waterfall, closed at nearly $375K over the list price. Credit for that goes to the seller for trusting our advice in how to prepare and market the home. I also want to thank the entire House Einstein team for their support throughout the process [...]
What’s Happening at House Einstein? [Business Update]
It's official. We're expanding House Einstein's footprint to Summit County. Mary Herre, one of the outstanding agents on our team, has started doing a lot of business in Summit. Going forward, Mary will act at our office's designated Realtor for that market. What does this mean? It means far better access to the newest listings to hit the market in Breck, Dillon, Frisco, and Silverthorne. She's also been working hard to establish relationships with builders and other Realtors in the market, which has given us great intel on new construction and other unlisted opportunities. We'll start adding notable sales and fresh Summit listings to the newsletter in [...]
So, Who Left Money on the Table? [Analyze This]
How much are buyers paying? The facts might surprise you. In our latest Fresh Listings newsletter, I analyzed the most recent sales in Boulder and Denver. The analysis is compelling. Median paid over asking, in deals where there was a perceived bidding war, exceeded 7%. Meanwhile, a surprising number of homes actually sold for less than list price. That's right, I'll say it again: A surprising number of homes sold for less than the list price last month. On the ground, we're seeing buyers continue to play herd ball and target some listings to the exclusion of others. It's creating quite a roller coaster marketplace. Meanwhile, [...]
How’s the Market, Osman? [Analyze This]
The latest data shows the Colorado real estate market continues at a heated pace, with the majority of house buyers in Boulder and Denver Counties paying a premium to the list price. From when I last analyzed the market, about a week ago, the median premium paid has increased in Denver by about 0.26% but is essentially unchanged in Boulder. The chart above shows the distribution of premiums, or discounts paid to the list price on the Y axis. The x axis is the final sale price. The time period is April 19 to April 27, or roughly the past week. The [...]
Hope and Renewal | Leading Market Indicators
As you might imagine, market activity took a brief pause last week before resuming. Things are not the same, and for many in our community, will never be the same. Healing takes compassion, reflection, and time. At House Einstein, we're weighing how to best support our community, which will likely come in the form of increased giving or direct service. As far as the real estate market goes, it's time to resume our work. We're still gathering complete data for March and the first quarter, which will almost certainly show a majority of homes selling for asking or more. We personally participated in several +$100K over asking bidding [...]
The 3 Day Rule, Bidding Wars, and the Cost of Cold Feet [Earnest Money and MLS Status]
Your Realtor's most critical job is to expertly negotiate on your behalf, as they intelligently and strategically structure a deal. In theory, experienced agents should have a good understanding of how to do so effectively. In practice, many do not, especially when it comes to how to align the contract with rules that govern our industry. Oh, there are a lot of rules. Here's one you probably don't know: The rules says that if your home is listed for sale on IRES or ReColorado (our dominant MLS's), an agent has three days to change the listing status from when a contract is executed. In practice, if [...]
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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.
