RE/MAX Alliance agent Mark Kruse answers questions regarding the current real estate market and what’s happening specifically in the Denver Central area. Mark has lived in Denver for most of his life (30 years). He is a Colorado native and graduate of CU Denver with a bachelor’s degree. He has been in Real Estate for the past 7 years and currently holds CRS, GRI, ABR and SRS designations. Kruse has been nominated as a 5280 5 Star Real Estate Agent the last two years and is a huge supporter of the Children’s Miracle Network and American Diabetes Foundation.
What are today’s consumers most concerned with when it comes to buying and selling real estate?
Buyers I have worked with have expressed concerns regarding the volatile real estate market over the last 3 to 4 years. If purchasing a home today, they may not be able to sell for any change of life situation in the future. They are also concerned about overpaying in today’s market, even if it is for that perfect home. I think buyers have seen that when the market changes they do not want to be upside down in their mortgages.
What are some positive signs in the Denver Central real estate market? Rates have continued to stay at record lows, which has allowed buyers to buy a bit more house for the money and have a lower payment than they would in some rental scenarios.
What are the current market trends in Denver Central? The condo market is seeing a fair share of activity as long as the units are priced correctly and don’t have too high of HOA fees. Higher end homes continue to sit, unless they are priced accordingly for the market and have the updates that most buyers want in those price points. Sellers cannot be putting a property on the market trying to match the other properties without the same finish level. New construction has slowly increased a bit more over the previous few years. However, builders are being more cautious and building fewer properties at a time to make sure they can sell their inventory.
Where are Denver Central homebuyers coming from? Denver central buyers tend to be people who already live in the area and are moving-up or downsizing. Empty nesters tend to be attracted to the urban feel and are selling their suburb home to move downtown to be closer to entertainment and shopping areas. And, out-of-state buyers, who are from urban areas like Denver’s downtown, are drawn to the Metro area because it is an easy transition and tends to be more manageable than other larger cities’ downtown areas.
Why is now a great time to buy a home? The interest rates are still at record lows, upper 3% to low 4% in some cases. As we move into winter, fewer properties will be on the market and those will be the ones that need to sell. Sellers may choose to come down on price over the next few months and buyers will have the most negotiating room of the year. Winter is not the best time to move, but it certainly can be worth it if you don’t mind hiking through some snowdrifts to get the best price.
What do you think is a realistic outcome for the remainder of 2011? The market will plateau a bit unless the buyers that took a breath when the European market went into flux are finally ready to get off the fence.
“We might have an up and down market, and buyers and sellers might be scared, but we are lucky because when our market fluctuates it fluctuates less than most markets in the country,” said Kruse. “We also seem to stabilize faster than most markets too.”
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