What’s Worth Seeing This Week? [Osman’s Picks]
Thirty one houses hit the Boulder real estate market this week. We weeded out the overpriced, the bad locations, bad layouts, or otherwise undesirable. Just five are worth seeing. Let's go see some houses. To schedule a private showing, which includes a discussion of valuation and price trends, call Osman at 303.746.6896. Single Family Homes 700 Hawthorne | $919 | More Details Check out the cathedral ceilings, the playful layout, the excellent transition to the outdoor living spaces. We love it, except for the nasty overgrown pine in front yard but that's an easy fix. From a numbers [...]
Inventory Update [Analyze This]
by Osman Parvez ---- A quick look at inventory, updated through today, April 20th 2015. Inventory continues to creep mildly upward. 182 houses and 157 condos and town homes are listed for sale. As of this morning, 108 attached dwellings are under contract. 48 are available. This ratio will change as final negotiations take place for last week's new listings and agents update the MLS listing status. As an odd coincidence, 108 houses are also under contract. 74 houses are available. Keep in mind "under contract" includes "active/backup" and "pending" status on the MLS. Our take? [...]
The Inventory Shortage Gets Worse [Analyze This]
by Osman Parvez Time for a quick inventory analysis update. Let's look at the charts. The graph above shows House Einstein's inventory tracking for attached and detached dwellings in the city of Boulder. Inventory has been rising since mid January. Now let's look at the bad news. This chart shows the breakdown between available and under contract houses. Beginning in early February, the number of "tied up" houses spiked upwards. The inventory shortage is worse for condos and town homes. Under contract properties (including pending listings) are 41% higher than available homes. From The Front Line We've [...]
Council Seeks 9 Month Ban on Building Permits [Aspenization]
by Osman Parvez Heads Up. Boulder City Council is preparing to vote on another emergency ordinance on Tuesday. The proposed ordinance is below. Links and bold text are my additions. The proposal is from Council Member Sam Weaver and of course, Plan Boulder supports the measure. ----- (a) the City Manager be directed to not accept applications for any Site Review as defined under BRC 9-2-14, or any review where land use intensity modifications or height modifications are requested, nor issue building permits for structures not already approved under such reviews except as provided in (c) below, and not [...]
Don’t Wait, Adjust Your Strategy NOW
by Osman Parvez Heads up. The summer real estate season in Boulder is coming to a close. If you're still in the market to buy or sell, it's time to adjust your strategy. Take a look at inventory trends during the month of July. The chart above shows attached dwelling inventory (i.e. town homes and condos) in the City of Boulder from the end of June through today, July 30. The blue line is available, the orange line is under contract, and the grey line is pending. Since the end of June, available attached dwellings have dropped 18% [...]
MORE Bad Data (Inventory in Boulder and Louisville)
by Osman Parvez Time for a quick look at inventory in Boulder and Louisville. First a couple of details. I'll explain why these distinctions are important in a moment. Available inventory = all property not under contract + property with a first right of refusal. The vast majority of first right properties will not sell to the party who retains that right of purchase, so I'm treating it as available (and so should you). Under contract = property that is under contract with a buyer (i.e. listed as active/backup) + pending status listings. Pending usually means the property [...]
The Market is Hot for $1MM Boulder Condos, Right? WRONG [Analyze This]
by Osman Parvez Sorry, it's been a while since I last posted. Clients are my #1 priority and we're now in the busy season for real estate in Boulder. Expect blog postings to remain slim during the summer. If you want me to represent you (buying or selling), just call me at 303.746.6896. I'll give you the straight talk, no hand waving or pushy sales pitch. The Boulder Condo and Town Home Market Google your way around the net. You won't often find much in the way of analysis on market conditions for Boulder condos and town [...]
15 Properties Worth Seeing [Get ‘Em Hot]
by Osman Parvez Did you miss me? I was traveling last week and with two separate negotiations in play, I just didn't have time to blog. It usually happens around this time of year. Blogging takes a backseat to active negotiations. Clients come first. Well, let's get to it. Fifty two new listings hit the MLS this week. I've sifted through them, thinking I'd struggle to find ten properties worth seeing. Surprise! I found fifteen. Ready to see them? Call me to arrange a showing at 303.746.6896 1825 Marine Street #18. [...]
Boulder House Inventory – Get it Hot [Osman’s Picks]
by Osman Parvez Wow, it's been a busy week. 53 listings hit the market in Boulder this week, 7 of which are already under contract. As I'm writing this, it's nearly 6pm on a Friday night. I've been a little busy negotiating on a contract and I still have to get my run in so I'm going to skip the usual Friday inventory run down. Instead, I'll give you only my picks. 790 10th Street - Start Working on Your 3Pt. Shot. Of the 53 houses hitting the market, 10 are worth seeing (and still available). These [...]
Mid Week Fresh Listings – Buttoned up and Ready [Get ‘Em Hot]
by Osman Parvez A couple of fresh listings caught my eye. They may not make it to the weekend, so I thought I'd post up before they're gone. 2040 Balsam. Offered at $1.4MM. It last sold for $882,000 in 2011. The owners appear to have invested a lot of resources into upgrading the finishes in the living areas, kitchen, and bathrooms. The location is pretty spectacular for its proximity to down town, but the outer ring of the butte this neighborhood is built on is where the valuation anchoring views lie. Here's one of [...]
Boulder Market Slows, House Sales Drop 26% [Analysis]
by Osman Parvez Here's something no other Boulder Realtor will tell you. The Boulder market slowed during the 4th quarter of last year and dramatically hit the brakes during the 1st quarter of 2014. Take a look at the following chart. You're looking at the change in sales volume during the quarter vs. same period a year earlier for the City of Boulder. For houses, sales volume dropped 5% during 4Q13 and then fell a whopping 26% during 1Q14. For condos, the drop was less severe. Volume fell 9% in 4Q13 and then 7% during 1Q14. [...]
Fresh Listings, Get ‘Em Hot [Inventory]
by Osman Parvez The inventory shortage continues. Let's take a look at this week's fresh inventory hitting the market in Boulder. First, the numbers for the week of April 11, 2014. 47 Listings Hit the Market 8 Refreshed Inventory 41 Truly New Listings 9 Under Contract Already 16 Actually Worth Seeing (Osman's Picks) 22% under contract the first week. I'm available this weekend, if you'd like to see the fresh inventory first hand. Click HERE to download my analysis. --------- p.s. There is a lot more to see than what's brand spanking new and seller's are more reasonable when their listing [...]
Finding Houses – A Competitive Advantage?
by Osman Parvez Some of the larger brokerages in town are apparently pitching that they have an advantage by having access to unlisted properties. Is it truly an advantage? Not really. The Unlisted Sale The rare unlisted sale I've been tracking new listings obsessively this season as an effort to help my clients see and evaluate inventory faster. Occasionally, a property will be listed as already under contract or even sold. 735 Mapleton for example. If you dig back through my "Get it Hot" series analyzing fresh inventory, you'll see it's a rarity - probably less than 1%. [...]
Fresh Listings – 3/21/14 [Get ‘Em Hot]
by Osman Parvez Ready for this weekend's showings? Here's the breakdown: 40 properties hit the MLS this week. 10 are worth seeing (my picks) 7 are already under contract 7 are relisted old inventory 21% of the truly new (not relisted) inventory went under contract within the week. One of those didn't even hit the MLS before it was under contract, a potential disservice to the seller (who knew how much the open market would pay?). Current Boulder inventory stands at 431 properties, 41% which are under contract. Here's a link to download this week's FRESH LISTINGS. --- Like [...]
Inventory Shortage Rages On [Analyze This]
by Osman Parvez As long term blog readers know, I love data analysis and effective visualizations of trends. Occasionally, I'll get side tracked but most of the content on this blog remains very analytical. Here's a look at the ongoing inventory shortage in Boulder County. The chart above shows the most recent inventory level compared to the long term average for the month. Boulder, Boulder attached dwellings, Longmont, and Louisville are shown. Inventory this year is running more than 55% below the long term average (2004-2013) in the City of Boulder. It gets worse in Longmont and [...]
