Steve King Real Estate

Hi Friends, Please join my co-listing agent Jasmin Compere and I at the Broker Open at our listing in Estes Park tomorrow June 20th from 2-4pm. 580 Upper Venner Rd. It is an awesome property with some of the best views I've seen (and you know I've seen a lot of views). Snacks and drinks will be provided. We'd love to get your feedback on our listing and show off it's features. Potential buyers also welcome. Best, Steve

New Listing in Estes Park!! You have to see this one to fully appreciate all it has to offer. Please come check it out tomorrow at the open house that my partner in crime Jasmin Compere is hosting, from 10am-Noon. The property is situated on a private mountain top, while only a few minutes drive to everything that the town of Estes Park has to offer. Best of both worlds and the views will never get old!
580 Upper Venner Road., Estes Park:
https://porchlightgroup.com/listing/1009713/580-upper-venner-road-estes-park-co-80517/

While Boulder prices decreased month-over-month, sales outpaced new inventory. If this trend persists and interest rates continue to ease, the shift to a spring market could lead to more activity and competition. Get in touch to talk strategy, details at bit.ly/boulderstats-dec23.

Super happy to have had the honor of representing the buyer of this classy triplex in Denver's Capital Hill neighborhood.

We closed the deal yesterday at $308k UNDER the original listing price and significantly under appraised value! On top of that, I was able to negotiate an additional $33k in seller's concessions during our inspection objection, along with $6k worth of repairs. The $33k went towards buying the interest rate down, so my buyer will pay less for their loan payments, creating more positive cashflow and saving them tens of thousands on their loan payments over the term of the loan. My client is a first-time homebuyer so I feel extra good about setting them up with lower monthly payments and instant equity. They'll be "house hacking" one unit of the triplex while renting the other two. Great strategy to get started in an expensive market like ours.

We're seeing more buying opportunities here than we've had in years, but they might not last. If interest rates come down in the spring like many are predicting, then sellers will be firmly back in control and we'll be back to writing competitive offers over asking price instead of negotiating killer deals like this one.

If you're looking to buy or sell in the Boulder/Denver area, I'd love to help you out and earn my commission by saving you lots and lots of money!

Flat land in the mountains to build on!

Owl Creek Rd, Boulder, CO 80302 | realtor.com® Owl Creek Rd, Boulder, CO 80302 is for sale. View 19 photos of this 1.99 acre lot land with a list price of $285000.

Market Update! June Real Estate Stats are in: Inventory is up a bit from this time last year with 254 homes for sale in the City of Boulder. That's 43% more than what we had for sale last June! City of Boulder Average Sales Price in June was up 18% since May and notably up 13% over last June. So much for prices going down, am I right? However this number is skewed by just a few recent sales that broke records. Digging deeper into individual price segments, we've got prices going both up and down somehow. Average Days on Market is at 62 for City of Boulder, which is up 106.7% over last June. Again, this number is a bit skewed due to a significant number of higher-priced homes hanging around on the market longer than the others. In the City of Boulder there are 71 active listings at $3,000,000 and up, and inventory in the $3-5M category is all the way up to 11 months. Breaking down the price bands, we're seeing a continued strong seller's market in the "entry-level" price-points. Attached properties (condos) are still especially competitive, while average priced homes are a fairly balanced market, but still favoring sellers slightly, and that luxury segment over $3M has suddenly become more of a buyer's market. Time to pick up that stunning mansion or deluxe pied a terre you've always craved! New and Sold Listings are up slightly compared to May, but down YOY. City of Boulder has about 3.7 months of inventory while Boulder County has about 2.7 months of inventory total. Compared to May and YOY:
City of Boulder - Detached Residential:
Sold Listings + Slightly; - 18.3% YOY New Listings + Slightly; -12.9% YOY
Average Days on Market +; + 106.7% YOY
Average Sales Price + ; +12.9% YOY
Total Sales +; -7.8% YOY
Months Supply: 3.7 months
Homes for Sale: 254
Boulder County - Detached Residential
Sold Listings +; - 11% YOY
New Listings +; -18.3% YOY
Average Days on Market =; +67.9% YOY
Average Sales Price =; - 2.3% YOY
Total Sales +; -13.1%
Months Supply: 2.7 months
Homes for Sale: 626

Overall, we're seeing a continued normalization of the market, getting back to our old pre-covid seasonality. I expect the market to pick up again in September for our "second selling season", and as the Fed seems to be cooling off with their rate hikes thanks to the most recent inflation report, we'll probably have another buyer frenzy if rates drop at the end of this year/ early next year. As always, if you're looking to buy or sell it's the perfect time, and I'd love to help! Thanks to Anthony Meisner with Land Title for the stats and graphics.

Super happy for my seller who needed a bigger property in order to welcome their first child. It was a tricky sale but everyone is happy in the end. If you're looking to buy or sell in the Boulder/Denver area this year (or know anyone who is), I'd be delighted to help! Happy early 4th of July to all.

Bittersweet ending for my seller who had hoped to build their dream home on this amazing property in Silver Springs... it didn't work out as planned but we ended up getting them a great price for it, and now they're moving on to a great situation that works much better for them. Humbled and honored to have been able to help.

Another home scored for a happy buyer. We somehow managed to land this one ~$15k under appraised value and then negotiated an additional $10k in repairs. It's a great home in a prime location and I'm very happy for my clients, who are first-time homebuyers. There's nothing better than going from renting to instant equity!

https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/1111-Primos-Rd_Boulder_CO_80302_M97466-89670

Check out my new land listing in an ideal location between Boulder and Nederland. This 2.7 acre lot is situated on a SE facing slope. It overlooks a beautiful grassy meadow with year-round springs, creeks, an Aspen grove, willows, pines, and even a (very rare for the area) private swimming and fishing pond! It's perfect for anyone looking for a quiet, peaceful place to live with immediate access to miles and miles of amazing hiking and biking trails. The property borders thousands of acres of Arapaho National Forest. Abundant wildlife sightings are possible daily: deer, moose, elk, fox, birding etc.... it's a great place to be!

$333k includes newly installed septic for a 4 bedroom house. The county has a file for the property with an approved Limited Impact Special Use Review (LISR) for 954 cu.yds. of earthwork for the construction of a driveway and an approved Site Plan Review for a 3,462 sq. ft. residence (1,731 sq.ft. basement / 1,107 sq.ft. 1st floor / 624 sq.ft. attached garage). The heavy lifting has been done with getting the site permitted by the county and this land is ready for a buyer to pull their permit and build their dream home on it. (Buyer will need to pick up where the seller left off off course and should verify any and all info themselves).

1111 Primos Rd, Boulder, CO 80302 | realtor.com® 1111 Primos Rd, Boulder, CO 80302 is for sale. View 29 photos of this 2.71 acre lot land with a list price of $333000.

https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/2050-23rd-St_Boulder_CO_80302_M16678-94810

Anybody looking for a Downtown Boulder condo under $1M?

2050 23rd St, Boulder, CO 80302 | realtor.com® 2050 23rd St, Boulder, CO 80302 is for sale. View 39 photos of this 2 bed, 2 bath, 1230 sqft. condo with a list price of $929000.

Reduce Property Taxes And Voter-approved Revenue Change | Colorado General Assembly This website requires javascript to run optimally on computers, mobile devices, and screen readers. Please enable javascript for the best experience!

PROPERTY TAX ASSESSMENTS!!!

For those who have recently received their property tax valuation from the assessor's office, and are wondering how to appeal, here is the link to appeal online (you have until 6/8 to file an appeal): https://bouldercounty.gov/property-and-land/assessor/appeals/

If anyone is wondering how our property taxes work and what the different terms mean: the "actual value" is an approximation of the market value of your home, which gets multiplied by the assessment rate (6.95%) to get to the "assessed value" which is then multiplied by the total mill levies, and divided by 1000, which equals your property taxes due. Easy-peasy lemon-squeezy, right!?

The assessment rate was previously 7.15%, but dropped to 6.95% for 2021 taxes due in 2022. Assessments are done bi-annually: each odd numbered year is a revaluation year. 2023 is a big jump because CO real estate markets were RED SMOKING HOT (aka values increased drastically and rapidly) over the past 2 years. In many areas values increased > 15% a year, with some mountain communities almost doubling (especially the mountain resort areas like Steamboat, Breckenridge, etc.). These increases were reflected in the sales that ultimately are used in the 2023 revaluation cycle, which reflects an average of 33% increase overall.

Remember, property tax value is not current market value. Property tax value is derived from sales since the last revaluation (last summer and earlier). The market was in a much different place then than it is now. In some local markets, prices are actually coming down right now thanks mostly to a big increase in interest rates and overall uncertainty in the financial markets (banks collapsing, buyer uncertainty and buying power reduced by rates having increased, etc). The statute in Colorado does not care about any of that, or even the current market value. The increase you are seeing this year was for “prior” real estate appreciation that is now just catching up to your property value, which ultimately determines your property taxes.

With this in mind, 2023 will be a hard year to win an appeal, as no one can deny that property values have gone up dramatically across the state over the past several years.

However, if your property is absurdly over-valued by the assessor's office, and you can demonstrate that with hard data, then you may be able to get a big reduction or at lease minor relief. Here are some tips to help you navigate the appeal process and increase your odds of winning:

Before starting, it is important to note that the assessor doesn’t care what you “feel” your property tax value should be, what your "Zestimate" says the home is currently worth (Zillow seems to have adjusted their algorithms this year by the way, while their estimates were generally WAY high last year, now they are trending low IMO), what Redfin, Trulia or Realtor.com says your home is worth, or even what your recent appraisal was for because the property tax value is based on facts during a stated time period. The only way to have a chance at winning an appeal is to follow the directions and leave your feelings behind.

Dates are important, if you miss the 6/8 deadline to appeal, you are out of luck. For this year the only comparables/comps that can be used are prior to 6/30/22 (a two year period before then). Start by ensuring that the assessor has your info correct: is the square footage correct? Is other information accurate? Correcting this info could be low-hanging fruit to reduce your tax burden. Again, do not use Zillow or Trulia, etc. as their data is often incorrect. Consult public records for data. How residential appraisals work is the county calculates a neighborhood average and finds sales in close proximity to your house with similar characteristics. The averages can lie. If you can make the case that your property is closer to the lower sales than the higher sales, you may be able to win your appeal and get your property value reduced (remember you are not talking about current market value, nor does this influence the sale price of your home).

Also, pay attention to upcoming Senate Bill 23 303, which is the property tax relief bill that Governor Polis is working on: https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/sb23-303

Note that property tax policy is made on the state level in Colorado, so this is a state-wide issue not a city council/local policy issue. Thanks to TABOR, the bulk of our tax revenue actually comes from commercial property taxes, not residential. This means our local small businesses that rent commercial spaces will suffer the worst from the recent increases. Polis is hoping to take funds from TABOR (by reducing tax refunds), to provide property tax relief. One of the key reasons for the huge jump in taxes is the elimination of the Gallagher amendment that balanced commercial with residential assessments and eliminated the cap, which led to huge jumps in residential property taxes. Appealing your property tax increase this year may or may not be successful. It's probably worth a few hours of effort to try, and the worst they can say is "No". However, if you don't like the tax increase we're all seeing this year, the ballot box is where you should focus your efforts. Personally, I look at property tax increases the same way I look at appreciation: it's much better than seeing property values going down, and not having equity to access to make improvements to existing property or purchase more property! Colorado still has (comparatively) very low property taxes compared to almost every other state. We have the 3rd lowest property taxes in the country.

My only goal for this year is to work with nice people, exclusively. So far it's going extremely well! I'm so happy to report that everyone involved in this transaction was extremely nice. The listing agent was very nice, the sellers were very nice, and my buyer is simply one of the nicest, most awesome people I've ever met. The property is super nice too (the historic Cornwall building in Cap Hill).

If you're looking to make real estate moves this year (and you're a nice person) please give me a call, I'd love to help. Negotiating win-wins makes this a great job!

I went to our awesome PorchLight awards ceremony at the Denver Art Museum a few weeks ago, not expecting to win anything but just to support my homies at the top who are crushing it… But lo and behold… an award! I don’t think I even made the top 50 company-wide, but that’s fine, rubbing elbows with the heavy hitters and hoping some of their magic sauce rubs off is what it’s all about. Thanks for the fun party and the award PorchLight Powers That Be! I didn’t even pay for this award (commission splits aside). Very appropriate for the Silver Fox to be in the Silver Club. Shooting for Platinum or Winter Blonde next year.

Last month's numbers are in and it's time to take a look at what's happening in the local real estate market (and I mean actually happening, not what the national news is reporting, which is non-specific to this market and also typically several months old, just btw).

The market is still a bit of a mixed bag: at the end of last year I reported that buyers and sellers were on different pages. In hindsight, that was an understatement. Buyers and sellers were reading different books for awhile. Now they're at least in the same chapter and more deals are starting to come together. We still have some inventory left over from last year when the market basically stopped, which is skewing the numbers in favor of being closer to a balanced market than it actually feels like in the trenches. For example, we're looking at the highest days on market that we've had in a long time at an average of 47 DOM's. However, what we're seeing now and what the newest market data reflects is that this year is actually shaping up to be another year of a continued strong seller's market. The 47 DOM's data point is mostly due to properties that were listed too high in the fall (when many buyers were playing "wait and see" at the same time that sellers were looking at sales comps from our strongest seller's market ever a few months before, and perhaps being a bit overly greedy with their list price). Subsequently, properties didn't sell as fast and the market slowed down considerably.
Market pace has definitely continued slowing from previous years (thankfully), and we continue to settle back into our pre-Covid seasonal norms. Recently, we have started seeing instances of people lining up at open houses waiting to get in again, multiple offers, listings going well over-ask etc. But at least things like inspection contingencies and seller's concessions are back in play. With only 1.5 months of inventory, we're still very much in a strong seller's market (6 months is a balanced market, 8 months is a buyer's market). Buyer activity (demand) is outpacing new listings (supply). There are still some stale listings kicking around from the end of last year that can be negotiated a bit, but true lowball offers are not hitting the mark for the most part in my experience. The closed to list price ratio did drop from 105.4% this time last year to 98.5% this year, so sellers are starting to adjust to the market having slowed down.

Much of the market wonkiness described above is being driven by interest rates. When they doubled quickly last year it stalled the market suddenly. They came down off their high at the beginning of this year, to the mid 5's on average, which caused a big uptick in buyer activity. Then they started going back up, currently hovering in the upper 6's/low 7's, which has cooled things off a little again. Lenders have mostly shifted from a locking position to a carefully floating position right now in anticipation of the inflation/jobs report due on the 10th, when rates may get better again depending on the results of that report.

I've been working on some interesting projects lately in a wide range of property types and sub-markets: small multifamily deals in Denver, downtown condos, and single family homes in my neighborhood. It has been fun to learn and gain insight into some different areas and property types. There's always a lot to learn in real estate and I never get bored. It's shaping up to be another great year for buying and selling in Colorado. If you're looking to buy or sell this year, please give me a call. I'd love to help!!

Thanks as always to Anthony Meisner of Land Title for his awesome weekly market stats and insights, and to Mandie Pallone of Fairway Independent Mortgage for keeping us up to date on the current news and trends in the lending landscape.

January stats are in! The market was slow over the holidays and through January, returning to our normal pre-Covid seasonality, but has been picking up rapidly over the past few weeks. Inventory is still very low, so technically a strong seller's market, but also a bit of a mixed bag. Some properties have been on the market longer than we've seen in a few years, but we're also starting to see multiple offer situations again on certain listings. Well-priced and professionally marketed properties are again drawing competitive offers and selling for over asking price. Interest rates are starting to stabilize, lenders are reporting a big uptick in new loan applications, and buyers are definitely coming back to the playing field. We should see more and more listings coming on the market soon as our selling season kicks off with a bang. For buyers, deals can be had by revisiting listings that expired in the fall, prospecting for off-market deals, or making aggressive offers on properties with long days on market. Sellers may want to get their properties listed now before increased listing competition comes to the market, although it's looking like any time this spring will be a good time to be a seller. Buyers should not wait to buy (never been a good strategy in this market), as we expect another spring with steep appreciation here. If you're looking to buy or sell this year, let's get on it! I'd love to help.

“Sea Lions are so stinky”. Fox News at 5.

Market update!! October numbers are in, and it’s time to take a deep dive into the data. The big news is that the market continues to shift. Inventory is up from last month, while sales are down. There are many sensational news stories circulating that a crash is imminent, but the reality is that we're still technically in a seller’s market, it’s just not as intense as it has been the past two plus years. The drop in demand is partly because there normally aren’t that many buyers this time of year in Colorado. What’s happening is that we’re just returning to our normal, pre-Covid seasonality. People are focusing more on the Holidays, nobody wants to move in winter, etc. that’s just normal here. Election season also has an effect on the market. This year the lull has been compounded by interest rates having doubled in the past year, and some uncertainty in the financial markets, but we’re not seeing a crash by any means. It’s not even technically a buyer’s market because we still only two months of inventory (a buyer’s market is defined by 6 months or more of inventory). Breaking down individual price bands, the luxury market has done remarkably well. Where we’re really seeing pressure is in the lower end where the cost of borrowing hurts buyers the most. At the beginning of this year there were only 90 homes on the market in the entry-level price point in Boulder County and now we have a few hundred. Sellers are adjusting to having their property sit on the market for a month or two (which is normal) instead of 2 seconds. Buyers are adjusting to higher interest rates. We had the lowest inventory that we’ve ever had for a few years and now we’re seeing inventory going up. This will likely continue until at least the spring. Again, it’s not technically a buyers market, but rather just a really tight market with not a lot going on. Certain homes are not selling while others are still getting multiple offers. Prices always come down in the fall from the spring here, and this year that pattern has been exacerbated by rising interest rates and rumors of a looming recession, and also reacting to unsustainable price increases over the past two years. We hit the ceiling of affordability and prices are adjusting a bit. However prices are still up year over year, just down from the peak in April. Boulder is still up 16% from October last year, and Niwot is up 43% YOY! People looking to sell don't chase prices down in this area, in general. By spring, I predict the holding pattern will break because life transitions still happen: people retire, have children, change jobs, downsize, upsize, cash out, cash in, etc… Sellers sell when they need to sell. Buyers can’t play “wait and see” forever. The market will need to make moves at some point, and it will probably be in the spring. Speaking for myself and my colleagues, many of us have listings ready to go for March. Historically, March is the best month of the year to list property here, so we are expecting increased inventory then. Interest rates are forecasted to stabilize and potentially even come back down a bit as well, according to those in the know and depending on what happens with the economy. Buyers will adjust to the new rates, sellers will be more realistic with list price expectations, and hopefully more deals will come together. In the meantime, it’s a great time to buy if you’re looking to buy. There’s less competition right now, sellers are willing to negotiate a bit, and unlike the past few years buyers aren’t having to offer way over ask, offer appraisal gap coverage or waive all contingencies anymore. You can actually get an inspection and ask for seller concessions again, which is nice. If you’re looking to buy or sell in the near future, I’d love to help! Big thanks to Anthony Meisner at Land Title for the stats and alpha-geek market insight.

Congrats to my client in selling her investment property in Broomfield. This was our 3rd transaction together. Listings are a lot trickier now compared to the market peak last April. It's more important than ever to have accurate pricing, great marketing, and a professional on your team. If you're thinking of buying or selling in the Boulder area, I'd love to help!

I was surprised and deeply grateful to receive this Core Values Award for the month of August at our monthly huddle this morning. I've had a few challenging/emotionally difficult transactions this year and the support that I've gotten from my PorchLight peeps has truly been critical in keeping me going. Love y'all!! Thanks for putting up with me. Onward and upward!

Price improvement on my listing in Broomfield! $15k price reduction. Great house, great yard, great value at $525k. Bring us an offer!

Feeling very humbled and grateful to receive this positive feedback on two recent transactions with an awesome client. If you or anyone you know is looking to buy or sell real estate in the Boulder/Denver area, I'd love to assist!

Boulder County/ Denver Metro Real Estate Market Update!!!!

There has been a big uptick in inventory while at the same time buyers have lost their sense of urgency plus buying power has diminished due to higher interest rates, and prices are adjusting. It’s much less of a sellers market here than we’ve seen in a few years, but still technically a fairly strong seller’s market (we still only have about 1-2 months inventory in most sub markets while 4-6 would be a balanced market and over 6 is what defines a buyers market). I’ve been testing the waters with a client who has been making lowball offers for a few weeks, and we’re finding that sellers aren’t quite ready to drop their pants just yet. Many of them are locked in at 2% and even lower 30 yr. mortgages and are sitting on a ton of equity, so they aren’t that motivated to offload these properties at a steep discount after just a few weeks on market. I don’t think we’re seeing the beginning of a crash but rather just reverting to pre-Covid times and the normal time period to sell a property. The days of receiving 20 offers up to 60% over asking price within the first 24 hours of listing are gone. Everyone knew that wouldn’t last forever. It could take 4-8 weeks to get a full price offer now, which historically is quite normal. Neither buyers nor sellers are all that motivated right now, so it’s a strange time in the market. It’s also uneven across the different market segments and price bands as we are still seeing multiple offers over-ask in the hottest market segments, while properties in the less desirable locations/ certain price points are dropping their prices and still not getting any offers.

A few interesting stats from the latest Denver Metro Association of Realtors' July report (with data up through end of June):
-- SFH listings are up 119% year over year. That's a lot more supply on the market. (It's up 65% just over the previous month!)
-- # of closed transactions is down 25% year over year.
-- Days on market/ DOM’s for SFHs is up 25% year over year and 11% up just over the previous month.
-- Median price for SFHs is up 12% over last year (but only 0.5% over last month)
July list price to sold price ratio just came out from NAR, and it was 100.7%, so properties are still selling for asking price on average. Over the last two years, we got used to seeing properties going for way over-ask, the list to sold ratio was all the way up to 118% at the peak. That’s still happening sometimes in the current market, but much less frequently. So we’ve seen a 17.9% swing in list to sold price ratio in just 60 days. Price reductions are more common right now than we've seen in 3 years. Offers less than asking price, inspection objections, and price negotiating are suddenly a thing again. But certain hot properties that are in good locations and are priced well and marketed well are still going for over-ask, and it’s averaging out to 100.7%.

The seemingly ubiquitous news about interest rates rising and a crash being upon us is actually outdated already as they have actually come down from their high of a month or two ago and are currently hovering around 5% on average. I had a client lock in at 4.6% last week on a a 30 year fixed, and my preferred lenders are all predicting rates will be stable for awhile, perhaps even coming down a bit further.

What does this all mean? It's a mixed bag. Supply is up, which is good, but buyer activity is down. Prices still saw double-digit appreciation year over year last year. Colorado’s real estate market, like everywhere else, is finally cooling off a bit, which had to happen. As just one example ... we had 6,000 or so active listings in all of Denver metro at the end of June. That's about triple what it was last year, so the supply is increasing, which helps with prices. (Great!) But that supply number is roughly the same as it was April of 2020 and April of 2019 and April of 2018. And no one was talking about those markets as soft.

So, again, it's a mixed bag. We might see prices level for a bit, maybe some will even decrease. Houses are probably not going to be getting multiple offers the first weekend they are listed. When a seller sees that, there may be a little panic going through their mind so the knee-jerk reaction is to drop the price +/- $25k. This creates an amazing opportunities for buyers. To name a few:
-Buyers have been hurting to get more inventory, now it is available.
-Buyers have not been able to get contingent offers accepted, now sellers will accept these.
-Buyers have been frustrated with $50K+ appraisal gaps, now this is no longer necessary; in fact, use that appraisal gap to make a larger down payment and your monthly payment may not be as impacted by higher rates as you thought.
With all of this being said, rents are still very strong and investors should be getting more active in the market now that price bargaining is back.