Average Condo Price Sets Record
The condo price in the Berkshire metro market set a record average price in May, rising to $195,567. Single family detached homes came in at $305,730 which was down from the previous month of $307,308.
The condo price appears to be high due to a larger number of high end condo’s selling, not so much that price of condos is increasing.
Larry D. McGee, a broker with the Denver Group, Realtors, Metro Brokers, agreed that it was the mix of condos that drove up the average price.
"I think what we had is a lot of expensive condos that happened to close in one month," McGee said. "That’s kind of the problem of looking at any data for just one month. I would expect that next month, we’ll see the average price of a condo fall back into the high $180,000s."
He said the most expensive condo to close this month was a 3,356 square-foot unit that sold in the Riverfront neighborhood in the Central Platte Valley for just under $1.66 million. That equates to $495 per square foot.
Larry D. McGee, The Berkshire Group, Realtors Metro Brokers
Denver Flip Flop…flop
The past decade in Denver real estate has seen an abundance of "fixer uppers" being bought, beautified and sold again, at significant profits.
As a Buyer’s Agent showing homes, I run into them all the time. Right now I’m working with two different buyers in two different price ranges, but we are coming across the same situation.
The real estate "flip floppers" are improving the home, but not taking into account the functional obsolesence of the floorplan. They spend a ton of dollars making the kitchen grand, using granite on the counter tops, tile on the floor, upgrading to fabulous cabinets, but then put the refrigerator out on the back porch or in a difficult to access corner.
My favorite flopper this week: the listing agent kept telling me it appraised at $243,000 and it was a "new" house. Well, the reality of it was many of the components in the house were new. The kitchen was outstanding. The problem arose in the bedrooms, one was tiny and the other was not even large enough for a small bed. Still the listing agent was billing it as a "legal bedroom" because it had a closet!
My buyer was able to get over the problem, we decided to knock out a wall to incorporate the tinest bedroom into a nice closet for the remaining bedroom. The orginal closet in this bedroom was barely large enough to place 12 hangers in!
It was a lovely home and absolutely perfect for a NUDIST!
Investors, developers, wannabe flip floppers, please take my advice. Think modern, not just in the kitchen, but how we live today. If there is no space for a closet, make some elsewhere. Improve the whole property, not just a few elements.
By the way the listing described is still on the market 75 days later. Ouch! The buyer decided it wasn’t worth the risk or the effort.
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Denver Market Update - May 2005
The Berkshire Group’s monthly recap of real estate news and activity in the Denver Metro region. Covering home sale prices, unemployment increases and real estate news in general.
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