Denver housing market

Disclaimer: unproductive rant ahead.

Wife and I had our first kid 8 months ago and we are looking to buy our “forever home.” We’ve been saving for a down payment for about 4 years now.

The Denver market is just insane right now. The vast majority of houses in our price range and geographic area go under contract after 1 weekend on the market. Those that don’t have any major disadvantages (not backing to a major road, no major deferred maintenance, etc) typically have multiple offers. About 1/5 of the homes that we try to tour, go under contract before we even have a chance to tour them.

We just lost a bidding war after offering $37k over asking, appraisal gap language, free rent back to the sellers so they can move into their new home at their leisure after closing, partially waved inspection. We were among the top 3 bids, and when the sellers asked if we would completely waive inspection, we tapped out.

I’m sure something will work out eventually. We are pretty picky (since we are planning to live in this home until we retire if not longer), and we are looking in one of the most desirable areas in Denver. We’ve lost 2 bidding wars so far, I wonder how many more we will go through before something works out.

Thanks for reading - and congrats to those of you that live in houses you love. I hope to join you soon.

 

Yeah, I wouldn't want to buy here right now. I got lucky and bought in 2009. Now they say my house is worth almost 3X what I paid for it. Seems kind of like another bubble to me, but I suck at timing. I guess keep hanging in there....

 

Took me two years to buy my house in Hawai’i. Most houses that were “going on the market” had offers before it even went live had cash offers or well above asking offers. Having a really good real estate agent will go along way. We had to put in offers before the house went on the market.

 

Yup, housing market is going to be tough as more and more move from large cities like Los Angeles and have plenty of money to out bid you, if only for a dollar. Arizona, texas, utah, and idaho are all having issues just like this.. even parts of new york

 

It's the right life timing for us, and we are trying to move by the end of the year for a variety of reasons. But, I agree the timing isn't great from a market perspective. If we were going to live here for 5-10 years, this would be very important. But we're going to live here for 30+ years so I don't care if we "overpay" a little bit as long as we get a house that works for our family in the long run.

 

Yeesh, that sounds way worse than what we are dealing with! Talk about perseverance! I guess that's the cost of living in paradise.

 

You almost want to feel bad for them, then you see that they live in Hawaii.... Lucky Bastard!

 

That’s one of the reasons we moved. Sold the house and moved to the mainland in February. But have a real estate agent that’s in a big company helps. Find out which company that does the most sales. They will have the inside info on coming to market houses. The real estate company we used was involved in 51% of real estate transactions in the state. I wish we used them from the beginning. If you are looking for a forever home don’t be afraid of the remolding and our datedness. You can truly get in there and make it your home.

 

Lived*. Raising a kid in that state is rough with the education and lack of things to do for them. 8 bucks for a gallon of milk and 6 bucks for a dozen eggs gets old fast. Spending a 825k on a termite eaten plantation style house at 1500sqft isn’t fun either. Glad I moved to Oregon a lot of us are leaving the islands and coming to the mainland. We are being priced out by investors

 

We bought a home in Westminster November 17, market definitely started to cool off around this time of year once school started (and the summer buy/move season was winding down). But yeah, we could only afford one in the “major deferred maintenance” category, and are dealing with that now (replacing all siding/sheathing, and fixing water and termite damage beneath that, including a surprise 1/2 kitchen remodel). For us it’s worth it, because we’re big into the outdoor opportunities here and like our jobs, but it definitely is tough.

 

Great advice - thanks.

Definitely not afraid of remodeling - but it still factors into the overall cost equation. I can paint, redo a small bathroom, or replace closet doors, but I don't have the skill or time for something like a full kitchen remodel. An all original 70s kitchen is something that we would want to change as soon as we could afford it. A recently remodeled kitchen commands a premium that we don't want to pay. So houses that were remodeled sometime in the 90s or 2000s are the best bang for buck for us, avoiding the price premium and avoiding the expense of remodeling.

 

Okay, I’ll stop hating you now. Of course, given the choice, I’d probably take the Pacific Northwest over Hawaii, so maybe I’ll just mildly dislike you

 

Yup came here in sept of 2017 and called the wife and said we need to move. 18 months later we were here

 

My wife and I left Aurora for work in the UK 3 years ago, sold our home as i didn't think we would be returning to the Denver area. Now its starting to look like we will be returning because in my line of work the only other options are even worse housing markets. We've been online window shopping/preparing to return in the next year maybe, but i feel like i'm nearly priced out.

 

I feel for you in Denver. It's going nuts (admittedly less so) in the Springs even. We started planning to buy about 5 years ago and wish we would've just made something work even without the down payment because we couldn't save money quick enough to keep up with the rising home costs (and we do well).

Luckily, a person I knew owned a home (used as a rental) that fit the bill and after three years of bugging him, he agreed to sell. Saved a bit using no agents and bought a house that really only had one thing we wanted: location. Rest was a bit bigger than we wanted, tri-level, outdated from the 90s and used and abused as a rental.

We did a new kitchen, some ourselves and some contracted, all new paint (inside and out), all new wood floors and carpet, lots of lighting updates/modifications and lots of other little things. It's been an expensive adventure and not exactly what we wanted, but the house is worth 150K over what we paid for it last year and we've put maybe $60-65 into it, so that's the benefit.

Hang in there man, it'll be stressful and one day something will hopefully fall into your lap and work out perfectly.

 

@rocky_mountain_dave we are in Littleton by Chatfield Res. We have been getting letters from local realtors about having buyers wanting to buy in our neighborhood. Has your realtor tried sending out a letter to neighborhoods you are interested in? I also see the neighborhood facebook page and "buy/sell/trade" with activity before a house goes on the market. We have realtors that live in this neighborhood and get inside info watching these neighborhood facebook groups.

It is hard to listen to the news and hear about more stimulus money needed and at the same time the average price of a home in Denver metro broke $600k for the first time ever last month. I know interest rates are at rock bottom, but really, setting a record in a "bad" economy?

Also, keep an eye on Craigslist. Sellers know the Denver market is hot and want to try and sell without a realtor. Both sides save and you can you hire a tile company to process the transaction.

Hope you find something. Good luck!

 

Not to sound all communisty or anything, but at least places to live EXIST in your price range. Despite having a pretty good job, there's not really anywhere I can live on the front range that's not a cinder block cube next to the interstate or a single wide from 1965. And I'm not only complaining for my own sake - in recent years, something like 200k Coloradans have been driven out of the state annually. The culture here is a far cry from what it was 20 years ago. The economy is absolutely absurd and I don't think 10% increases in housing costs every year is sustainable. The open spaces have been trashed and are crowded like never before. Air quality (even before the fires) is more like 1990 Denver and sucks. Schools (as far as I can tell) are a mess. And the caravan of transplants just never stops. Californians and Texans are absolute locusts.

RIP Idaho and Montana - hope you guys know you're next.

 

U can participate in the frenzy ................or wait

37k over .................wow what a minefield

some of those ' dream homes ' will become the house o horrors

some of those that are that anxious will be in over their heads

there will be arguments ......splits .......divorces........bankruptcys

denver wont be the first overheated market to go bust

 

I see it in Charlotte too. Not nearly as bad as out your way and some place up north But I make a decent income as a pro engineer and have been looking to move out of the city. I don’t see how it’s sustainable but what do I know. Everybody seems to have more money than they know what to do with recently yet like what was mentioned above we are sending out stimulus packages

 

people are willing to jump of a bridge ................... into More DEBT!!!!

im debt FREE. with a 6 figure income

my banker hates that fact

i have cash = i go

i have cash = i do

i have cash = i get

im broke i stay the hell home !!!!!!!

its NOT that there is an endless pool of $$$$$$$$$$

there is an endless pool o Debt !!!!.............................................which is NOT sustainable