Living in Littleton Colorado: Neighborhoods & Lifestyles

While the rebate programs for energy efficient appliances and window replacements are depleted, many will find taking steps now to improve the weatherization and insulation of their homes can still qualify them for other rebates from the state of Colorado.  Details in this recent article from The Denver Post.

Coloradans jump at state program to further energy efficiency – The Denver Post

via Coloradans jump at state program to further energy efficiency – The Denver Post.

Littleton home sales increase 18.7% in May 2010; Home values continue to stabilize with fewer bank owned foreclosure sales

Broker analysis of Metrolist data showed the average sold price of a detached single family house in Littleton Colorado increased to $298,811  in May 2010, up 3.4% compared to an average sold price of $288,886 in April of 2010, though down slightly from an average sold price of $297,381 in May 2009.  The number of homes sold in May increased 18.7% over May 2009, a sign of increased buyer activity, thanks in large part to the Home Buyer Tax Credit stimulus program which ended April 30th, 2010.

The number of traditional, non-distressed homes (pre-foreclosure short sales or bank owned properties) sold in May increased 22.2% over May 2009, though the average sold price decreased by $1,794, or 0.6% compared to the previous year’s average sold price.  Current year trends show overall increases in Littleton home values, with an improvement of 6.9% for non-distressed single family homes, or $19,826 compared to recorded Littleton home sales in April 2009.

Littleton non-distressed home sales comprised 83.7% of all Littleton homes sold in May 2010 vs 81.3% in May 2009
Littleton bank owned foreclosure home sales comprised 8.7% of all Littleton homes sold in May 2010 vs 13.5% in May 2009
Littleton short sale home sales comprised 7.6% of all Littleton homes sold in May 2010 vs 7.1% in May 2009

View Homes for Sale and Neighborhood Information for Littleton Colorado

Compare Local Littleton Home Values by Neighborhood

Find Bank Owned Foreclosure Properties in Littleton

Contact Bryan Messick for More Information, or call me directly at 303-378-7677

South Jefferson county home and condo sales surge in April 2010

Perhaps thanks in large part to the expiring federal tax credit incentive for home buyers as of April 30th, the number of home and condo sales closed in April 2010  increased 21.3 percent and 28.1 percent respectively over April 2009.  The average sales price also jumped by 15.0% from $262,228 in April 2009 to 301,530 in 2010 for resales of single family homes  South Jefferson County, whereas the average sales price for resale condos and towhomes rose a more modest 3.9% over the previous year. 

South Jefferson county homesellers should continue to see residual results from the tax credit stimulus in home sales through June 30th, as the rules to qualify for the homebuyer tax credit only required a contract by April 30th, with a closed transaction date no later than June 30th, 2010.

Though south Jefferson county is experiencing a “mild seller’s market” in both single family homes and condos/townhomes, there may be some concern for sellers considering putting their homes on the market.  The number of new listings coming on the market in April 2010  increased 10.9% over 2009 for single family homes, and condos/townhomes experienced a similar increase over April 2009 with an 11.5% increase.  More supply of resale homes with fewer motivated buyers typically leads to downward pressure on home prices, as picky buyers have more homes to choose from, and we could see a transition back toward a buyer’s market in the early summer months, especially with expected increases in bank owned foreclosure supplies coming on the market as well.  Still, for well-marketed homes under $300,000 that are priced properly, homes sell in under 90 days in south jefferson county, and closer to 60 days for first time buyer entry level homes.

If you are considering selling your home, or buying a home to live in or for investment wealth, now is a good time to consult with a real estate professional to discuss your real estate goals and develop a successful strategy.  Call Bryan Messick 303-378-7677 at Keller Williams Realty anytime or visit www.LivingInLittleton.com to learn more about buying and selling homes in south Jefferson County, including Littleton, Lakewood, Morrison and Southwest Denver.

Home buyers who have been waiting for mortgage interest rates to go lower may have found their wish came true, though they may miss out if they blink.

The Federal Reserve has announced well in advance it’s intention to withdraw from purchasing mortgage-backed securities to help keep mortgage interest rates at historically low levels.  On April 1, 2010, this program is slated to end, though the Fed has indicated it will keep a close watch on the after effects.

Added motivation for home buyers is the pending expiration of the federal tax credits for new and existing homeowners.  Under current law, buyers looking to cash in on the $6,500 or $8,000 tax credit programs must have their new home under contract with the seller no later than April 30th, 2010, and successfully close on the purchase contract no later than June 30, 2010.

With low resale home inventory and newly built homes coming into the local housing market, sellers are seeing the benefit of buyer competition for homes and upward pressure for listed homes under $300,000 in most areas of Metro Denver.

While there has been much debate over the overall impact that tax credits have had on stabilizing the housing market, an increase in interest rates may have much more negative impact in the coming months. 

A rule of thumb states that for every 1% increase in mortgage interest rate, a buyer’s purchasing power decreases by 10% of the sale price.  This means if interest rates increase from 5% to 6%, a borrower looking to borrow $200,000 would only qualify for $180,000 toward the purchase of their new home.  Sellers may find fewer buyers are able to qualify for loans to purchase their home at one price, and may face price reductions to stay competitive with other homes in the area.

Now may be the perfect window of opportunity, both for home sellers and home buyers.  If you’re considering making a move, call Bryan Messick directly at 303-378-7677 and let’s discuss your options.

Link to Bankrate.com article: Mortgage rates fall again to new low

“Mortgage rates fell slightly this week, to the young year’s lowest point.

The benchmark 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell 4 basis points this week, to 5.08 percent, according to the Bankrate.com national survey of large lenders.

The Fed is in the final three weeks of a mortgage-buying initiative that began more than a year ago. In all, the Fed plans to buy $1.25 trillion in mortgage-backed securities. The central bank is down to the last $30 billion or so of these purchases. Afterward, it will be up to investors to buy mortgages and keep home loans available.”

Homes sold in Littleton in February 2010 continued an upward price trend over February 2009. The average price of a single family home increased 4.2% to $289,161 and the median price also increased 2.6% to $251,300.

Homes sold slightly faster, with the average days on market for a single family home in Littleton coming in at 79 days vs 83 days for February of 2009.

Interestingly, the number of homes sold during the month of February declined almost 20%, with 90 home sales closed during the month of February.

The number of Littleton single family homes sold as bank-owned or HUD-owned foreclosures dropped from 35 sales, or 31.2% in February 2009 to 11 sales, or 12.2% for February 2010. Industry experts expect the number of foreclosure sales to increase in the coming months due to expiration of trial loan modification programs and delayed foreclosure proceedings due to moratoriums in 2009.

For more information about home values and real estate sales in Littleton and the Greater Denver area, call Bryan Messick at 303-378-7677.

*Source: Agent analysis of Metrolist and IRES sales data and may not reflect all real estate transactions; information deemed reliable but cannot be guaranteed

I have a confession to make. Every year, about this time, I get 3 bags of phone books delivered to my Littleton home. And every year, about this time, I move those 3 bags from my front door step into my coat closet…not to be noticed again until the next year’s deliveries.

Thanks to a post on 9News.com, I have finally found a convenient way to “opt-out” of these unwanted deliveries and save a trip to the recycling dumpsters. I’m so glad I found this – I’ve always thought having 3 phone books delivered was a huge waste of natural resources.

Here’s how to Opt-Out: Simply make note of which edition of the phone books you are currently receiving, then visit the link below and enter your zip code to opt-out of each delivery service.

http://www.yellowpagesoptout.com/

“…Supporters claim the 500-plus million directories delivered each year in this country are an environmental hazard as they take 19 million trees and 1.6 billion pounds of paper to produce.”

With FHA financing come some additional challenges, including home appraisal issues, property condition and neighborhood stability, especially for buyers of townhomes and condominiums which may no longer meet HUD standards for FHA loans.  Sellers of distressed properties (foreclosures and short sales) often miss the opportunity to sell to FHA qualified buyers due to work needed to fix the property up to meet HUD standards.

Below is a link to a Bankrate.com article which summarizes three issues that buyers need to be aware of if looking to buy a home with FHA financing.

FHA buyers should also be aware that the rules and requirements for FHA financing are about to become more strict for buyers with less than perfect credit and low downpayment money available.

For more information about buying or selling a home, call Bryan Messick at 303-378-7677 or email BryanM@kw.com to discuss the benefits and potential challenges of real estate transactions using FHA financing.

Read the full article at www.Bankrate.com  Print: Fixing 3 common FHA loan snags

“If you’re planning to buy a home, odds are good you may be seeking an FHA mortgage.

First-time homebuyers, buyers with less-than-perfect credit and purchasers who make down payments of less than 20 percent all are likely candidates for FHA mortgages.

Banks saddled with billions of dollars’ worth of bad mortgages are deathly afraid of these types of buyers, so the FHA has stepped in to fill the void, says Dennis Geist, vice president of government programs at Wells Fargo Home Mortgage in Des Moines, Iowa.

“FHA is back again in force because of market conditions,” Geist says. “We’ve seen a lot of foreclosures, and the risk has been greater recently than it’s been in the past.”

The number of  listed homes for sale in the Littleton Colorado area increased 5.4% from December 2009 to January 2010 based on a review of Metrolist data for the South Jefferson County region.  The average sold price also improved from Dec 2009 to January 2010; the average sold price for single family residential homes in South Jefferson County increased just under $11,400 or 3.4%, while the average sold price for townhomes and condos improved just over $12,000 or just over 8.4%.

While the number of  homes sold declined 20% between December and January, the number of homes under contract increased over 41%, a sign of increased buyer activity.  Federal tax credits for home buyers, with an April 30th deadline to have a home under contract and June 30th deadline to close the sale, are likely to continue to provide incentives to purchase a home for first time home buyers as well as existing homeowners who qualify for the $6,500 tax credit.

With fewer bank owned foreclosure properties coming onto the market due to lender efforts to work out loan modifications, there is less downward pressure on Littleton home prices that we were seeing in early 2008.  Additionally, fewer potential home sellers in the Littleton area are placing homes on the market right now, waiting for home values to improve.  For homes priced under $400,000 and marketed properly, now is likely a great time to sell a home  in 2 months or less.

For more information, contact Bryan Messick at 303-378-7677 for the latest market conditions report.

For Littleton homebuyers looking to take advantage of the federal government’s home buyer tax credits and incentives, finding an affordable home that is listed for sale in the Littleton area can be a real challenge right now.

Fewer homes are appearing as new listings in Littleton housing market, as both builders have put projects on hold  and current home owners are resistant to selling while prices have softened.  Additionally, the pending expiration of the homebuyer tax credits program has created increased demand from buyers who need to have a home under contract by April 30th, 2010 in order to qualify for the home purchase credit.

With less than a 5 month supply of available homes listed for sale priced under $250,000, buyer demand will likely push home values upward, as we are already seeing competitive buyer bidding for desirable homes in Littleton and the Greater Denver area.  For homes priced below $150,000, the frenzy is even more noticeable, with less than 2.5 months of home inventory available for sale and the average time on market for homes to sell less than 50 days.

For the serious buyer, getting pre-approved for a home loan with a credible mortgage lender is crucial to making a successful offer and closing on time.  New lender and appraisal rules are causing delays in closing, and sellers are looking for the best offer AND most qualified buyers to avoid taking their homes off the market, only to see the transactions fail.

Additionally, working with a Realtor early in the process will help avoid wasted time looking for the wrong houses that will not qualify for lender appraisal approval.  Many buyers using FHA loans are not aware of the restrictions placed on loans made for homes in depreciating areas, or that do not meet minimum FHA appraisal requirements.  A good Realtor will help buyers properly assess their situation, needs and desires in a new home, and save the buyer time, money and frustration in looking for the perfect home.

If you or somebody you know is looking to buy a home before the tax credit expires, home prices increase and interest rates rise, now is the time to take action.  With less than 75 days left to have a home under contract, buyers should meet with their lender and be pre-approved before looking at homes to make sure they are ready to act when they find the right home.   For more information, call Bryan Messick at 303-378-7677.

Links to Updated Littleton Home Searches by Price, Zip Code, Schools and more

Search Littleton Homes for Sale

As the Baby Boomer population becomes “empty nest” homeowners with the children grown and finding their own new homes (home buyer tax credit info), many current Littleton home owners are looking to “right size” their home. 

The two-story, tri-level or split-level homes that were popular in Littleton and surrounding Metro Denver neighborhoods developed in the 1970′s have become less desirable among many who prefer not to walk up and down multiple flights of stairs several times a day.

Finding the ideal one-story home with enough living space can be challenging, especially since builders have not kept up with demand for such homes over the years.  With devlopers looking to maximize their sale price per square foot in neighborhood lots, home builders chose to build multiple story homes, which resulted in established Littleton neighborhoods not having enough one story ranch style homes to meet today’s home buyer demand for such homes in affordable price ranges.

As real estate agents, we find one-story ranch style homes in Littleton typically sell slightly faster and for more money than neighboring homes.  For buyers, unfortunately, it can be difficult on public real estate websites to filter the search engines to select only the particular price and style of home without sorting through many other undesirable homes.  For that reason, I have created several custom searches that update daily with the newest listings and listing updates to help home buyers narrow the search. 

I invite you to try out our customized searches by clicking on any of the following links to my website:

Search: One Story Ranch Style Homes in Littleton

Search: Two Story Style Homes in Littleton

Search: Tri-Level Style Homes in Littleton

Search: Littleton Homes with 2500 Square Feet or More

Search: Littleton Homes with Acreage of 1 Acre or More

Search: Littleton Homes Located in a Horse Property Community

Search: Littleton Homes Located in a Golf Community

Search: Bank Owned Foreclosure Listings in Littleton

Of course, there are many other possible search criteria, and every home buyer is different.  If you are looking to optimize your time and either expand or narrow your home searches, we can help you create a customized search just for you.  We can focus on style, location, distressed properties, etc.  For more information, give me a call at 303-378-7677 or email me. any time.