Money

It’s that time of year again. Neighborhood real estate market reports for Parker, Colorado are coming out daily. You can find them here as I will be working around the clock to get this info out to the public.

Four year sales trends for Pradera Golf Club Neighborhood in Parker.

I will be comparing 2010 to 2011 for all the homes sold in Pradera during that time period. As you will see there wasn’t much difference between 2010 and 2011.

• Total Homes Sold for 2010 = 54 versus 47 for 2011
• Average Total Days on Market for 2010 = 162 versus 212 for 2011
• Average NET Sold Price for 2010 = $584,880 versus $583,366 for 2011
• Average Price Per SQFT for 2010 = $163 versus 165 for 2011
• Average NET Price Per Finished SQFT for 2010 = $128 versus $126 for 2011
• Lowest Sales Price for 2010 = $ 315,000 versus $230,000 for 2011. The home that sold for $230,000 was a fire damaged home.
• Highest Sales Price for 2010 = $1,400,000 versus $1,120,000 for 2011.
• Total Sales Volume for 2010 = $31,583,539 versus $27,418,194 for 2011.

Notice above there is a link to a report from one year ago where I compared 4 years of sales data com[paring ONLY Luxury Home Sales. Homes priced above $750,000 in Pradera were compared and you might be surprised at what you see from 4 years of sales data.

Pradera Golf Club is a great place to start your custom home search in Parker, Colorado.

Parker has several really nice custom home communities however Pradera Golf Club is one of the few that is actually built around the beautiful private Pradera Golf Course.

Golf and Social memberships are still available for purchase. You don’t have to be a golfer to enjoy the clubhouse and other membership benefits. Many people join the club just for the social aspect and pool privileges.

I’ve sold many custom homes in Pradera over the years and it really has a lot to offer as far as amenities. Dining at the Club, playing a round of golf, cooling off by the pool or enjoying the miles of bike paths in the neighborhood and around the community make Pradera an easy choice.

Hover over the map pins below to see previews of the currently active homes in Pradera.

We show homes in Pradera 7 days a week. 303-941-4663.

Pradera Golf Club Custom Home

Notice the reflection of the clouds in this custom home perched high on the hill in Pradera Golf Club.

Average Sale Price Down 12.83% in Pradera from it’s high in 2008. See data below.

After writing an article detailing home sale trends over the past 4 years in Stonegate, another Parker, Colorado community, I was asked to produce the same stats for Pradera Golf Club.

Over the past 12 months I have witnessed a new found demand for high end luxury homes in Douglas County including the custom home communities of Pradera and The Timbers. We all noticed the demand slow down for about a 12 month period in late 2008 and early 2009 simply because banks would not lend money to high-end luxury home buyers.

Well the lenders are back and so is the pent up demand from custom home buyers. Currently a majority of the home sellers and buyers I’m working with are in what I consider to be the high-end market. Steve’s definition of high-end = anyone buying or selling above $750,000.

What do you get when you list your home for sale with Steven Beam? See it here.

Here are the numbers for Home Sales in Pradera that have a sold closing price ABOVE $750,000 since 2007.

Total Sales by Year: (2008 was hot then the breaks were applied by the banks.)

2007 = 12

2008 = 19

2009 = 11

2010 = 9

Average Total Days on Market: (Like I said 2008 was HOT for custom home buyers)

2007 = 225

2008 =125

2009 = 216

2010 =207

Average NET Sold Price: (12.83% decrease in Value from high to low year.)

2007 = $1,085,417

2008 = $1,104,927

2009 = $975,631

2010 = $963,200

Remember I am only showing stats from homes that sold and closed at or above the $750,000 price point in Pradera Golf Club.

Total Volume of NET Sales By Year in Pradera Golf Club:

2007 = $13,025,000

2008 = $20,993,608

2009 = $10,731,943

2010 = $8,668,800

Average NET $ or Price per sqft Sold: (This is the sqft on the main level and upper level. It does not include the basement.)

2007 = $286

2008 = $314

2009 = $253

2010 = $276

Average Price per sqft Finished. (All finished sqft included.)

2007 = $224

2008 = $207

2009 = $172

2010 = $162

Parker Colorado has Four Blackeyes

Home for Sale in Stonegate

Be a Voyeur in Your Neighborhood

Parker Colorado neighborhood Info

Here is an excellent way to monitor ACTIVE and SOLD homes in very specific areas and neighborhoods. The Market Snapshot. This report is easily setup by me or by you that automatically emails you monthly or bi-monthly all the homes sold and active in a specific area or neighborhood.

(Sample Report Here)

As a Buyer: You can track a neighborhood that you want to move into and see exactly what is active and sold in that neighborhood.

As a Seller: Be a voyeur and see what your neighbor’s house really sold for or watch the market if you are contemplating selling in the near future.

Not only does it show you very detailed real estate stats it will also give you detailed map information about:

• Schools and locations
• Shopping
• Fire Protection
• Police
• Bars and Restaurants
• Recreation Locations (Parks)
• Houses of Worship

If you are interested in the Free service go ahead and use the link above to set it up or shoot me an email and I will set it up for you.

Yours truly,

Steven Beam

Parker Colorado Luxury Homes

This is a report for the Luxury Home Sales in Parker and Franktown Colorado.

The high-end luxury home sales in Parker and Franktown Colorado is moving ever so slow at the moment. The report below will show you luxury home sales fron January 2010 to October 2010.

High-end homes are defined here as any home that sold and closed at or above the $750,000 price point.

I did not include homes sold in Elizabeth and Castle Rock but I can post that report later.

• Total homes sold above $750,000 = 34
• Average total days on market = 214
• Average NET sold price = $994,619
• Highest sales price in Parker and Franktown Colorado = $2,200,000
• Currently there are 7 homes in the luxury market that are under contract.
• Currently in Parker and Franktown there are 119  homes for sale in the Luxury Market.

See All homes in Parker for Sale between $700,000 and $900,000.

See all homes in Parker Colorado for sale over $900,000

Are tax deductions worth the interest?

Should you pay off your mortgage? I think most people should.

Today I’m talking about mortgages, paying them off and what I consider to be a load of crap pushed on home buyers by the lenders of America, accountants and YES the real estate brokers.

I’ve never understood why everyone says “oh you have to have a mortgage because you get the tax write off.”

I say BS. Wouldn’t it be better to have a paid for house with no interest payment and just pay the tax?

Here’s my way of thinking and no it didn’t originate from me. I was raised by two depression era grandparents that were basically in a steady savings cycle preparing for the next GREAT DEPRESSION.

(BELOW-I may be off a little but I hope you are getting the picture. I’m going off memory as I did not go into the basement and dig out my tax returns to write this post.)

Two years ago I remember looking at my year end taxes and seeing that my wife and I had paid around $14,000 in interest to the bank over the year. I also noticed that my WONDERFUL tax deduction was around $2,400.

So basically I have to pay a bank ~ $14,000 in interest to keep from sending the government $2,400. Is this the Great American Home Tax Deduction everyone says is so wonderful?  Not to mention over the life of these mortgage loans you pay hundreds of thousands in interest to get in my opinion “NOT MUCH” in the way of a deduction.

It looks like a load of goods the banks & government put together to make us feel batter about all the interest the banks charge us.

Personally I think I would rather send the government their tax and just keep all my interest. Besides living in a paid for house has got to be a GREAT FEELING. Think about it. You are recession proof. If you lost your job you could easily go work at an hourly job and make the yearly tax and insurance payments. Hopefully it would only be temporary..right?

Vacations Paid For in Advance

I talked to my accountant about ways to payoff our house and told him that  over our lifetime it would save my wife and I nearly $200,000 in interest. He told me “oh, well if you do that you won’t get your deduction.” I explained my theory to him and he still tried to tell me I needed this deduction. When I asked repeatedly why I have to have this deduction he couldn’t give me a real answer. He like so many others in the country have been brainwashed into thinking that we MUST have our deduction. Again BS.

Pay your house off and live like a Prince or Princess and have your income to save, invest and SPEND as you wish. Can you imagine that?

The other side is my investment adviser. He says “Steve you need to be putting money away for retirement.” Well, we are still saving. He says all that money in the house could be earning more money in the market. REALLY. Have you seen the market? I don’t know about you but a few more of these every 10 year implosions and I’m done with “the market.” I have highly paid professionals begging for alternatives to the stock market. They all love  real estate right now. YEAH.

If you have your house paid for at an early age and have the remaining years of your working life to save, invest and actually enjoy a paid for vacation how would that feel? I think it would feel pretty damn good wouldn’t it.

No matter how you do it I think paying off your home as quickly as possible is the best way to go. Here is a recent article to help prove that it isn’t just me thinking this way. A lot of Americans are starting to see the benefits of being free from all debt and especially the home mortgage.

I think this guy, Dave Ramsey, has a lot going on in his debt free classes. A few years ago my wife and I went to his Financial Freedom class in Colorado Springs. We were basically on his program without knowing it. His word is true and if you stick with it you too will live like no one else so you can then live like no one else. Think about it. If you live frugally for several years to payoff all your debt it will allow you to live the rest of your life debt free. Plus along the way you will learn tricks (personal self control)  that you apply once you become debt free that will save you money after you become debt free.  In our society putting off our instant gratification so we could possibly live a better and more financially rewarding life in the future is a TOUGH sell.

I’m sure there are people out there that have different circumstances, needs and investment goals so this may not apply. But I believe for the average middle class person/family this is a viable option and should be explored. Just a few years ago talking about this to friends and clients was a dead end and they all thought I was a crazy person but now they seem to be coming out of the wood work to share their new goals of paying off their house.

Steven Beam is a CRS Realtor in Parker, Colorado. See client testimonials.

Steven Beam Social Media Connect.

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Pradera Real Estate in (Parker Colorado) Real Estate Market Report

January 1, 2010 to June 1, 2010

This is the homes SOLD report for Pradera Golf Course Community. All homes sold and closed should be shown here except for possibly FSBO’s and may a builder sale.

See every home for sale in Pradera Here.

• Total homes sold in Pradera Golf Club = 10
• Highest Priced home sold = $1,095,000 ( Steve Beam sold this one!)
• Lowest priced home sold = $439,900
• Average NET Sales Price = $627,745 (sale price minus any sales concessions from the seller)
• Average Original Asking Price = $688,857
• Average Asking Price at time of offer = $658,842
• Average Days on Market = 129
• Average Price per SQFT = $161
• Average Price Per SQFT FINISHED AREA = $127
• Total Sale Volume = $6,277,453

Video helps Sell Million Dollar Home in Pradera

2009 Yearend Sales Report for Pradera Golf Club

Stonegate Neighborhood Homes Sold Report

“I listed this home for sale at $1,200,000 in the Pradera Golf Course and sold it in 8 days with the power of video!”

When you NEED maximum exposure for your property and it’s time to sell call me and I’ll be happy to show you how we syndicate your home across the NET. Steven Beam uses the power of video to help get the job done.

Video accomplishes several things for a home sale.

1. It will expose your hoe to literally thousands of byers looking on the web for homes. Video give buyers a much better depth perception of room sizes and dimensions than a photo or those outdated BUBBLE EYED virtual tours.
2. It gets buyers into the house that may not normally have been able to find the home. Video is search able and can be found on the web. Don’t believe me? Google this address (4981 raintree circle) How many times is it on the first page of google? A LOT!
3. Video keeps buyers out of the house too. If they don’t like what they see in the video they can cross it off their list and it keeps unwanted showings out of your home.

Steven Beam is a CRS, Realtor in Parker Colorado. 303-941-4663 – EMAIL STEVEN BEAM

Home Buyer Tax Credit

I guess we can all kiss the government Home Buyer Tax Credit bye, bye, bye.  From the reports I’ve read and information I’ve heard it appreas to be going away with not much of a chance for a second extension.

NAR , The National Association of Realtors,  appears to have given up hope of getting it extend and posted this information on a website.

“NAR has had extensive discussions with congressional allies and concluded that an additional extension of the tax credit is unlikely. While lawmakers recognize that the tax credit helped stabilize the market, it appears that much of the benefit has been realized. NAR is now focusing on improving the availability of financing.”

Well that sure is a bummer but at least we know they are going to now try and work out the many wrinkles in the mortgage industry. This should be interesting going forward.

Congratulations to all you buyers and sellers that took advantage of the tax credit and received your benefits.

Steven Beam is a member of the National Association of Realtors.