The New York Times – Sunday, September 30, 2018 by Ben Casselman
DENVER — By nearly any measure, this city is booming. The unemployment rate is below 3 percent. There is so much construction that a local newspaper started a “crane watch” feature. Seemingly every week brings headlines about companies bringing high-paying jobs to the area.

Yet, Denver’s once-soaring housing market has run into turbulence.
Link to the rest of the article: Click Here

Cliff Daniels
Realtor
Active Properties
Boulder Colorado
720 434 1418
cliff@actprop.com

The post Denver Housing Market – NYTimes appeared first on Active Properties.

Personal finance site WalletHub (Adam McCann, Financial Writer) decided to determine which among more than 180 of the largest U.S. cities is home to the happiest people in America. They looked at 28 key indicators of happiness, ranging from depression rate to income-growth rate to average leisure time spent per day. So where do all the happy people live?

It seems that California girls and boys are having all the fun. The happiest city in the United States is Fremont, Calif., with San Jose, Calif. coming in third. Two other California cities made it into the Top 10, and another four counted in the Top 20.

Full Report, and the top 182 Cities, Click Here

Fremont, CA
Bismarck, ND
San Jose, CA
Pearl City, HI
Plano, TX
Fargo, ND
Sioux Falls, SD
Irvine, CA
Huntington Beach, CA
Grand Prairie, TX
Madison, WI
Columbia, MD
San Francisco, CA
Scottsdale, AZ
Overland Park, KS
Santa Clarita, CA
Glendale, CA
Oakland, CA
St. Paul, MN
Gilbert, AZ

Fewer work hours doesn’t equal happiness

Surprisingly, the six cities — Burlington, Vt.; Tallahassee, Fla.; Providence, R.I.; Missoula, Mont.; Madison, Wisc.; Bridgeport, Conn. — that had the fewest work hours did not make it into the top 20 happiest cities. And Plano, Texas, which did make it into the Top 10, was one of the cities that ranked high for most work hours.

For highest income growth Bismarck, ND ranked No.1 and it did make it into the top 10 overall happiest cities. However, the rest of cities with high-income growths did not make it into the top 20 except for San Francisco.

Though Overland Park, Kan. had the lowest adequate-sleep rate at 26.4%, it did make it into the Top 20. This was 1.9 times lower than in Detroit, the city with the highest at 50.8%.

Cheyenne, Wyo. had the lowest average commute time, 14.6 minutes, which is 2.8 times lower than in New York City, which has the longest commute at 40.3 minutes. Neither of these cities made it into the Top 20

Cliff Daniels
Realtor
Active Properties
Boulder Colorado
720 434 1418
cliff@actprop.com

The post 2018’s Happiest Cities in America appeared first on Active Properties.

This year, if you’re looking to increase the value of your home but are unsure what home improvements to make, think curb appeal.

According to a recent report from Remodeling magazine, curb appeal projects, such as changes to windows, siding, and doors, lead to a higher return on investment (ROI) than interior improvements.

Over the past 30 years, Remodeling has compared the average cost of improvement projects with their value at resale, based on the experience of real estate professionals. The magazine’s 2017 Cost vs. Value Report supports the generally held opinion that today’s home buyers, while still enthusiastic about the bells and whistles, want to ensure their homes are structurally sound with all systems functioning efficiently.

Remodeling’s projects include a basement remodel, an entry door that was replaced with 20 gauge steel, and the addition of stone veneer. All of the 29 projects tracked returned on average 64.3 cents per dollar spent.

Among the trends, the higher return of curb appeal projects and projects that required the replacing of windows, doors, etc. Replacement projects generally scored higher than remodeling projects; the ROI of replacement was 74% and of remodels was 63.7%.

As in the previous year, adding loose fill insulation to the attic returned 107.7% and was the only project on the list whose value exceeded its cost. Steel door replacement and addition of stone veneer also paid off, at 90.7% and 89.4% respectively. Interestingly, these are among the cheapest projects, although their costs were up over the previous year.

Those who want to tackle an interior project might do well to consider a basement remodel, providing it’s done well; a high-end basement remodel was perceived as high value, returning 7.4% more than the same project last year, while a mid-range basement remodeling project only increased in value by 3.3% over the previous year.

Something to consider when you’re planning your next home improvement project.

Cliff Daniels
Realtor
Active Properties
Boulder Colorado
720 434 1418
cliff@actprop.com

The post Improvements to Increase Your Home’s Value appeared first on Active Properties.

Considerations may be:
– when to sell (time of year), is there the best time?

– pricing, and when considering pricing, the quality of the property being actively lived in, previously a rental property, or now the property is currently vacant?

– Staging the property should be considered. For a staged property, is there an additional value to a staged property offering? Will staging a property hold the value or perhaps even increase the value? Time on market; will a staged property shorten the listing period for the maximum offered price?

Bottom line, we want the property sold in the shortest time and the greatest dollar amount.

1. You Will Make More Money

According to the *National Association of Realtors (NAR), the average staging investment is
between 1 and 3 percent of the home’s asking price, which generates a return of 8 to 10 percent!

2. Your House Will Sell Faster which = More Money and Less Headache and Stress

A National Association of Realtors survey found that the longer a home stays on the market, the
further below list price it drops. Homes that sold in the first 4 weeks averaged 1% more than the
list price; 4 to 12 weeks averaged 5% less; 13 to 24 weeks averaged 6.4% less; than list price;
and 24 weeks averaged more than 10% less than list price.

3. The Cost of Staging Doesn’t Cost A Dime

In a 2009 Home Gain Survey of over 2000 Realtors, it was discovered that home staging typically
provides a 586% return on investment!

4. Most Home Sellers Cannot View Their House Objectively

If you can’t see objectively, you can’t “package” effectively. Have an HSR staging professional
get your home into its most advantageous condition for showing.

5. Your online photos will stand-out amongst the competition

According to a NAR profile of buyers, over 90% of buyers are searching for homes online first
before deciding to visit. Give buyers a reason to drive to your home by having multiple photos of
beautifully staged rooms that will stand out among the competition!

6. Only 10% of Homebuyers Can Visualize the Potential of a Home

That’s why staging a home is critical! You don’t want the advantages of your home overlooked
and left up to the buyer’s imagination.

7. The Longer Your Home is on the Market, the Lower the Price Will Be, so STAGE FIRST!

According to a National Association of Realtors survey, homes that sold after 4 weeks on the
market sold for 6% less then ones within the first 4 weeks! Don’t be in a position where you have
to lower your price…have your house staged!

8. The Money You Make On the Sale of Your Home May Be TAX FREE and the Money You
Spend on Staging is Deductible!

Take advantage of a possible tax-free capital gain by getting every dollar possible while getting a
possible tax deduction for spending on staging services to improve and sell your home! (*States
may vary, so please consult your accountant)

9. Leaving Your House in “AS IS” Condition Will Only Help Sell the Competition

Right now the number of homes for sale on the market is at a record high. Competition is stiff and
buyers have very high expectations, as well as many choices. Successful agents know that the
key to competing is professional staging because it creates compelling online presentations,
drives buyer traffic to the home, and turns prospects into buyers.

10. You Can Relax

You will have the satisfaction of knowing you have done absolutely everything possible to affect a quick sale of your most valuable commodity and for top dollar!

*NAR Profile of Buyers and Sellers 2009
Copyright Home Staging Resource, LLC

Cliff Daniels
Active Properties
720 434 1418
cliff@actprop.com
Boulder Colorado

top-ten-reasons-professionally-stage-home/

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Boulder – Denver: Seller’s or a Buyer’s Market? Hidden market horrors?

Houses, condos and townhomes on the market for days, and in some cases only hour until under contact status. Going to tour a property, encounter several parties conducting the same tour as you.

Urgency seems to be increasing. Are buyers suppose to forget buying at value? Are emotions getting in the way of being objective? Properties hitting asking price, or even more than asking price, only to hope that the property will pass the appraisal deadline contingency. Martin Acres in the mid- $500s and in some cases low $600s.

Boulder, Colorado is a great place to live, and is currently experiencing a “Seller’s Market”. Inventory on “For Sale” is low, demand is high. Sellers selling are headed to the retirement community or exiting Colorado for the waves of grain in Kansas.

Ask Tara @Trulia has detailed some experiences from clients experiencing a Seller’s market. Besides keeping calm, here’s some additional advice lines offered:

Horror #1. The Headless House Hunt(er). Good idea to become more flexible?

Horror #2. Hot Market, Cold Listing. Is the property a cold listing, or a need to be more flexible re: the “wish list” of desired features of a property

Horror #3: A New Flavor of Stuck.

The Sellers that can, will wait patiently for the Buyer to arrive to purchase. Time is on their side, and considering Boulder / Denver market (in general) a low foreclosure REO number per population, Sellers can be patient.

More information, and details of Tara’s article, CLICK HERE

Cliff Daniels
720 434 1418  
ActProp.com   
Boulder, Colorado

The post Real Estate Market Horrors appeared first on Active Properties.

Top Reasons to Own a Home by Carla Hill

The post Top (5) Reasons to Own a Home appeared first on Active Properties.