Rioja

Many potential Denver home buyers -coming from out of state -frequently request that I send them a list of high-quality restaurants prior to their exploratory visit.  These are my favorites, and if I haven’t tried them and thought them terrific, they have been highly recommended by my friends.     

Barolo Grill 

3030 East 6^th Avenue, Denver 303-393-1040 

Fruition 

1313 East 6^th Avenue, Denver 303-831-7962 

NoNo’s Café 

3005 West County Line Road, Littleton (on the border of Littleton and Highlands Ranch) (303) 738-8330 

Pasquini’s 

1310 S. Broadway, Denver 303-744-0917 (also have locations in Highland, Uptown, Denver Tech Center, and Lone Tree neighborhoods) 

Rioja 

1433 Larimer Street, Denver 303-820-2282 

Squeaky Bean 

3301 Tejon Street, Denver (Highland neighborhood) 

Trattoria Stella 

3470 W. 32^ND Avenue, Denver (Highland neighborhood) 303-458-1128 

Sushi Den 

1487 South Pearl Street, Denver 303-777-0826 

Vesta Dipping Grill  

1822 Blake Street, Denver303-296-1970 

Please feel free to call me if you are relocating or considering purchasing or selling real estate in Denver. 

Michelle A. Potter, Denver and Suburban REALTOR 

The Berkshire Group 

303-489-4035 

Located in the San Isabel National Forest, about 3 hours south of Denver, is a pretty spectacular site – a castle rather – and a must see for anyone interested in architecture. 

Mr. Jim Bishop started building this castle, which rests in the forest above Rye Colorado, over 40 years ago.  This amazing structure is open to the daily to the public, yet it is the most fun to visit on weekends to watch the lively Mr. Bishop in action.

As my grandmother has a cabin not far from the castle, I have had the good fortune to visit and watch the progress of construction throughout the years.  To say that Jim Bishop is a “character” is an understatement.  He likes to rant and rave about various and usually political conspiracies along with some other less than tame topics. 

If you are not offended by colorful language or bizarre (yet often hilarious) diatribes, visit on the weekend – If you want to get Mr. Bishop going, just ask him about any politician and watch him go.  Otherwise, visit while he is at his day job.  Oh, and the signs will warn you that entering is at your own risk and donations are appreciated!

Learn about the history and see photos on Wikipedia at Bishop’s Castle.  I took the liberty of enhancing my photos to take on a fairy tale look:

Michelle A. Potter
Denver and Suburban Realtor
303-489-4035

Click on Map for Most Recent Metrolist Real Estate Statistics

Click on the map below to see the most recent Denver residential real estate statistics broken down by region:

Click Here for Total MLS Sales Statistics

Behind the Denver Housing Market – August, 2010

1. The average price for both condos and SFR dropped slightly in July, but is still higher than for July 2009 by a combined rate of 6.72%. WHAT THIS MEANS: The Denver market is realizing a continuing increase in the average price, which will remove the “underwater” concept many people have, and at some point, there will be useable equity for those folks that bought prior to 2004.

2. Homes place under contract in July declined by 1148 units from the previous year. WHAT THIS MEANS: The tax credit artificially moved the sales forward into the 2 month period of March and April, and unbalanced the market for the remainder of 2010 and most likely for the much of 2011. Total sales will remain under 2009-2010 levels until summer of 2011.

3. The “Absorption Rate” jumped from 24.3 weeks in June to 31.2 weeks in July. This represents an 8 month inventory vs. a six month inventory. WHAT THIS MEANS: the entire Denver market has moved back to a more favorable position for buyers.

4. The Denver market priced under $500,000 is selling well. The market over $500,000 is now at a 140 days on market, which is considerably better than to 210 days of July 2009. WHAT THIS MEANS: A combination of job losses and difficulty in obtaining mortgage money in the higher price ranges has created an oversupply in the upper price ranges. This oversupply will remain in place for some time. There will be few high priced home built in the next few years, unless custom ordered.

5. The FHA Mortgage insurance changes that were scheduled to take place in September have been delayed until later in the year.

6. At this time the following is true about FHA loans in Denver

a. The FHA Loan Limit in the Denver area is $406,250. This means you can purchase a home priced at $421,000 using the minimum amount required for a down payment ($14,750).

b. At the present mortgage interest rate of 4.5% a home priced at $300,000 will require a down payment of $10,500 resulting in a loan amount of $296,000 after MIP is included. This will result in a Payment of $1630 dollars including Principle, Interest, and Mortgage Insurance. Property taxes and Hazard Insurance must be added to arrive at the true monthly payment.

Thank you to Jim Renshaw at Land Title Guarantee for the first chart and to Larry McGee and Janet Marlow of the Berkshire Group for compiling the remainder of the Denver Housing data for August of 2010.

Michelle A. Potter
Denver and Suburban Realtor
303-489-4035

The Berkeley Park neighborhood, just west of Denver, is a eclectic haven -complete with restaurants, coffee shops, a bookstore and other funky boutiques. Click on the Berkeley neighborhood virtual tour for a glimpse into this fun pocket in Denver:

Feel free to call me if you are considering purchasing or selling real estate in Denver’s Berkeley neighborhood.

Michelle Potter
Denver and the Burbs Realtor
303-489-4035

One of the beautiful benefits of living in the Denver area is the plethora of outdoor activities.  Here are five diverse day trips either in Denver or close to Denver sure to appeal to visitors and locals alike.

Rockies Game at Coors Field

As you can see from the Coors Field photo, even the “bad” seats afford a nice look at the diamond.  The surrounding, Ball Park neighborhood, serve up some fun sports bars for before or after a game.  Of course, the stadium fare isn’t bad either.  Learn more about the Rockies at: Colorado Rockies Baseball.

Manitou Springs, located South of Denver outside of Colorado Springs

Andy Newman, penned a wonderful article on Manitou Springs entitled, in Colorado, a “Hippy Mayberry” that can be read here:  New York Times Travel.  This perfectly apt description speaks to the fact that Manitou Springs is probably the sole town in Colorado where the scent (odor?) of patchouli oil mingles in the air with the scent of ice creams and chocolates.

Manitou is nestled above Colorado Springs and close to Garden of the Gods and Cave of the Winds.  It’s proximity to Denver makes it the perfect day trip for families, couples and singles alike.

Additional information can be found here: Manitou Springs Chamber of Commerce. 

Denver Botanical Gardens

The gardens at the urban location on York Street are beyond breathtaking.  The addition of the Henry Moore sculptures exhibit, intermingled amongst the gardens, enhances the experience.  The Deer Creek Canyon location in Littleton looks inviting although I have not yet had the pleasure of a visit.

Learn more about Denver Botanical Gardens (both locations) at:  Denver Botanical Gardens.

Chatfield State Park

A short drive from downtown Denver, Chatfield State Park, offers: boating, a place for the dogs to romp, swimming, hiking and camping.

Visit: Chatfield State Park for details.

Elitch Gardens Theme Park

The urban setting makes Elitch Gardens a unique place to visit an amusement park.  Light Rail makes entering and exiting the park a breeze.

For hours and additional information click here: Elitch Gardens Amusement Park.

Click on Map for Most Recent Metrolist Real Estate Statistics

Click on the map below to see the most recent Denver residential real estate statistics broken down by region:

Click Here for Total MLS Sales Statistics

Combined statistics for Denver and the surrounding suburbs:

Market Activity:

Days on the Market (DOM) for June:

Residential Year to Date Sales:

Behind the Numbers:

• Home sales prices increased 10% in June over the month of May.  This could be attributed to corporate transferees purchasing homes in the $400,000 range in May and June.  The first time buyers absorbed much of the lower price homes while the tax credit was still in play, leaving higher priced homes available for the corporate transfer home buyers.

• The total number of closed home sales was down a bit in June over May (by 140 transactions).  On the flip side, the year to date sales for the first half of this year showed an 8% increase over the same period in 2009.

• Overall Denver-Metro home inventory is increasing (up 8.8 in June of this year compared to the same time last year.)  This is not at all surprising – as those who had been thinking about selling – seized the opportunity, having seen the success of homes selling in spring.

• Days on market (DOM) increased a tad to 82 days in June over an extremely low DOM for May…still quite good.

• Freddie and Fannie national mortgage rates are still at historic lows.  This creates an amazing opportunity for folks poised to purchase a home.

Thank you to Jim Renshaw from Land Title Guarantee for providing the Map for Most Recent Denver Metrolist Real Estate Statistics and to Janet Marlow and Larry D. McGee for compiling the remaining Denver market statistics used on this post.

Weatherstone, an established neighborhood in Highlands Ranch Colorado, often offers homes for sale starting in the high $400’s to low $500’s, moving up the price range to well over one million. The price gap in Weatherstone homes for sale reflects the lot size, views, upgrades, square footage and more.

Click below to see the Weatherstone video. Visit
View nds-ranch-photo-tour/”>http://moveddenver.com/weatherstone-neighborhood-in-highlands-ranch-photo-tour/   to see real estate for sale, as well as community and school information on this lovely suburb located South of Denver.The Weatherstone Neighborhood in a larger map

Michelle A. Potter
Denver and the Denver Burbs REALTOR
The Berkshire Group
303-489-4035

Denver is ‘Most Improved’ U.S. Housing Market, Businessweek Says: Denver is the “most improved U.S. housing market,” according to a new report from Bloomberg Businessweek. “In Denver, the economy and employment slowed just as other areas did during the recession, but things appear to be moving in the right direction this year,” the report says. read more here

Mortgage Applications Rise 9% After Rates Fall: WASHINGTON—Applications for mortgages rose last week as consumers refinanced their loans at the lowest rates in more than 50 years. read more here  

Denver-Area Home Resales Up 20% in May From 2009: Even though federal homebuyer tax credits expired April 30, they continued to boost the Denver area’s home resale market in May, according to Metrolist Inc. data released June 8^th. read more here

Denver-Area Luxury-Home Sales Jump 62%: Denver-area sales of homes priced at $1 million or more jumped 61.8 percent in May from a year earlier, according to Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage‘s monthly report on high-end sales. read more here  

19% of Denver-Area Employers Plan Q3 Hiring: Nineteen percent of Denver-area employers plan to hire in the third quarter, while 8 percent expect to cut their payrolls, according to a new quarterly survey by Manpower Inc. read more here

Denver Home Prices Up 4.4% From 2009, Case-Shiller Index Shows: For the sixth month in a row, home prices in the Denver area showed a 4.4 percent year-over-year increase in April, and prices also rose 1.7 percent between March and April, according to the latest S&P/Case-Shiller Home Prices Index, released June 29^th. read more here

Juju.com: Denver Improves a Notch in June Among Best Cities for Job Seekers: Denver is in 10th place among 50 large U.S. cities in the latest ranking of the best markets for job seekers by career search engine Juju.com. read more here

Portfolio.com: Colorado Has 3 of Nation’s Top 10 Mid-Sized Business Markets: Colorado has three of the nation’s top 10 mid-sized markets for business, and Boulder ranks No. 1, according to a report Wednesday from Portfolio.com. Fort Collins places third, and Colorado Springs seventh, says the national business news website.     read more here

Greeley Ranks Among the Nation’s Top 10 Great Places to Retire: According to the July/August issue of Where to Retire magazine. “Convenient to Denver and Rocky Mountain National Park, Greeley is a college town with an active arts and music scene and offers lower housing prices than common in some other areas of the state,” according to the article. read more here

Thank you to Jim Renshaw at Land Title for compiling this good news for the Denver-Metro area.

Michelle A. Potter, Denver & the Burbs REALTOR

The Berkshire Group REALTORS

303-489-4035

Click on the map below to see the most recent Denver residential real estate statistics:

Click on Map for Most Recent Metrolist Real Estate Statistics

Click Here for Total MLS Sales Statistics

Here is the composite for the entire Denver Metrolist Inc. (MLS):

A huge thank you to Jim Renshaw at Land Title Guarantee for compiling these Denver market statistics.

Michelle A. Potter
Denver and South Suburban REALTOR
303-489-4035

Click on Map for Most Recent Metrolist Real Estate Statistics

Click Here for Total MLS Sales Statistics

An Overview of the entire Denver MLS Market Statistics for February:

Thank you to Jim Renshaw at Land Title Guarantee Company for compiling the Denver market stats.

Michelle Potter, Denver REALTOR
The Berkshire Group REALTORS
303-489-4035