by Neil Kearney | May 6, 2011 | Boulder Real Estate, Colorado Lifestyle |
Location, Location, Location is a well known rule in real estate. In some areas the prime locations migrate over time. Following the latest and best development. A good part of town is blighted 25 years later or the opposite, a blighted area of town gets revitalized. In Boulder Colorado where our development and growth are limited and enhanced by the natural beauty it has been more of a constant. This is even more true since Boulder is surrounded by nearly 100,000 acres of public open space. Backing to open space is a great location and many buyers are willing to pay premium prices for proximity to public open space. In Boulder this is not just limited to one section of town.
There is open space literally on every side of Boulder. Below I have taken a portion of the Boulder County comprehensive open space map (impressive!) showing just that portion around the City of Boulder. Every colored section is public land of some sort and everything colored green on the map is open space. This means that there are many homes backing to open space in and around Boulder Colorado. This provides a unique marketing opportunity and a lasting value for the buyer of such properties. Open space is not limited to homes backing to the mountains but includes homes backing to farmland, native prairie and riparian areas.
As you look around at property listings you will see the subtle distinction of “open space” vs. “open land”. Same thing, right? Wrong! The great selling feature about open space is that a commitment has been made for the preservation of the land in its current state. Unless something dramatically changes in our government, what you see is what you get. Open land on the other hand can be a little more tricky. What looks good now can change. “Open land” is privately owned land and it’s use is subject to change. These changes usually take place slowly but what you see now is not necessarily what you will see in the future. Do your research with the city or county in which the parcel sits and check the zoning and master plan. Many times the open land cannot be changed under current use and in Boulder County it is notoriously difficult to change land use.
I did a quick search of listings in the City of Boulder with the keywords “open space”. My search came up with 99 current listings. After sorting through the listings it turned out that there are just 27 listings that I considered adjacent to open space. The others were, “near open space”, “a short walk to open space”, etc. Follow this link to see all of the listings on open space in Boulder. Incidentally, when I performed the search for all of Boulder County 364 homes matched the “open space” criteria.
I am the co-listor of, what I think to be one of the premier properties in the Boulder area if you are looking for a feeling of seclusion, quiet and a great view. The property is located at 1397 S. Cherryvale Rd and is listed for $2,800,000. It has 4.5 acres and is located in a small neighborhood of similar homes which is surrounded by a mix of public open space, private open space (owned collectively by the neighborhood) and farmland. Here is a photo from the backyard. To learn more about this property visit its website at www.WildflowerEstate.net
View from 1397 S. Cherryvale Rd.
by Neil Kearney | May 2, 2011 | General Real Estate Advice, Real Estate 101 |
If you own property in Boulder County, you most likely received a 2011 Notice of Valuation in the mail this weekend. If you were like me seeing new assessed value of my property(s) was very interesting.
As you look at your valuation notice here are a few things to keep in mind:
- The property value shown as the current actual value is based on the actual value on the appraisal date of June 30, 2010.
- The current actual value is the value that taxes will be figured from beginning next January.
- The property value was computed using comparable sales from July 1, 2008 through June 30, 2010.
- The value shown is the taxable value, not an actual value that your home would sell for. The County Assessor tries to approximate this value and in recent years has become much better in doing so, but there are still many differences in particular homes which cannot be detected by the assessor.
During the two year period between assessments, the average property value in Boulder County decreased by 2.6%. The values for individual areas varied widely. Here is a chart compiled by the Longmont Times Call which shows overall valuations for individual areas in Boulder County.
You can see that the property valuations in the Boulder decreased by 1.7%, decreased by 4% in Longmont, but increased by 4.2% in Superior. Values in Niwot showed the most depreciation as they dropped 6%. Graphically it is even more interesting when they broke it down into geographical areas.
Within the City of Boulder the assessed values varied from an increase of 3.8% in the Martin Acres area to a decrease of 5.9% in Northwest Boulder which includes, Dakota Ridge, Wonderland Hill and the Holiday neighborhoods.
So how will this affect your 2011 property taxes? This is a really good question. On the Notice of Valuation you will see an estimate of property taxes. If the value of your home decreases the taxes will go down as well. This makes sense. But property taxes payable are set based on two variables; assessed value (now set) and mill levy which is to be set later in the fall. The mill levy is set every year by city councils, county commissioners, school boards and any special district directors (fire etc.) in the fall. Each of these interests have a budget to keep. Knowing that the assessments have fallen I have a hunch that the mill levy will increase. In the end taxes may not decrease at all. We will have to see.
You have the right to appeal the current actual value of your property. The appeal must be postmarked no later than June 1st 2011, so you have roughly 1 month in which to do your homework. Your appeal can be based upon two categories: the first is a discrepancy in your property description (does it say you have 4 bedrooms when you only have 3?), secondly you can disagree with the comparable sales used and provide others for consideration.
How to appeal your property tax valuation. The appeal process is outlined here and the appeal can be done online or in writing. The assessor has provided some online tools to help with the appeal process. Each comparable sale will need to be adjusted using their time trending table. They provide lists of comparable sales but they don’t show pictures. I am happy to provide some comparable sales with photos to you if you plan to appeal, just let me know.
I appealed the value of one of my rental properties two years ago. I had purchased the property right in the middle of the assessment period for $239,000 and they had assessed the property for $274,000. I provided some good comps in addition to the actual sale and they turned down the appeal. Do you have a story about your property valuation appeal? Please share it by leaving a comment.
by Neil Kearney | Apr 29, 2011 | Photos |
The Pearl Street Mall is alive with activity. The planters are full of bright tulips and with the better weather people are enjoying the sunshine on the benches. I took this picture with my iphone with an app called Hipstomatic.
Have a wonderful weekend! Please let me know how I can be of service.
by Neil Kearney | Apr 28, 2011 | Boulder County Housing Trends, For Buyers, For Sellers |
For many years our average negotiation off of list price has averaged between 2 and 3 percent. Lately, buyers are pushing those ranges. Sellers are seeing many low offers and many times those negotiations do not come to fruition. Buyers are looking for a deal, and who can blame them. Here is a list of average negotiation percentages off of list price for Boulder County across multiple price ranges:
- 0- $250k 3.1%
- $250 – $500k 3.04%
- $500 – $750k 3.82%
- $750 – $1M 4.65%
- $1M – $1.25M 5.87%
- $1.25M – $1.5M 5.56%
- > $1.5M 9.3%
by Neil Kearney | Apr 27, 2011 | Boulder County Housing Trends |
After a doing some internet research and comparing what I found to what I am seeing in Boulder County. Here are some of the top trends in housing and design.
- Outdoor living that serves as an extension of the inside of the home with outdoors that boast comfortable seating, audio, TVs, a fireplace, and
artwork to punch up the space.
- Green design elements, such as water-efficient appliances and LED lighting under the kitchen cabinets, continue to gain traction and offer cost savings.
- Smaller Homes – In Boulder this trend has been helped along by regulations. Nationally, it is combination of the response to the overdone McMansions and the overall trend toward smaller and better caused by the economic collapse.
- Larger Kitchens – Even with overall smaller homes the trend toward large, functional kitchens has persisted. Here are some of the popular features: recycling centers, recharging stations, integration with living areas (great rooms), sustainable product choices.
- Large functional bathrooms have become more popular. Universal design features in sustainable finishes are what people are looking for (think zen spa rather than ornate and overdone).
- High quality modular homes. No longer are modular homes just found in trailer parks. New designs are high quality, high style and pieced together on site, not brought in on a trailer. This trend is bringing contemporary style to ordinary people. Look for this trend to continue until it becomes main stream.
- Granite is no longer king. Composite countertops such as Ceasarstone and Terrazzo and natural stained concrete have replaced granite as the preferred high end countertop finishes. Prices of granite have come down so that it makes sense to install granite just to help the sale of a home.
Location, Location, Location is a well known rule in real estate. In some areas the prime locations migrate over time. Following the latest and best development. A good part of town is blighted 25 years later or the opposite, a blighted area of town gets revitalized. In Boulder Colorado where our development and growth are limited and enhanced by the natural beauty it has been more of a constant. This is even more true since Boulder is surrounded by nearly 100,000 acres of public open space. Backing to open space is a great location and many buyers are willing to pay premium prices for proximity to public open space. In Boulder this is not just limited to one section of town.
As you look around at property listings you will see the subtle distinction of “open space” vs. “open land”. Same thing, right? Wrong! The great selling feature about open space is that a commitment has been made for the preservation of the land in its current state. Unless something dramatically changes in our government, what you see is what you get. Open land on the other hand can be a little more tricky. What looks good now can change. “Open land” is privately owned land and it’s use is subject to change. These changes usually take place slowly but what you see now is not necessarily what you will see in the future. Do your research with the city or county in which the parcel sits and check the zoning and master plan. Many times the open land cannot be changed under current use and in Boulder County it is notoriously difficult to change land use.
