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Strategies & Market Trends : The Residential Real Estate Crash Index -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: biometricgngboy who wrote (14651)	10/29/2003 11:04:18 AM
From: biometricgngboy	Respond to of 306849

Home prices rise Some experts worry tough times coming By Kristi Arellano, Denver Post Business Writer Denver-area home prices are up over a year ago, but some real estate brokers say the numbers belie a struggling market. "Anything priced higher than $200,000 is just sitting on the market," said Gary Bauer, an independent real estate consultant. The median metro-area home price was $229,000 this month, up 2.5 percent from a year ago but down 2.6 percent from September, according to reports issued Tuesday by Bauer and by Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage. The median condominium price was $154,500, up 3 percent from October 2002 and down 1.6 percent from September. The price of a single-family home was up 3.3 percent from October 2002 and down 2.5 percent from September, while the average condo price was up 4.5 percent from a year ago and down 2.1 percent from a month ago. Brokers attribute the year-over-year price gain to interest rates, which have allowed home buyers to qualify for larger mortgages. Mortgage rates last week averaged 6.05 percent with 0.7 points for a 30-year fixed-rate loan, according to mortgage buyer Freddie Mac. "We're still in a very good market. As long as interest rates stay kind of where they're at, we'll have a strong market," said Joe DeVito, a broker associate with Re/Max Alliance in Arvada. Other real estate experts worry that the market could be headed for difficult times. "I'm very concerned that maybe this is just a positive lull," said Mark Levine, director of the school of real estate at the University of Denver. "We'll have to wait to see what happens in January when we're through with the holidays and reality sets in." Buyers put 2,285 properties under contract in October, down 0.9 percent from a year ago. The number of sales through the first 10 months of the year is up 1.1 percent. The reports are based on data from Metrolist Inc., the area's multiple listing service, and the data is extrapolated through the end of the month. Sellers listed 25,181 homes for sale in the Denver area. The inventory of available homes was up 5.9 percent from a year ago but was down from a high of 26,764 set in July. "There are a quite a few sellers, and a number of them are distressed," said Ed Jalowsky, a principal with Classic Advantage Realty. "They're trying to save what equity they have before they go into foreclosure." Such sellers are accepting lower offers because they need to sell their homes quickly. That's putting downward pressure on prices, he said. Even though the median price is up from a year ago, $229,000 will buy more house than it would have a year ago, Jalowsky said. "I see the market as coming down. It's not bursting, but the air is coming out of the bubble." denverpost.com