tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-125778072008-07-22T07:10:59.272-06:00Osmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02510751654484933836noreply@blogger.comBlogger535125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12577807.post-57209415364867235832008-07-21T05:11:00.001-06:002008-07-21T05:11:01.208-06:00

This has nothing to do with real estate but it has something to do with your neighbors. A lot of people move to Colorado for quality of life reasons. We're an active, outdoorsy state where most people regularly walk, bicycle, or hike. That's a good thing and by now you've read that Colorado (once again) ranks as the thinnest state in the nation. CalorieLab put together a great map showing

Osmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02510751654484933836noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12577807.post-63316781968637527912008-07-19T07:32:00.005-06:002008-07-19T08:16:55.245-06:00

FasTracks... not so much, more like SloTracks. "We're dealing with that reality, and I am going to have to adapt the program to fiscal reality," said Cal Marsella, RTD general manager. "Our material costs are up and our revenues are down from projections. Reality is reality, and we're going to have to adapt to that."Meanwhile DRCOG doubles down. The Denver Regional Council of Governments plans

Osmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02510751654484933836noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12577807.post-69608310499773683142008-07-18T05:34:00.009-06:002008-07-18T06:01:32.093-06:00

A few weeks ago, we did a poll on walking away. The majority of Silver Fern readers wouldn't walk away if their home dropped in value (72%) and didn't know anyone who had (75%). In To Walk or Not, Portfolio.com's Felix Simon writes about an anonymous reader with a second home that has dropped significantly in value. The homeowner is considering his options, including allowing the property to

Osmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02510751654484933836noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12577807.post-17762009040495288112008-07-17T06:16:00.002-06:002008-07-17T06:20:42.284-06:00

I just noticed that in yesterday's post, I mistakenly showed the 1st quarter chart for the Silver Fern Luxury Index. Below is the second quarter's chart. Sales volume increased to 18 homes, 50% more than 1Q08 but down 18% from the year earlier period. Note: Our goal is to become the best real estate resource for Boulder Colorado and surrounding communities. The ideas and strategies in this

Osmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02510751654484933836noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12577807.post-55450012146975540012008-07-16T20:25:00.007-06:002008-07-16T22:04:21.517-06:00

The latest Silver Fern Report has been emailed to our clients, friends, and colleagues. It includes a Foreclosure Update, the Silver Fern Luxury Home Index, and the Silver Fern Basic Home Index. There are now nearly 60 different charts help you better understand our local and regional market. If you haven't received it and would like a copy, email me at osman@silverfernrealty.com For everyone

Osmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02510751654484933836noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12577807.post-45692653718305907192008-07-11T06:05:00.008-06:002008-07-11T06:56:19.443-06:00

I've said it before and I'll say it again. In real estate, for primary home markets (not vacation homes), employment is the critical factor. Yesterday, the Wall Street Journal had a piece on the unemployment rate, as measured by the number of Americans who register for jobless benefits. Curiously, the number of people registering has remained essentially constant even as the workforce has

Osmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02510751654484933836noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12577807.post-81700587135844244812008-07-09T06:47:00.004-06:002008-07-09T07:10:45.359-06:00

The Boulder County Business Report has published an update on FasTracks planning with preferred station sites: From FasTracks identifies preferred station sites By David Clucas My comments in-line The Regional Transportation District has identified five "preferred" station sites in Broomfield, Louisville, Boulder, Gunbarrel and Longmont as part of the environmental impact study for its proposed

Osmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02510751654484933836noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12577807.post-62677449633869764552008-07-08T06:11:00.005-06:002008-07-08T07:19:21.862-06:00

A few weeks ago, on the east side of town, the curious and the entrepreneurial gathered to hear the latest on ConocoPhillips. Excitement was palpable in the crowd. Just how big of an impact were we talking about? Before the property was purchased, rumors swirled through our community. Who was mystery buyer? Whispers were that it was Google. The possibilities were tantalizing.

Osmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02510751654484933836noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12577807.post-42066132776282806682008-06-27T06:32:00.005-06:002008-06-27T07:02:23.344-06:00

Ever wonder what it would be like to build your own custom home? It's a tough process. Most buyers prefer a "turnkey" property, but there are some people masochistic enthusiastic enough to want to do it themselves. Here's one story of a Boulder custom home, built from the ground up and written by the homeowner. A few quick thoughts if I am crazy enough to do this again: 1.) Read the

Osmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02510751654484933836noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12577807.post-15045675460870764632008-06-26T07:18:00.000-06:002008-06-26T07:25:33.737-06:00

The City has put together a website to keep people informed of what's happening in efforts to limit house sizes. The site has background, next steps, documentation, and other useful information. Next up? A meeting on June 27 (tomorrow) where the City will consider several potential consultants. Residents are invited to observe. Unfortunately, I can't attend but if you happen to go,

Osmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02510751654484933836noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12577807.post-26691314774512567182008-06-26T07:10:00.004-06:002008-06-26T07:16:57.761-06:00

Right on cue, here's Business Week with Technology: It's Where the Jobs Are: The highest concentration of technology workers—286 for every 1,000 workers—was in, no surprise, Silicon Valley. Boulder, Colo., came in second, with 230, and Huntsville, Ala.; Durham, N.C.; and Washington rounded out the top five in density. Of course, as everyone knows from our regional experience with telecom,

Osmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02510751654484933836noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12577807.post-71859565901592813382008-06-26T06:00:00.001-06:002008-06-26T07:00:57.623-06:00

On an income to house price basis, maybe. Oh, I know. You've heard it from people that housing is expensive in Colorado. Maybe you think so yourself. But remember, for those who move here from former bubbles and pricey markets on the coasts, Colorado looks cheap. Even Boulder, relatively. The other day I saw an interesting analysis of house prices versus income, based on data from

Osmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02510751654484933836noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12577807.post-5574242288149505122008-06-23T06:30:00.003-06:002008-06-23T06:55:26.403-06:00

Just when you thought it was clear that Boulder's real estate market was finally feeling the real estate down turn, along comes contradictory data. Surprise! Most housing markets in our region saw a sharp decrease in foreclosures last month. Here's the analysis. This first chart shows the trend in county foreclosures from March 2006 through today. All counties have now experienced 3

Osmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02510751654484933836noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12577807.post-7069013775976100362008-06-17T06:25:00.004-06:002008-06-17T06:39:43.800-06:00

Here's a new site worth checking out: Boulder Tomorrow It's mission is to "serve members of the Boulder community by providing interesting information and links to issues taking place in and around Boulder. We hope it will encourage you to get involved." That sounds admirable. Given the number of issues that crop up around here, if the organizers keep up with it, it should get plenty of

Osmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02510751654484933836noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12577807.post-40836133552788273272008-06-11T23:25:00.003-06:002008-06-11T23:44:39.349-06:00

Here's the latest on real estate market conditions in Boulder. This post contains a basic analysis but I leave the projections open to debate. If you are on my email distribution list, expect a PDF of the Silver Fern Report shortly. Sales Volume: 78 single family homes sold this past May, compared with 112 last year. That's a decrease of over 30%. Year to date, 296 homes have sold, off

Osmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02510751654484933836noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12577807.post-85473330360411282552008-06-09T07:40:00.003-06:002008-06-09T07:58:39.157-06:00

Ever since Ferris Bueller's Day Off, I've been intrigued with Ben Stein. Not only was he a speech writer to Presidents Nixon and Ford, he's a prolific author of books and essays. He's a pretty funny entertainer to boot. Although few were able to best his knowledge and win his money on his game show, many have gained wisdom from his advice. In his column "How Not To Ruin Your Life,"

Osmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02510751654484933836noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12577807.post-36402097514493763362008-05-23T06:07:00.003-06:002008-05-23T06:44:27.223-06:00

To take you through Friday and into the long weekend, here's a few items of interest: 25 Square Miles Surrounded by Reality (New York Times) What We Learned by Moving to Boulder (Foundry Group) Inflation's Back But Not Where You Think (The Economist) The Lifehack.org Guide to Green Living - 20 Ideas (lifehack) Paying a Broker to Sell Your Home Faster (Businesweek) Loans Are Getting Easier (

Osmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02510751654484933836noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12577807.post-58282731452048682032008-05-21T06:32:00.004-06:002008-05-21T07:03:32.747-06:00

From The Silver Fern Report, here's a quick look at the Boulder real estate market. The following is an analysis of general market conditions through April 2008. Click here if you're looking for our more segmented index analysis. 66 properties sold in April, compared with 59 in April of last year, a clear picture of a slowing real estate market. Looking back over the past 3 months, sales

Osmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02510751654484933836noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12577807.post-22784296582576206892008-05-20T06:30:00.001-06:002008-05-20T06:30:01.466-06:00

There were 35 responses to the Walk Away survey. Here are the results (with a few comments from yours truly): I'm glad to see that over 70% said "no," they wouldn't walk away. Not surprising, but I imagine if I had specified a few assumptions... say only a year of ownership and a large drop in value, the results would be quite different. People who have owned property for a short period

Osmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02510751654484933836noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12577807.post-69844098362953259212008-05-17T07:07:00.004-06:002008-05-17T07:26:14.546-06:00

You've heard about a trend called "Walking Away." It's when homeowners who are not in financial trouble stop paying their mortgage because they realize its current market value has fallen. There's a lot of media coverage, much of which is overblown in my opinion. Here's a reasonable analysis from Calculated Risk. While it's happening in some markets, my perception is that the phenomenon is

Osmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02510751654484933836noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12577807.post-29737990927974633182008-05-16T06:47:00.005-06:002008-05-16T07:31:54.118-06:00

Regular readers of the blog know that I've been tracking foreclosures for the last few years. I started paying attention because foreclosures can have a damaging effect on communities and the local real estate market. At the time, there was quite a bit of news about how Colorado was leading the country in foreclosures. I wanted to see how badly Boulder was doing and how it compared to other

Osmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02510751654484933836noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12577807.post-33004525332450943812008-05-14T06:54:00.004-06:002008-05-14T07:31:54.226-06:00

When our clients are getting serious about a house, we advise them to walk the neighborhood, knock on doors, and see what else they can learn. Sometimes we'll even accompany them. Why? Because neighborhood assessment is an important part of buyer due diligence. An hour or so walking your future neighborhood and talking to the people who live there will often reveal details about why a

Osmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02510751654484933836noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12577807.post-3806678203255120042008-05-13T08:00:00.005-06:002008-05-13T08:08:45.092-06:00

The latest Silver Fern Report, showing market conditions through April for most cities in Boulder County, has just been published and distributed. As usual, I'll post a few charts from the report in the next few days. A couple of general takeaways: Inventory continues to decline in all market areas except boulder attached dwellings (Boulder AD). Sales volume is up in Boulder, Erie, Longmont

Osmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02510751654484933836noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12577807.post-9886836349071120362008-05-08T05:32:00.007-06:002008-05-08T06:53:51.145-06:00

I received a good comment in response to my last post, and thought it deserved a post of its own. The commenter wrote: In a typical real estate transaction there are 4 parties. The buyers and sellers have direct interests and emotional investment in the outcome and their agents not as much. What is the right role in the negotiating process for the agents? Unlike the buyer and sellers who

Osmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02510751654484933836noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12577807.post-3361594252320244352008-05-07T06:07:00.010-06:002008-05-07T06:48:38.536-06:00

At Silver Fern, we do a lot of negotiation and leverage our skills to benefit our clients. We also constantly seek to improve by studying the art of negotiation. Last week, I came across a good piece on two negotiation tactics and their success rates in The Economist. I thought it might benefit the readers of the blog. The article focuses on two common tactics; empathy and perspective.

Osmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02510751654484933836noreply@blogger.com