RE/MAX Alliance Agent Greg Smith Shares His Thoughts on the Boulder Real Estate Market!

RE/MAX Alliance agent Greg Smith answers questions regarding the current real estate market and what’s happening specifically in the Boulder area. Greg has been in real estate with RE/MAX Alliance for over 12 years. He has been a Boulder resident for the past 24 years. Greg currently serves as a member of the BARA Governmental Affairs Committee. He has been awarded the RE/MAX Lifetime Achievement Award and Hall of Fame Award.

What are today’s consumers most concerned with when it comes to buying and selling real estate? According to the recent National Association of Realtors (NAR) study, the most important reason buyers buy a home is home ownership. As a result buyers tend to look at the whole picture; neighborhood, location to conveniences, quality of schools, lifestyle and proximity to work.

What are some positive signs in the Boulder real estate market? Real Estate is based on jobs and supply and demand. The Boulder job market has been fairly resilient during the economic downturn and is showing strong opportunities for growth in the years ahead. The expansion of local companies and the large amount of entrepreneurial companies in both the Alternative Energy Space and Natural Products industries, in addition to the already strong employers such as the University, National Labs, Covidien, IBM, Amgen, Microsoft, Google, Oracle, etc., is a great testament to growth. The Boulder Real Estate market has limited new construction, so a very restricted supply which bodes well for future values.

What are the current market trends in Boulder? The lower end market in Boulder has been strong. Homes that are priced right are selling in 30 to 45 days with the possibility of multiple offers. The middle market $500,000 to $750,000 needs to be priced right, show well and if there are any material issues they will need to adjust accordingly to sell. The upper end has showed some recent strengthening, but is still a buyer’s market, with most recent sales being at tremendous values.

Where are Boulder homebuyers coming from? We are seeing a combination of out-of-state, in state move-up buyers and empty nesters. There has been an uptick in relocation buyers, particularly lifestyle buyers who can live anywhere in the country and are choosing Boulder as the place to hang their hat.

Why is now a great time to buy a home? We are at a unique crossroads in the home buying world where there is a fairly good inventory and interest rates are at an all time low. In many instances, with current rates and a buyer’s ability to negotiate, today’s buyer is saving more money than just a few months ago when the Tax Credits were in place.

What do you think is a realistic outcome for 2011? We will continue to see flat to moderate growth in 2011. I don’t expect to see a strong growth until 2012.

“Real Estate is local, but is influenced on a national basis,” Smith said. “The Boulder market will truly recover when we see an increase in home liquidity across the country.”