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        <title>Denver Real Estate Blog</title>
        <link>http://www.bruceswedal.com/blog/tags/home-buyers/</link>
        <description>Denver real estate topics including local metro Denver community news and events.</description>
        <item>
            <guid>http://www.bruceswedal.com/blog/5-low-cost-kitchen-upgrades-that-appeal-to-buyers.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.bruceswedal.com/blog/5-low-cost-kitchen-upgrades-that-appeal-to-buyers.html</link>
            <author>bruce@bruceswedal.com (Bruce Swedal)</author>
            <title>5 Low-Cost Kitchen Upgrades that Appeal to Buyers</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
Throughout history the kitchen has always been considered the heart of the home and is a key feature to selling a home. Most home buyers prefer modern, updated kitchens because they will be using it daily and often it is the place where guests and family congregate.


When selling your home take time to visit other homes for sale in your neighborhood to see how the kitchens in those homes compare to yours. If the other homes have modern designs and new appliances, potential buyers visiting your home will expect the same or better.


Updating a kitchen does not always have to be extensive or expensive. Sometimes lower-cost kitchen upgrades can do the trick.




Use a neutral color to repaint.


Clean, clean and clean some more.


Change light fixtures and kitchen hardware.


Use lower cost granite.


Eliminate all clutter and open up the countertops.


 ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Fri, 27 Jan 2012 10:01:46 -0700</pubDate>
                    </item>
        <item>
            <guid>http://www.bruceswedal.com/blog/running-the-numbers-is-now-the-time-to-buy-your-metro-denver-home.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.bruceswedal.com/blog/running-the-numbers-is-now-the-time-to-buy-your-metro-denver-home.html</link>
            <author>bruce@bruceswedal.com (Bruce Swedal)</author>
            <title>Running the Numbers – Is Now the Time to Buy Your Metro Denver Home?</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
Sometimes seeing the breakdown of different home purchase options can make the decision easier to follow. It really is all about math and the numbers are right there in black and white if we take but a moment to look.

Have you been thinking of taking advantage of the great pricing and low interest rates, but for some reason are holding off? Maybe this will help bring some clarity to the situation.



You may currently be in a $250,000 mortgage with a 6% interest rate which has a principal and interest payment of appx $1500.

That same $1500 payment at todays rates of 4.5% will cover a payment on a $300,000 30 year mortgage.



This means $50,000 more in purchasing power without any principal and interest payment increase.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Lets say your mortgage is $500,000 at a 6% interest rate resulting in a principal and interest payment of $3,000.

That same $3,000 principal and interest payment on a mortgage at current 4.5% rates would cover the principal and interest payment on a $593,000 mortgage.&nbsp;



This results in an additional $93,000 in purchasing power with no increase to the principal and interest payment.



Now just take a moment to think about the rate of return. If the market appreciates going forward (metro Denver prices appreciated at over 4% over the last year).



Which amount would you rather gain, say a 5% annual appreciation on? 5% of that $500,000 number or 5% of $600,000? This one seems pretty easy.



Now lets assume that you have been thinking about buying, but wanted to wait a year, maybe two. You want to make sure the prices are right, but by waiting for that perfect price (which may never arrive) you may be making a more costly mistake.&nbsp;



A little bit more math for you&hellip;.



Maybe you were not aware but it actually takes more than a 10% reduction in pricing to offset only a 1% increase in interest rates.&nbsp;

&nbsp;



A $300,000 30 year mortgage at 4.5% has a P and I payment of $1,520

With a 10% reduction in price to $270,000 for a 30 yr mortgage at 5.5% the P and I payment is $1,533

A $500,000 30 year mortgage at 4.5% has a P and I payment of $2,533

With a 10% reduction in price to $450,000 for a 30 yr mortgage at 5.5% the P and I payment is $2,555



The results of this little math exercise seem pretty clear to me. Even if prices were to go down by 10% and interest rates were to rise by only 1% a home buyer would still end up with a higher monthly principal and interest payment on their home.



There would need to be more than a 10% reduction in pricing to make it beneficial and prices actually rose by just over 4% in the Denver metro area over the last year.



So the question is will interest rates still be at their historic lows of around 4.5% a year from now? Thats not likely and definitely not something that can be counted on.&nbsp;



Making now an extremely good time to buy a metro Denver home.
 ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Tue, 14 Sep 2010 09:33:49 -0600</pubDate>
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            <guid>http://www.bruceswedal.com/blog/save-now-with-the-homebuyers-tax-credit.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.bruceswedal.com/blog/save-now-with-the-homebuyers-tax-credit.html</link>
            <author>bruce@bruceswedal.com (Bruce Swedal)</author>
            <title>Save Now with the Homebuyers Tax Credit</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ Purchasing a home is a big step and fortunately there are trained Denver real estate professionals like your Denver Realtor to help you through the process.Owning a metro Denver home provides many benefits to the Denver home owner. In addition to those benefits the home buyers tax credit and more affordable prices make now an especially opportune time to purchase your next metro Denver home.Clients often ask what the Homebuyers tax credit offers to them. To provide you with the answers to those questions I have included a pamphlet I utilize which will fully explain the tax credit and how to take advantage of it to get an even better deal when purchasing your next home.The pamphlet  The Homebuyers Tax Credit  Buy a Home and get a Tax Break  can be viewed by clicking on the link.As always I am available for any questions you may have. If considering buying or selling metro Denver real estate, please dont hesitate to give me a call for a consultation. ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Fri, 26 Feb 2010 09:59:49 -0700</pubDate>
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            <guid>http://www.bruceswedal.com/blog/the-state-of-the-denver-real-estate-market-october-2009.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.bruceswedal.com/blog/the-state-of-the-denver-real-estate-market-october-2009.html</link>
            <author>bruce@bruceswedal.com (Bruce Swedal)</author>
            <title>The State of the Denver Real Estate Market – October 2009</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
Maybe you have not realized it just yet, but changes are upon us in the local metro Denver real estate market.&nbsp; October, 2009 has set some records in home sales, which on a broader scale indicates a shift in the market to one of recovery and strength.&nbsp; 

During October there were 4,910 home that were placed under contract while the previous record for an October was in 2005 with 4,839 homes.&nbsp; The majority of these sales have been under the $400,000 mark and driven by first time home-buyers.

What caused the crazy market?&nbsp; Well pent up demand from the previous year to start and the $8,000 tax credit to first time home-buyers also helped to push it along.&nbsp; The fact that the tax credit program has been extended and expanded to also include some existing home-owners just indicates that this trend is going to continue into 2010 and open up the higher end markets with existing home-owners taking advantage to move up.

It is said that real estate has a leveraged effect on improving the economy due to every dollar spent on real estate generates another four dollars in the service industries.&nbsp; Think about it because when a family buys a home they also need furniture, garage door openers, landscapers and the list goes on.



&nbsp;Year 

Under Contract&nbsp;

&nbsp;Number of Closings

&nbsp;1990

&nbsp;2069

&nbsp;2294

&nbsp;1991

&nbsp;2520

&nbsp;2364

&nbsp;1992

&nbsp;3215

&nbsp;3054

&nbsp;1993

&nbsp;3093

&nbsp;3348

&nbsp;1994

&nbsp;2439

&nbsp;3279

&nbsp;1995

&nbsp;2300

&nbsp;3186

&nbsp;1996

&nbsp;2842

&nbsp;3197

&nbsp;1997

&nbsp;2961

&nbsp;3578

&nbsp;1998

&nbsp;3528

&nbsp;3795

&nbsp;1999

&nbsp;2830

&nbsp;3824

&nbsp;2000

&nbsp;2821

&nbsp;4499

&nbsp;2001

&nbsp;2076

&nbsp;3882

&nbsp;2002

&nbsp;2306

&nbsp;3931

&nbsp;2003

&nbsp;2285

&nbsp;4292

&nbsp;2004

&nbsp;2731

&nbsp;4443

&nbsp;2005

&nbsp;4839

&nbsp;4174

&nbsp;2006

&nbsp;4715

&nbsp;4133

&nbsp;2007

&nbsp;4645

&nbsp;3848

&nbsp;2008

&nbsp;4504

&nbsp;4282

&nbsp;2009

&nbsp;4910

&nbsp;3958



Another factor to keep in mind during our discussion is that the population base in metro Denver from 1990 through 2007 has increased by 49% while the number of housing units failed to keep pace by only increasing 40%.

These factors have caused a depletion of the inventory in the metro Denver area.&nbsp; The existing home inventory represents the lowest number of homes on the market since October, 2001.&nbsp; That low inventory level and a high buyer demand has also created the highest sales rate since October, 2001 with 5.99% of the inventory of homes being placed on the market each week.&nbsp; That represents a 185% increase over the sales rate in October, 2003.


&nbsp;Year 

Sales Rate %&nbsp;

&nbsp;2001

2.48%

&nbsp;2002

2.24%

&nbsp;2003

2.10%

&nbsp;2004

2.42%

&nbsp;2005

4.26%

&nbsp;2006


3.66%


&nbsp;2007

3.71%&nbsp;

&nbsp;2008

4.50%

&nbsp;2009

5.99%&nbsp;


The number of unsold Denver homes on the market in October, 2009 was 18,945 which represented the lowest level of inventory since at least 2001.



&nbsp;Year 

&nbsp;Unsold Homes #

&nbsp;2001

&nbsp;19,319

&nbsp;2002

&nbsp;23,769

&nbsp;2003

&nbsp;25,181

&nbsp;2004

&nbsp;26,030

&nbsp;2005

&nbsp;26,828

&nbsp;2006

&nbsp;29,722

&nbsp;2007

&nbsp;28,928

&nbsp;2008

&nbsp;23,120

&nbsp;2009

&nbsp;18,945



The meaning behind the numbers is clear and can be seen from clients looking to purchase homes.&nbsp; In many Denver metro areas homes are receiving multiple offers after only days on the market creating competition during the purchase. 
 ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Mon, 09 Nov 2009 00:06:06 -0700</pubDate>
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        <item>
            <guid>http://www.bruceswedal.com/blog/first-time-home-buyers-seven-tips-to-consider.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.bruceswedal.com/blog/first-time-home-buyers-seven-tips-to-consider.html</link>
            <author>bruce@bruceswedal.com (Bruce Swedal)</author>
            <title>First Time Home Buyers: Seven Tips to Consider</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
There have been many changes in the housing market since the financial crisis during 2008 and the foreclosure issues have also had an effect.

Top financial planners and economists are now offering up the following bits of wisdom for anyone that is thinking of purchasing a Denver home today.


Old school basics are back with the safest way to finance a Denver home purchase today being your traditional fixed rate mortgage with 20% down for those using conventional financing.&nbsp; Qualified Denver home buyers can also still get good rates through FHA programs with only 3.5% down.

Be reasonable about the amount you borrow and do not overestimate the growth of your income.&nbsp; It is true that those in their 20s and 30s likely will see quicker growth of their income than their parents, but a conservative approach may be the best option.

Home buyers considering starting a family may want to consider if they could live on only one income because having children sometimes makes it impractical for both parents to continue working.

Every home needs to be maintained and repaired over time so include a maintenance budget for your Denver home.

First time home buyers can rarely afford their dream home but can begin with a starter home so they can gain equity and save to purchase the home they dream of later.

Take into consideration properties which can be improved upon or expanded in the future when the assets become available.

Every home buyer is different but every home buyer should always feel comfortable with the mortgage they obtain for their home no matter the purchase price.

 ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Tue, 15 Sep 2009 09:35:38 -0600</pubDate>
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        <item>
            <guid>http://www.bruceswedal.com/blog/shift-in-housing-small-is-the-new-big.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.bruceswedal.com/blog/shift-in-housing-small-is-the-new-big.html</link>
            <author>bruce@bruceswedal.com (Bruce Swedal)</author>
            <title>Shift in Housing: Small is the New Big</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
New statistics are showing that home buyers are beginning to shift their priorities when searching for their next home.&nbsp; The interest is shifting away from larger homes to smaller homes which are more efficient with space and economical with utilities.

More and more first time home buyers are realizing that they dont need the five bedroom &ldquo;mansions&rdquo; and smaller homes will suffice when starting out even if they decide to start a family.&nbsp; They feel they dont need five bedrooms when just starting out as the new trend shifts to smaller is bigger.

According to the US Census Bureau the size of single family homes has consistently grown every year since 1991.&nbsp; That is until 2008 when it declined to 2,215 square feet from 2,277 square feet in 2007.&nbsp; Homes in that period of time since 1991 mirrored the economic conditions and grew, but now it can be seen when the economy struggled that the size of new homes decreased.

Over the last year or so buyers are finding themselves strapped for cash in a mortgage market where it is more difficult to obtain financing.&nbsp; This is causing buyers to work to keep down their maintenance and mortgage costs.&nbsp; Some even find themselves more aware of the costs of their energy footprints.&nbsp; 

With a high unemployment rate and recovering economy increases in income are harder to realize.&nbsp; Home buyers now find themselves focusing on simpler things to keep expenses down.

A contributing factor is first time home buyers are helping to fuel the current market with the draw of an $8,000 tax credit and lower prices.&nbsp; It is fairly typical for first time home buyers to purchase smaller homes, townhomes or condos.

New home builders are also taking notice of these market changes when a survey by the National Association of Home Builders announced that 9 out of 10 homes put up by builders are smaller.&nbsp; Fifty percent of architects are also reporting that their clients request smaller homes over the last year.
 ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Mon, 14 Sep 2009 09:24:47 -0600</pubDate>
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        <item>
            <guid>http://www.bruceswedal.com/blog/home-sales-being-pushed-by-the-federal-housing-credit.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.bruceswedal.com/blog/home-sales-being-pushed-by-the-federal-housing-credit.html</link>
            <author>bruce@bruceswedal.com (Bruce Swedal)</author>
            <title>Home Sales Being Pushed by the Federal Housing Credit</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
The signs in the marketplace indicate that real estate is on the upswing in Denver.&nbsp; Sales were up in August with 5200 Denver homes under contract, 3900 of which closed.

Along with this there was another positive indicator for the market as prices were up meaning that we may be moving away from the sluggish market, but the possibility still remains for some touch and go through the end of the year.

Confidence is up in the market with first time home buyers causing a surge in demand to take advantage of the federal housing credit that allows up to an $8000 tax credit to qualified home buyers.

Those in the industry still wonder where the market will go towards the end of the year as there is typically a slowdown in the last couple months of a year in addition to the tax credit for housing coming to an end on November 30, 2009.

Everyone considering a home purchase in the next 12 to 18 months should make sure to take this into consideration.&nbsp; A qualified property needs to close by November 30 to get the tax credit which depending on the home can amount to the first years payments.

Currently the homes showing the most demand are in the under $250,000 price range which indicates the strength there is from first time home buyers taking advantage of the government tax incentive.

If there are any questions we can assist you with which were not addressed here please feel free to give us a call.
 ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Thu, 10 Sep 2009 09:47:34 -0600</pubDate>
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