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Thanks to our realtor troll Osman (I know, I know, but it's soooo delicious!) for the lead on this Boulder gem, like many Colorado dumps built in that high-style, high-quality 1975 vintage.
MLS #425809. Listed in September 2004 for $2,280,000. Reduced it $350,000 in March of 2005 to $1,950,000. Now it's down to a $1,275,000 listing price.
That's a nice 44% price drop, and also coming up on 19 months on the market.
But alas, Zillow has it valued at $747,000, down $90,000 from its Zillow high just 6 months ago- so we still have a way to go... Only 67% below the original asking price! Or 33 cents on the dollar if you look at it that way. Wonder if Osman offers a money back guarantee to his buyers?
Yup, that Boulder real estate is RED HOT! Hurry! Buy, buy, buy!! And listen to those realtors - they're on your side! It's not about their commission - it's about you!
Let's all wish Osman good luck on the job search and counseling sessions.
April 05, 2006
Crashing real estate in Boulder, Colorado
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20 comments:
No one can defend the current real estate market. There is way too much info out there on Zillow and the foreclosure sites.
"Hello, my name is Osman and I'll be taking your order here at Denny's. Anyone need to see the grand slam menu?"
Keith you are an amazing therapist! A two day session and you have pulled a patient out of deep denial and set them on the path to reality. Freud would be proud.
Keith, one overpriced home hardly makes a market analysis. But thanks for the plug.
Back in February when I posted on finding desperate sellers for big discounts, I searched the market for homes that had unusually long Days on Market(DOM) to illustrate what a good buyers agent can do. Did you read the post?
Savvy buyers can benefit by doing the same. Start with the overlooked homes with high DOM, not the "Just listed" properties. Then put in a low offers.
Thanks for looking it up and proving my point.
p.s. You can find Boulder Days on Market and inventory as well as more research on the Boulder Market on my blog. I should have March's numbers up in the next few days. Perhaps we'll start to see a slowdown then (or perhaps not).
In defense of the house, it right on the golf course and the comparibles are not (they are only from adjacent neighborhoods). However, I'm not sure what kind of premium someone can demand for that. I'd say 15% tops IMHO.
Osman, if Boulder is so HOT HOT HOT! then why are you on this blog all day posting. Are you getting outhustled by the other realtors in your hood?
BTW: Savvy buyers can find good deals without agents, it's called zillow and ziprealty.
I think the house's problem is primary location. Arapahoe is a busy road and likely to get busier with upcoming developments.
Plus, when you grossly overprice a house, the result is a very long time on market and multiple price reductions. It's why pricing it right from the beginning is so important. Some sellers, however, have unrealistic expectations of their home's value and have to learn the hard way.
Joe, I'm hardly on this blog all day. However the last few days have been so wickedly entertaining. Perhaps I've spent more than I should have.
I also work in a partnership where our duties are split. As most buyers start their search online, that's where much of my responsibility lies. I think it's the most bang for the buck.
Also, unlike most people, my "free time" tends to occur in the middle of the week. But I have full control over my time and when I work, it's very efficient. Just one of the benefits of working for yourself. Bye-bye "Face-Time" or "Looking Busy."
For example, this morning I had a nice 10:00AM tennis match with a client who recently bought a condo in Lafayette. I'm now at the home office enjoying lunch (while I type). at 2:00 I'll be in Johnstown with a client for a building inspection.
I also type pretty damn fast. :)
p.s. Have I ever said Boulder's market is "hot, hot, hot?" I tend toward the conservative. Even *if* I thought our market was extremely strong, I wouldn't use "hot,hot,hot" to describe it.
Tip of the hat to Osman for conduct and thoughtfulness.
You have certainly done a lot to shot down the "all realtors are scum" myth that this community seems so bent on. Thanks for posting intelligently and avoiding the type of behavior many on this site seem to revel in. Please keep it up, your comments make HP worth visiting.
I'm a big believer that the bubble is popping, but when it gets back down to where rent multiples make sense I'll certainly look you up if I'm headed to CO.
Anon
Yeah, I think it's kind of cool that whenever Keith calls Oz a troll, Oz's reponse makes Keith look like the troll. Very amusing. But there's still a real estate bubble, and when it bursts Boulder won't be spared.
No disagreement from me on the bubble, and it certainly is nationwide.
C'mon regular readers: haven't you all noticed that this place is heading downhill faster than Phoenix house prices? Anyone else care to ask keith to quit with the ad hominem attacks ("whores", c'mon man, jeez) and get back to putting up interesting posts?
Please keith, get this community back on track.
Anon
I think those anonymous comments are Osman's friends or even Osman himself. What's with the sudden chumminess and calling him "Oz"?
Osman, I just hope Lereah doesn't catch you trolling bubble blogs. He might think you're not conforming to the strict "there is no bubble" mindset. Don't want to see you on the outs at those annual NAR galas.
realtor trolls, it's tough to defend a 67% price cut
you know you would have salivated at your 3% commission on that 2.2 million - and told your buyer about all kinds of things that justified the price
but hey, you'll still get your 3% on the $600,000 sale.
Keith is getting a little spacey...
However, Osman is presenting himself as the great guy who provides service to the buyers. We've got to remember that the RE agent is working for the seller. And from the seller's POV, the only thing that counts is moving the house at the highest price possible in the shortest period of time.
And the RE agent's main job is to move the house...which means intensive wading through the available financing to enable the buyer to complete the sale. And there are a whole lot of buyers getting hustled into suicidal loans by the RE agents and mortgage finance mega-machine. The whole community service and buyer friendly claims of the RE agents is just window dressing.
Zillow seems to have lots of homes appreciating the last few months. I checked a couple and they went up nicely recently even though the areas they are a part of didn't. How did that happen?
twib said...
zillow.com has my home appreciating the last two months. Which is good news since it showed it depreciated the previous three months before that.
keith,
Am I seeing things or did you actually remove a comment and repost a less hostile version? If so, thanks for listening and keep it up!
Anon
Desbear,
What you're saying is true in states that still practice subagency. In Colorado, when you have a buyer's agent - they are not working for the seller, they're working for the buyer.
This isn't necessarily true in every state. Massachusetts, for example, still practices subagency. If you haven't signed an agreement with your agent, the default is subagency to the listing agent. i.e.the person showing you the house that you probably think of as "your" realtor, is in fact working for the seller.
You can read up on Colorado agency here.
Here's another post on Buyers Agency. Is it smoke and mirrors or the best deal in real estate?
In Colorado, when you have a buyer's agent - they are not working for the seller, they're working for the buyer.
If an agent is truly working for the buyer, it means that the less the buyer pays for the house, the more the agent gets paid. And vice versa.
Care to tell us how this works?
desbear is right, "[T]here are a whole lot of buyers getting hustled into suicidal loans by the RE agents and mortgage finance mega-machine."
RE agents and lenders should beware: Their commission is a pittance compared to the cost of litigation. They need to disclose up front and in writing the extremely high risk of buying residential housing today.
Anon 2:22:48 AM,
You're free to negotiate with your agent and structure any sort of deal you'd like.
I just posted an update on Boulder's market for the first quarter of 2006. Here's the sales analysis and if you're a buyer/seller in Boulder, a breakdown of inventory vs sales by price point.
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