Archive for the ‘Real Estate in NW Denver’ Category
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May
02
Posted by Jennifer Allan
Like we didn’t already know it, but we’re officially on 5280’s “safe” list of Denver neighborhoods that are still stable or 
even appreciating. The article even goes so far as to call us the “it” spot of the last five years!
Washington Park is also on the list, as are Bonnie Brae, Mayfair and Congress Park. But here’s the cool thing - check out these average home prices:
Highland/West Highland: $305,011
Berkeley: $274,000
Washington Park: $654,000
Bonnie Brae: $904,212
Mayfair: $671,000 (includes Hilltop which is very pricey)
Congress Park: $408,000
Hmmmm… looking for a “safe” real estate investment that won’t put you out half a mil or more? Throw in an urban lifestyle to die for and what do you see? Charming Old Northwest Denver!
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May
01
Posted by Jennifer Allan
Last Thursday, I put a wonderful little 1925 Bungalow on the market. Sunday evening, I presented multiple offers to my seller. We’re now under contract about $7k higher than asking price, and inquiries are still coming in.
But, wait a minute! I thought we were in a miserable housing market… what the heck happened?
Pretty simple, actually. My sellers did everything I asked them to do to prepare their home for market, they priced it competitively and voila! SOLD!
So… what all did they do to “prepare for market?”
- Had the home professionally staged
- Painted throughout, including the dingy ceilings (under protest!)
- Finished all the incomplete projects
- Replaced the smelly carpet in basement
- Cleaned out the wood-shop in basement and painted the floor
- Resurfaced the cast-iron tub
- Replaced an ugly ceiling fan
- Repaired the sticky locks
- Priced the home just below market
Yes, my sellers worked their backsides off and spent around $3k on repairs & staging. Was it worth it? Oh, yeah… to them at least. They’d already purchased their next home and sure didn’t want to be sitting on this one any longer than they had to.
Do they feel any Seller’s Regret at the quick sale? No. Oh, maybe a little bit, but they’re smart enough to know that there are two kinds of Seller’s Regret… and they’ll take THIS one all day long. I’ll talk more about Seller’s Regret tomorrow!
Related blog - Your Seller Asks… “Do I need to fix this?”
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Apr
30
Posted by Jennifer Allan
As you may have heard, the Denver City Council had a marathon session on Monday night – rumor has it that it finally broke up at 3am! I say “rumor” because I gave up around 9pm – I’m a lightweight when it comes to political events. 
The topic at hand? Whether to approve a request to “downzone” two sections of my beloved Northwest Denver neighborhood in Sloan’s Lake and West Highland. “Downzone” means, in this case, to change the zoning of an existing property from R2 to R1. Why downzone? To stop the destruction of existing single-family homes and the subsequent construction of multi-family homes, specifically duplexes and triplexes. In Denver, R1 zoning means that you can build ONLY a single-family home; R2 allows multi-family.
For those who live here, you know that in the last few years, there has been an explosion of such multi-family development in an area that has always been predominantly single-family. Is this development a good thing? A bad thing? Of course, it depends on your perspective. If you live next door to a new 5000 square foot duplex, you probably think it’s a bad thing. I know I would. But many support and appreciate the new development, and I’m not just talking about the so-called “greedy developers.”
I initially came out against the proposed downzoning for all the reasons discussed (for hours) on Monday night. But now that it’s over, I’m okay with the outcome. That surprised me. But, truth be told, after listening to both sides of the argument, I can truly sympathize with those who support the downzoning. There IS an ambience to our neighborhood that is threatened by the development. There ARE serious inconveniences to those living near the construction sites and subsequent multi-family buildings. As much as I love modern architecture, some of it does look kinda silly mixed in with our Bungalows, Tudors and Victorians.
However, had the decision gone the other way, I’d have been happy, too. Our neighborhood needs more family-friendly homes. People want to live here, but for many, a 1000 sqft Bungalow just doesn’t cut it, nor does everyone want to deal with the sloping floors of the larger Victorians. I would love to live in one of the new duplexes along Sloan’s Lake and I’m a little disappointed that there won’t be more built to accommodate ME when I’m ready to buy one.
So… I’m ambivalent. Unusual for me – I tend to rather opinionated on most matters. But I’m content. Life here will go on, real estate will continue to be built and exchange hands. I’ll continue to rollerblade around Sloan’s Lake and run to Sunflower Market for my lunchtime sushi. And, no, I won’t be able to sell my 1927 Bungalow to a developer and retire. Ah well. Again, life goes on.
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Apr
24
Posted by Jennifer Allan
I just listed the sweetest little Bungalow I’ve seen in a long time, and at $250,000, I’m pretty sure it’ll go fast. No, it’s not in NW Denver (if it were, it would tens of thousands higher); it’s on the east side of town, just two blocks from the City Park Golf Course and only minutes from all the fun in Uptown, Downtown & Cherry Creek.
The house is small, but, like most Bungalows, lives much bigger. The bedrooms are spacious, there’s plenty of storage throughout the house and the finished basement doubles the living area. There’s also an enclosed sunporch that’s not included in the finished square footage.
This home has a rare mountain and city view off the back deck. The yard is large and offers raised flower beds and low-water landscaping.
You won’t beat the price anywhere in town! Below are a few photos - or click here to see them all!
Want to see it in person? Call me - 303-947-1335.
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Apr
07
Posted by Jennifer Allan
WARNING: This blog touches on a hot political issue and unfortunately, I’m not a political kinda gal. So feel free to debate me, but know you’re dealing with an unarmed woman.
Earlier this week, I wrote a blog about all the in-fill development going on in my ‘hood of Northwest Denver. You can read all about it here.
But of course, any time there is development in a neighborhood, there’s going to be opposition, and Northwest Denver is no exception. Surprise, surprise, not everyone LIKES the idea of a two- or even three-story duplex going in next door!
Now, it’s easy to see why someone might protest. If your neighbor went from being a cute little 900 square foot one story 
Bungalow where Mom, Dad, Junior and Spot have lived for years (along with their 1.5 cars), to being a multi-family 2000+ sqft (per unit) modern structure that can house a small fraternity (and ALL those extra cars) AND blocks your sunlight, you might be a little miffed, too. Whether or not you approve of the architectural styling of the new stuff (I love it, but many don’t), there’s no question that the construction process and the end result will impact your life. Heck, the house next door to me just had its roof replaced and just that was incredibly disruptive to my weekend!
So what’s been going on here in Northwest Denver is a nasty fight among and between residents and developers. Now, don’t think that the lines are clearly drawn - Big Bad Developers on one side and the Poor, Oppressed Residents on the other - oh, no, plenty of locals are in support of the development, including most of the real estate community (myself included). No, not because we’re money-grubbing scoundrels, but because our wonderful neighborhood has a shortage of family-friendly homes… and we hate to see families leave the area due to a lack of adequate housing. This additional supply of livable, marketable homes makes our area that much more attractive and yes, marketable!
The approach the opponents have taken to slow down the development is to push for a “downzoning” of many Northwest Denver blocks. What this means is that if a home has a zoning of “R2″ (which allows a duplex), downzoning would change the zoning to R1 which does not. Therefore, nothing can be built on an R1 lot except a single family home.
On the surface, this sounds sort of reasonable. After all, nothing would stop a developer from building a single family McMansion on an R1 lot, so why not just do that? Why must he build a duplex or triplex?
Simple economics. Our real estate values in Northwest Denver are such that it’s rarely economically feasible to buy a lot and build a single family home on it. Builders must build a duplex or triplex in order to be profitable on their venture.
But who cares about the developers? Why should we locals who aren’t planning to move or build anytime soon care about the developers’ troubles?
Because taking away our R2 zoning is a violation of our property rights. That zoning, like it or not, is VALUABLE. The R2 land we sit on has value above and beyond selling out to a developer who wants to build a duplex, but hey - if a builder wants to come along and give me a bunch of money so he can tear down my 1927 Bungalow and build something else, I’ll listen!
Again, I feel for the residents who have been personally adversely affected by the development. I’d be mad too. I’ve seen some perfectly lovely older homes lose a big chunk of their appeal (and value) due to the construction of a monster duplex next door. But the answer isn’t to take away other people’s property rights to protect your own. I don’t know what the answer IS, but I’m pretty sure it’s something else…
www.charmingolddenver.com
Please be advised that I did very little research before writing this blog, so most of the above is personal opinion formed from observation and a few conversations with friends over bottles of wine. If I’ve missed something critical, please feel free to chime in.
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Apr
03
Posted by Jennifer Allan
Those of us who know and love the Charming Old Denver neighborhoods have a soft spot in our hearts for older homes - we love our Tudors, our Bungalows, our Victorians, our cottages and our Denver Squares. We happily put up with an appalling lack of electrical outlets, virtually non-existent closet space, garages built for Model T’s and so on. You know what I mean.
But as our families have grown (or, ahem, we’ve “matured”), we’re noticing that these Charming Old Homes don’t quite meet our needs the way they used to. We kinda want the amenities of newer construction, but are loath to give up our City life to get them. What to do, what to do?
The answer? In-fill construction.
In-fill construction is nothing new in Denver - they’ve been doing it all over town for at least a decade. But the trend is relatively new to my part of the world - that is - Northwest Denver. When I left Denver a few years ago for my writing sabbatical, there was some new construction here in the ‘hood - specifically at Highland Garden Village (Old Elitch’s), East Bay near Sloan’s Lake, a few condo projects in what is now hot LoHi and some random attached homes scattered around. But the attached homes didn’t sell well and many of the local Old House Snobs (myself included) had a tendency to look down their/our noses at the tiny lots and vinyl-sided exteriors of the new developments.
Well, no more!
Northwest Denver is now exploding with in-fill new construction! Some, even, at reasonable prices! Admittedly, many of the new homes are attached - that is - they’re duplex style where each side is sold separately, but you can get some serious square footage and generous amenities, including gourmet kitchens, master suites, awesome finished basements and rooftop decks. Most have usable yards and two-car garages. Yeah, I love my 1927 Bungalow, but I’ll admit, walk-in closets, plentiful outlets and a garage that comfortably holds a Subaru are seductive, even to this Old House Snob…
Tomorrow… How does the neighborhood feel about all this development?
The next day… In-fill construction in Northwest Denver - What, where and how much?
