Denver Home Prices Up Again
This Information From Case-Shiller
If you are reading this on a regular basis you may recall two facts regarding my opinion of “trend reporting”. The first is that what you really need to know about is your neighborhood, not the metro area as a whole. The second is that the index that I trust the most is the one from Standard & Poor’s/Case Shiller because it tracks “same house sales” and thus is not skewed by more expensive or less expensive homes being sold in a given period.
Denver Shows 1.2% Increase in December 2010
This “increase” is a comparison to December of 2009. While this may not tranlate into results for your specific neighborhood, it begins to become significant for two reasons. First is the obvious. For those of us in the market, up is certainly better than down. Second, and perhaps more important, it is the second consecutive month to show an increase. I am not enough of a statistician to know whether or not that is an official “trend”, but with the 0.5% increase in November, we are looking at two up months with the December increase more than double November’s. With the first-time buyer incentive having been scheduled to end on November 3oth, (It was subsequently extended, but not in enough time to have a major effect on December closings.) the December increase is more “market” driven than “incentive” driven.
Watching The Market Through A Rear-View Mirror
This information has value to you if you are considering purchasing your first home or making a move up. This the third real estate recession that I have lived through in my professional career. With each of the first two, the price increases were the most significant during the early part of the recovery which kind of happened while I was not looking. My best observation right now is that we will begin to see that increase sometime in the second half of 2010. Watch for the local employment figures to improve and see if the same index shows year-to-year increases again for January. If that occurs then the time to buy will be in 2010. If you are hoping to benefit from the ”first-time buyer” or “existing owner” purchase tax credits you have until April 30, 2010 to be “under contract” to receive full benefits. You will want to read the specific statutes that are applicable to your purchase.
What help should I have for my purchase?
You will want a broker who is committed to your interests. That is typically an Exclusive Buyer’s Agent (EBA). EBA’s always and only represent the interests of buyer-client and never list and sell homes. I am an experienced EBA and would be happy to discuss your real estate needs in the Denver area.