by KatieDrucker | Jan 26, 2021 | Boulder Info, Buying Tips
I had buyers get under contract for a $1,995,000 property on March 22, 2020 via a FaceTime showing.
I thought they were nuts.
Not because the clients were buying a house completely sight unseen, except on a screen. I thought they were nuts because the world had just stopped spinning, surely the market would crash or at least slow.
It turns out, their timing was impeccable. They bought in right before the Covid induced real estate buying frenzy.
But was their timing only perfect because they bought what everyone would soon realize they wanted, a single family home with space for working from home and homeschooling? Or did attached dwellings do just as well as single family homes during this rush to buy?
I decided to take a look:
Boulder County Single Family Home Facts:
- In 2020, in comparison to 2019, there was a decrease in single family homes that hit the market – a ~7.5 percent decrease.
- There was ~ 11 percent increase in closed sales in 2020 versus 2019
- Days on market decreased about 6 percent in 2020 compared to 2019 and the percent of list price increased by .4 percent
- This resulted in a 6.1 percent increase in median sales price in 2020 compare to the year prior
What it All Means:
More people wanted single family homes in 2020 as in 2019 and less people were wanting to sell their single family homes who already had them in 2020 versus 2019 and this has caused people to pay slightly more over list price than they did for a single family home in 2019 home and caused prices to increase.
Boulder County Attached Dwelling Facts:
- Unlike single family homes there was an increase in attached dwellings that hit the market in 2020 versus 2019, an ~14 percent increase.
- There was also an increase in closed attached dwelling sales in 2020 versus 2019 – 9.7 percent.
- There was a .2 percent decrease in percent of list price and ~ 6.1 percent increase in median sales price in 2020 compared to 2019.
What it All Means:
Unlike single family homes, significantly more people wanted to sell their attached dwellings in 2020 than in 2019. But, more people also wanted to buy attached dwellings in 2020 than in 2019, albeit less than the increase of people who wanted to buy single family homes. As a result, people were able to buy attached dwellings slightly below the list price.
In Conclusion:
The pandemic, working from home, low interest rates and wildfires in the West has caused people to move around like chess pieces – and though the market was/is tighter for single family homes versus attached dwelling units- the discrepancy in median price increase from 2019 to the pandemic year of 2020 wasn’t remarkable between single family homes and attached dwelling units.
Good Good is a Boulder area real estate agency. We specialize in helping good people find the perfect Boulder home. We’re low pressure but high touch. If you’re looking for a real estate guide in the Boulder area, we may be a good fit. Give us a call if you’d like to chat. We’re always happy to answer any questions you have about the Boulder area or give you a tour.
Thanks,
Katie (Good Good Founder) | 720.415.4914 | Katie@goodgoodrealty.com
by KatieDrucker | Jun 19, 2020 | Boulder Info
Heading for the hills has figuratively been on city dwellers minds since the outbreak of the coronavirus.
Many urban dwellers fleeing to locations where they summer. Or at least trying to – with Gunnison County in Colorado issuing an order that requires non-residents to leave the county and mandatory quarantines in many places for out-of-towners.
But when these contaminated aerosols settle, urbanites might find themselves reevaluating their permanent place of residence.
And literally heading for the hills to Boulder might be the perfect fit.
Boulder has a big city drive with a small town feel and room to roam.
Erase the misconceived notion that Boulder is a town made up of tree-hugging hippies, crazed triathletes and people who jumped on the legal marijuana train to the Colorado foothills.
Boulder definitely has some of that, but is much more than just that.
Google, Twitter, Ball Aerospace, Crispin Porter + Bogusky and IBM are a few of Boulder’s household name employers, not to mention the entrepreneurial side of Boulder. Techstars’ incubator is located here and Crocs, Spyder, Justin’s, Celestial Seasons are just handful of copious Boulder born companies.
When Boulderites aren’t hard at work coming up with ingenious advertising, coding algorithms, innovative outdoor apparel and tea to sip on between activities – they are enjoying the fresh air on the trails zigging and zagging through the 45,000 acres of both mountainous and agricultural Open Space, driving 30 minutes to Eldora Ski Resort, stand-up paddle boarding in the Boulder Reservoir or climbing pitches in close-by Eldorado Canyon State Park.
And when Boulderites are done working and recreating, they go home to their houses nestled amongst the ponderosa pines in the Boulder Foothills, their more urban-style homes a short walk away from shops and restaurants, their suburban homes with friendly neighbors or to their “rural” homes where the alpacas and chickens are waiting in the backyard.
Boulder really has it all.
If you are intrigued about Boulder check out our Moving To Boulder and Best Neighborhoods in Boulder Colorado articles. Also, be sure to take a look at our Good Good Map to get a lay of the land.
Good Good is a Boulder area real estate agency. We specialize in helping good people find the perfect Boulder home. We’re low pressure but high touch. If you are moving to Boulder or thinking about moving to Boulder and need some help with logistics or need a guide in the Boulder area, we may be a good fit. Give us a call if you’d like to chat. We’re always happy to answer any questions you have about the Boulder area or give you a tour.
Thanks,
Katie (Good Good Founder) | 720.415.4914 | Katie@goodgoodrealty.com
by KatieDrucker | May 22, 2019 | Boulder Info, Buying Tips, Selling Tips
When I was a Freshman at University of Wisconsin the Halloween celebration was the biggest gathering in the USA behind Time’s Square New Year’s Eve and Mardi Gras in New Orleans.
It was terrifying.
The bars all let out at the same time and the streets were packed with drunk college kids. What was a fun weekend turned into chaos – rocks being thrown at windows and police spraying pepper spray.
The next year, instead of trying to police the situation more, the city took a different approach. They embraced the celebration – allowing bars to stay open all night long and bringing in flood lights to make the city feel like daytime all weekend.
If you can’t stop it, embrace it.
That is in part, according to a city planner, the reason the Boulder City Council decided to loosen up regulations surrounding accessory dwelling units (additional living unit that has separate kitchen, sleeping, and bathroom facilities on a single-family lot). The city wanted to encourage all those homeowners with illegal ADUs to finally comply with the ADU regulations, and therefore city inspections.
If you have an illegal ADU that you want to make legal or you want to add an ADU to your property – apply now. There are a limited amount of seats at this party.
The number of ADUs will be limited to no more than 20 percent of parcels – increased from the previous 10 percent – within 300 feet of a subject property (ADUs, cooperative housing units and non-conforming structures count in the saturation calculation.) But get ready for an arduous long process because the lights do not stay on all night over at Boulder City Planning and Development Office and they are short staffed and drowning in an increased number of ADU applications.
Here is the summary of the other big changes that went into effect on Feb. 1, 2019:
- ADUs can be a larger size (800 square feet for a detached ADU and 1,000 square feet or one half the size of the principal home (whichever is less) for an attached ADU) and not provide the required additional parking previously required to get approval for an ADU in exchange for agreeing to limit rent to 75 percent of the Area Median Income based on the number of bedrooms. Currently that is about $1,835 for a 2 bedroom including utilities.
- The minimum lot size required was lowered from 6,000 square feet to 5,000 square feet for all types of ADUs.
- The 5-year minimum age requirement for the primary home to create an ADU was done away with.
- The occupancy limit has been increased.
- Short-term rentals – like Airbnb – for newly created ADUs have been outlawed and owners that wish to create an ADU must forfeit a short-term rental license for the principal dwelling as well.
Once your ADU gets approved the permitting process or retro-permitting process begins.
So go add value to your property and head over to Boulder Planning and Development office – 1739 Broadway Boulder CO 80302 – to hurry up and wait.
For more details about the new ADU regulations visit: https://bouldercolorado.gov/housing/adu-update
Good Good is a Boulder area real estate agency. We specialize in helping good people find the perfect Boulder home. We’re low pressure but high touch. If you’re looking for a real estate guide in the Boulder area, we may be a good fit. Give us a call if you’d like to chat. We’re always happy to answer any questions you have about the Boulder area or give you a tour.
Thanks, Katie (Good Good Founder) | 720.415.4914| Katie@goodgoodrealty.com
