Living Littleton

Last year was such a success that Littleton’s Olde Town Market will be back for a second year starting this Saturday, May 8th.  Then every second Saturday of each month through September you can experience it  starting at 10:00 AM and running until 4:00PM.  Walk the streets of down town Littleton and experience the fun of an open air market with antiques, jewelry, artisans, one of a kind pieces, as well as the existing merchants and restaurants.  For more details check out www.oldetownmarket.com.

Jerry Becker
Jerry Becker and Associates – Metro Brokers
jbeckerhomes@comcast.net

   Are you a transplant in Littleton or the Denver metro area? Many of us are, but do you have friends or relatives back in your home state that are wondering what you’ve gotten yourself into.  Oh, sure, you tell them it’s real nice here and they should come visit but do they really believe you?      

  I just recently added 10 short videos on my web site that highlights what living in Littleton and metro Denver is like, not to mention our state.  If you want to give your doubters a third party testimonial, have them log on to www.JerryBeckerAndAssoc.com.  The videos average about two minutes each and after they watch them, they’ll be calling you, as they make their vacation plans.

Jerry Becker
jbeckerhomes@comcast.net

   On the weekend of September 19 & 20 the first ever Colorado Fall Home Show will be held at the Colorado Convention Center in downtown Denver.  The creators of this event expect to have approximately 300 exhibitors present, show casing the newest trends in remodeling, energy conservation, and green living. 

  I’ve always enjoyed going to the shows held in the early spring because of the wealth of new ideas that are presented every year, and I’m expecting no less from this event.  It’s amazing how much you can learn plus the contacts you can acquire to aid in your research on areas of interest for your own home. 

  Tickets for this event are $12 for adults, $10 for seniors, with kids under 12 admitted for free.  In the past, you could get discounted tickets at King Soopers for events like this, but I can’t say for sure, yet, on this one.  You can print out a discount coupon from their web site, that will also get you $2 off adult admission.  That site is www.gardeningcolorado.com/fall/default.htm.

David Morrison has started a support group for career professionals, that are looking for work, where they can connect, support, and network with other like minded professionals.  David comes from the financial services industry and has organized the groups first meeting for March 30th at the Double Tree Denver Tech.  The group goes by the name DTC Career Connect and has a web site at www.DTCCareerConnect.com.   If you want to network with other job seekers, career coaches, recruiters, and others try and make this meeting.  The guest speaker at this meeting will be Mr. Gordon Miller, Exeutive Vice President, Client Services for Denver based Dovetail Solutions.  Gordon is a nationally recognized speaker, whose articles have appeared in over a hundred business publications, as well as having been several appearance on CNN and over 500 radio interviews.  For more information about this event, go to the website for details.

The Ken-Caryl Ranch Community Center pool will soon be getting a water slide.  This pool was purchased with Jefferson County Open Space money and because of that, it’s open to all Jeffco Residents.  That’s also why the slide will be located at this site because Jefferson County Open Space will also be providing approximately 70% of the funding for the project.  The remaining 30% will be provided by the State of Colorado Conservation Trust.  The estimated cost of the project is $120,000.  Not only will this stimulate many of this summer’s swimmers, it will also stimulate the economy.

The 17 acres of land west of the Aspen Grove Shopping Center may be the site of a future multi-family development of 280 units.  These will be spread among seventeen two and three story buildings among the site which will also count a community club house, pool, and access to the South Platte Trail among the main amenities.  This project will be led by Alta Aspen Grove, which has recently filed a conceptual site development plan.  Doing so will start the project process and will involve meetings for community input as well as dealing with Arapahoe County’s Planning department. 

At this time I don’t know if this project will built for sale or to rent, but my best guess is that it will be for sale.  These types of developements, that are built close to light rail have been very popular and to date have sold quite well.  Plus, it could be a couple of years before the first ones are ready to go, which should position them for entrance into a much improved real estate market.   I’ll try and keep you posted as this proceeds through the process.

Here’s a great site to check out for fun.  It’s a world map of all the airline take offs and landings over a 24 hour period.  As the day progresses, it’s fun to observe the changing traffic patterns.
http://radar.zhaw.ch/resources/airtraffic.wmv

In this crazy real estate market we’re in, I know how easy it is to get scared when you read something in the paper or see it on TV.  When you do, first ask yourself, ‘is this a local story or are they reporting on a national trend?’  There’s a big difference because here in Denver things are actually getting better.  Our inventory is down and many neighborhoods are showing price appreciation.  The main point I wanted to make is that don’t necessarily take the figures you see at face value.  I recently attended a meeting on sales trends where the speaker was making the same point.  For example, he stated how the Castle Rock average sales prices were down 16% in 2008, when compared to last year.  When you get into the figures, they tell a different story.  By breaking the figures down you get a whole different take on the market.  Let me explain; for homes that were larger than 4,000 square feet, the average sales prices were down 73.1%, for homes in the 2,400 to 3,000 square foot size, sales were actually up 28.6%, and homes that were in the 1,800 to 2,400 square foot range, sales were up 1.5%.  When viewed in this manner, one can see that the average to slightly average sized homes were actually doing quite nicely.  There were a lot of large homes built in Castle Rock over the last 15 years or so, and those homes aren’t moving very fast.  In fact, it’s the same all over the Denver metro area.  Presently, it’s estimated there is an average of two and a half year supply of homes valued at one million dollars or higher.  When you factor in the drop of this segment of the market it tends to drag down the averages and make it appear an area of town isn’t doing that well.  Combine that with the increase in sales of the lower price ranges and it’s easy to see how numbers can show a declining trend.  If you have more questions about this, contact your real estate professional.

Living Room Mock-Up

Nevada Place

has started  pre-sales for the first of their two building project one block north of downtown Littleton.  This convenient location will give residents close access to all the downtown Littleton shopping and dining, plus RTD’s light rail station.  To spur sales, they are presently offering either $25,000 in incentives or taking that amount off the price.  Either way, you still get to choose between a free stainless steel refrigerator or washer and dryer.  The prices begin at $329,900 for the one bedroom plus den plan, and then go up to their two bedroom models, which range in size from 1,382 square feet to 1.762 square feet.  The two bedrooms also have the option of two baths or two and a half, and are priced from $399,900 to $532,900  If you need more space, you may opt for their limited amount of two bedrooms plus den plans that are found on the top of the third floor.  These homes will have spacious out door terraces from which you can enjoy the great views of Littleton and the mountains.  These are priced from $577,900 and feature square footage in the 1,850 size.  You can find the sales office at the corner of Nevada Street and W. Main Street, in downtown Littleton.

Typical Nevada Place Kitchen

     I’ve been blogging on Active Rain for the last three months or so, but it’s geared more to Realtors.  As a Littleton resident, I wanted to do something more local, so this is my attempt to do that.  I don’t live in incorporated Littleton, but the unincorportated part known as south Jefferson County.  Actually, I live in Ken-Caryl Ranch and have been a resident here for the last 24 years.  There’s been a lot of changes that I’ve witnessed over those years, not only from my side of the county but all the way through the City of Littleton. 

     I think this is a great place to live, work and play, and over time I hope to comment on some of those things.  As I am a Realtor, it won’t be unusual for some of my comments to be about real estate, whether that may be about new communities or just trends I’m seeing in the market place.  I know there’s interest there because I’m always having people asking me at social functions, about the market.  I may even go out of the area, if I find something worth while to comment on.  Please feel free to ask me about anything on your mind or to express your opinions to me.  That’s what makes blogs fun.

Jerry Becker