News and Views in Estes Park, Colorado

Beautiful Custom Mountain Home

This property has everything you would expect in a Colorado home. The custom wood finishings throughout the home create a warm atmosphere including Australian Cypress wood floors, Alder trim, Alder Cabinetry, and Knotty Pine Tongue and groove ceilings. Well placed large windows welcome the great outdoors into your living spaces. A luxurious master suite is situated on the main level with entrance to the deck and a large walk in closet. Downstairs you will find a large family room with wet bar and a pre-wired Home Theater area in addition to 2 spare bedrooms and extra storage (all will be completed by closing). With over 1.5 Acres of privacy, this home begs you to kick back, relax and get away from it all. This home is perfect for the weekend or a lifetime!

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Quiet and Private Vacant Land in the Retreat in Glen Haven, Colorado

Experience the tranquility of living in the Retreat just outside of Glen Haven, Colorado – mountain living at its finest. This almost 2 and a half acre lot is perched on the side of a mountain with views of the surrounding valley filled with trees and views of the meandering creek across the road. The full sounds of the creek are easily heard from every corner of the lot. The roughed in driveway leads you to a private building site ready for your rocky mountain dream home.

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Mount Meeker and the Continental Divide
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One of the benefits to being a real estate agent in Estes Park, Colorado is the opportunity I get to drive around in my area and enjoy the amazing views. This week I had the pleasure of showing property to a prospective buyer near Allenspark along the Peak to Peak Scenic Byway on a gorgeous early summer day in the Rocky Mountains. While the picture quality may not be the best since I took it with my Blackberry while driving, it does give you a an idea of how gorgeous the drive is. The tall mountain on the right is Mount Meeker with the Continental Divide to the left.

If you live in the Denver area and haven’t taken the opportunity to drive this stretch of road yet, I would highly recommend it. To get to the byway head west of Golden to Blackhawk and follow highway 72 north to connect with Highway 7. Eventually, after 55 miles, you will end up in Estes Park. The snow capped mountain views are simply spectacular the entire way.

Aspen Aster wildflower along the trail in Wild Basin
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Wild flowers are found all over the national park just about every where you look. The can range in size from the size to your pinky fingernail to the size of you hand or even larger. The peak season for wildflowers is between June and late July. I hope to take more pictures of some other wildflowers in the park this summer. Stay tuned to future Saturday Snapshots

This Aspen Aster was taken on a hike in the Wild Basin Area south of Estes Park just before you reach Allenspark. This hike is one of my favorite Hikes in the Park passing Copeland Falls, Calypso Cascades, and eventually Ouzel Falls.

Next time you are on the trail keep your eyes open for flowers. I think you’ll be amazed at the variety.

This afternoon, I had a great conversation about the Estes Park real estate market with Rich Flanery of Cherry Creek Mortgages (a local Estes Park Mortgage Broker who calls himself a “loan consultant” – I like that). In our conversation we talked a lot about where mortgage rates are, where they’ve been and where they are headed in the near future. Rich had so many good things to say, that I asked him to send it to me in writing so I could share it with all of you!

Life is all about second chances. If you are in the market for a new home it appears you may have been given a second chance. Just a few weeks ago, mortgage rates were at historical lows. However, in just two short weeks, mortgage rates have shot up dramatically. The main reason for this is the prospect of future inflation because of all the money the Federal Government is printing in the form of Treasury bills, notes and bonds. But I anticipate that we will see a reversal in this rate trend and will watch rates move lower. A word of caution, it is unlikely that we will see rates moves to the levels we were at just a few weeks ago.

Currently homes have never been more affordable, first time homebuyers are eligible for an $8,000 tax credit and rates should begin to slide back down again. If you are in the market than you have a second chance at very affordable housing. This window won’t last long as current economic indicators reflect that rates could start moving higher as we move towards the end of the year. Rich Flanery CMPS® Certified Mortgage Planner

Feel free to contact Rich with mortgage questions about Estes Park. I am sure he would be happy to help. Unfortunately, he tells me he really doesn’t have a crystal ball, though.

If you ARE interested in pursuing Estes Park real estate, now is the time to do it. Give me a call or email and we can formulate a plan for you to take advantage of one of the best real estate buying environments in a long time.

Miller Fork Creek located in the Retreat in Glen Haven Colorado

Yesterday was a beautiful early summer day in the Estes Park area. On a trip to Glen Haven to refill some flyer boxes , I couldn’t pass up a short little walk along the Miller Fork Creek at the back side of the Retreat. There is a hiking path that leads along this creek into the National Park and it is quite popular with the local residents. The sun was hitting the creek just right and I was actually pretty impressed at the picture my Blackberry was able to take so I thought I would share.

My listing at 2339 Miller Fork Road borders this hiking trail and creek along the south side of the lot. If you like being surrounded by the Colorado rockies with hiking trails at your front door, then you need to check out this lot.

Estes Park Real Estate is doing much better according to the statistics than it has in recent months. Numbers are trending up in comparison to previous years and months. While some of this up-trend is due to our seasonality, there is more of an improvement in unit sales than in previous years – especially in single family homes. We are a seeing a lot of activity from buyers in recent weeks and a definite surge in the number of properties under contract.

As I have been saying for a while, these next couple of months will be critical in determining how the rest of the year will turn out for home values in Estes Park. If the trends continue, then all should be fine and dandy. However, if we don’t slow down the amount of inventory on the market or speed up the rate at which people are buying property, our balance between suply and demand will get increasingly worse. When suply becomes too big for the demand, prices theoretically should fall. Only time will tell.

If you would like to see a more graphical representation of how the market is doing, check out my Estes Park Real Estate Statistics page on my web site. Also, I would be happy to generate a more focused statistical analysis on the types of property you are interested in. There are a number of ways to contact me here.

Single Family Homes

198 – Active on the market (10 more than last month)
11 – Sold in May (1 more than last month and 1 less than May 2008)
15 – Currently Pending (same as last month)
$350,000 – Median Price of trailing 12 months of sales
$490,000 – Most expensive home sold in May
$144,000 – Least expensive home sold in May

Condominiums and Townhouses

125 – Active on the market (3 more than a month ago)
5 – Sold in May (1 more than last month and 4 less than May 2008)
14 – Currently Pending (4 more than last month)
$236,000 – Median Price of trailing 12 months of sales
$625,000 – Most expensive condo sold in May
$85,000 – Least expensive condo sold in May

Vacant Land

97 – Active on the market (8 more than a month ago)
2 – Sold in May (2 more than last month and same as May 2008)
1 – Currently Pending (same as a month ago)
$165,000 – Median Price of trailing 12 months of sales
$154,450 – Most expensive Lot sold in May
$54,000 – Least expensive Lot sold in May

Longs Peak and Mount Meeker from Lily Lake
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Longs Peak and Mount Meeker are two of the most recognizeable mountains in the Estes Park area. They also happen to be the biggest mountains in Rocky Mountain National Park.

This picture was taken from the north shore of Lily Lake which is located adjacent to Highway 7 roughly 5 miles south of Estes Park. There is a very gentle walking path all the way around the lake with views in all directions. Lily lake is also known for having large amounts of wild flowers throughout the summer.

Outstanding Lot for Sale in Arapaho Meadows!

Nestled between huge rock outcroppings and a bank of Pine trees, this superb building site in Arapaho Meadows will capture your imagination. With stunning views up to Twin Sisters Peak and surrounded by the Rocky Mountains, this is the ideal spot to build your sophisticated mountain dream home. Located in the prestegious Arapaho Meadows on the south side of Estes Park, you are minutes away from either downtown shopping or the seclusion Rocky Mountain National Park provides.

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Rustic Cabin in Amazing Location
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This cabin is one of my favorite mountain cabins in the Estes Park area because of how Mount Meeker, Longs Peak, and Mount Lady Washington tower above the cabin in the background. It is so perfect, it almost seems too good to be true. If you would like to drive by and see it for yourself, it is visible from Highway 7 just south of Estes Park. The area between Estes Park and Allenspark (also known as the Tahosa Valley) is known for it’s many classic mountain cabins and great views of the peaks in Rocky Mountain National Park.