Inside Real Estate News » Denver Housing

Luxury market shows life in 2012

John Rebchook — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 23:13:50 +0000

This Denver home sold for $2.56 million in January.

The Denver-area million-dollar home market started the year on a strong note.

A report released today by the Kentwood Real Estate Co. shows that 39 homes in the Denver area closed in January, a 14.7 percent increase from the 34 in January 2011.

The dollar value was up almost 13 percent to $56. 2 million compared with $49.8 million a year earlier.

Although the number of sales isn’t huge, they are moving in the right direction, noted Carol Ihli, marketing director for Kentwood.

She said that it appears that people putting their luxury homes on the market are still asking too much money when they initially list them.

“The sellers are coming in about 10 percent to 17 percent too high,” Ihli said. “When they sell them, they typically are selling them from 10 percent to 12 percent below their asking price – otherwise they just sit there.”

Let’s make a deal

Despite the disconnect between the buyers and the sellers, deals are being made.

“The buyers and sellers are getting together,” she said. “It appears on the part of buyers there is starting to be some sense of urgency. They are afraid that new inventory is not going to be hitting the market anytime soon. There is a sense that a lot of people in this price range are not going to put their homes on the market until after the Presidential election.”

Ihli said that the “core” neighborhoods of Denver, from Hilltop to Highland, continue to be stronger than suburban enclaves, such as Cherry Hills Village and Castle Pines.

Rollie Jordan is seeing a lot of activity in Cherry Creek.

“I also think Cherry Creek is really beginning to pop,” she said.

Indeed it is, according to Kentwood broker Rollie Jordan. Jordan closed $7.75 million in deals in Cherry Creek in December and has closed another expensive home in January.

“I think Cherry Creek has definitely come back,” Jordan said.

The $7.75 million tally includes a 12,000-square-foot lot for $1.65 million. “It wasn’t on the market,” but Jordan contacted the owner and got him a deal he couldn’t refuse. “It was the last big corner lot in Cherry Creek.” The buyer was not a developer or builder, but someone who is going to construct a home on the lot for his own use. It probably will be “7,000 to 8,000 square feet and real high quality,” Jordan said.

So far this year, she also has closed a duplex in Cherry Creek for $1.25 million and has a single-family home in the area under contract for just over $1.5 million.

Many of her buyers are in the gas and oil energy. “All my buyers are coming from Houston. I think they are here because of the fracking.” Fracking, slang for hydraulic fracturing, allows oil and gas to be extracted from rock formations by injecting fluids into cracks.

She currently is working with three clients relocating from Houston, many of them interested in living in Cherry Creek or the Denver Country Club.

Ihli said the high-end market, as with the overall market, is facing a dwindling inventory.

There currently are 520 homes for sale in that lofty price range. Of those, 63 are under contract or pending, she said. Some of the pending homes are short sales, in which the lender accepts less than the mortgage.

In January, the average price of a luxury home closed was $1.44 million, down 1.5 percent from the $1.46 million in January 2011. The highest price that sold in January was $2.56 compared with $4.8 million in January 2011, a 46.6 percent drop. The Kentwood report includes the counties of Adams, Arapahoe, Denver, Douglas and Jefferson.

Contact John Rebchook at JRCHOOK@gmail.com

Brookfield makes residential push

John Rebchook — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 19:37:59 +0000

Brookfield, the Canadian real estate giant is best known in Denver for owning the two tallest office buildings in downtown – the 56-story Republic Plaza and the 54-story 1801 California, formerly known as the Qwest Tower.

Now, a Westminster-based residential real estate firm has become a Real Living franchise, whose parent is Toronto-base Brookfield Asset Management, which has a market cap of about $20 billion and $150 billion in assets under management. The downtown office buildings are owned by Brookfield Properties Corp., which although publicly traded, is a subsidiary of Brookfield Asset Management. Another Brookfield company own the high-end Solterra housing development in Lakewood, while yet another has an ownership stake in the Park Meadows mall.

“If you ask anyone in commercial real estate, they will know Brookfield as the owner of Republic Plaza and the Qwest Tower, but they’re probably not that well-known to most consumers,” said Chip Bruss, Network Development Director for Real Living. “But as Real Living becomes more visible, Brookfield will become more of a consumer brand.”

Brookfield Asset Management, he said, has a 45 percent market share in residential real estate in Canada, “but until recently did not have any residential real estate holdings in the US.”

To remedy that, two years ago it bought GMAC Real Estate in the U.S. as well as a Columbus, Ohio-based company called Real Living. “They combined those two companies and merged them into Real Living. Their first action was to give GMAC the opportunity to convert into a Real Living franchise or cancel their agreement. GMAC then went away. There is no more GMAC Real Estate.”

Last year, a former GMAC in Cherry Creek and one in Colorado Springs switched to Real Living.

More recently, Colorado Real Estate Associates in Westminster became a Real Living franchise.

“They are the first one to join the franchise on its own impetus,” Bruss said. “Its new name is Real Living CO Real Estate.”

The firm has 33 brokers.

“Real Living is a powerful, innovative real estate company, and we are thrilled to join its fast-growing national network of offices,” said Jackie Nordstrom, owner of the new franchise. “Our team will be able to tap into the extensive resources, including cutting-edge technology and marketing tools. One of the things that attracted us to Real Living is the strong emphasis on consumer services. And this can be seen within a variety of products and services they provide.”

Real Living has a 96 percent customer satisfaction rating, according to QSC, or Quality Service Certification, which provides independent, third-party ratings, Bruss said.

“Every real estate company says they provide excellent customer service; after all, we are in the service industry,” Bruss said. “But Real Living is the only company that I know of that provides a third-party rating system to verify the response from customers.”

Real Living launched a national website in 2011.

“We wanted to build a consumer website that emulated Realtor.com, which is the No. 1 publicly visited real estate site in the U.S.,” Bruss said.

“Home buyers and sellers are really smart now,” Nordstrom said. “They know what they want and if you don’t give them all the information in one easy to find place, they’ll just get it somewhere else.”

Contact John Rebchook at JRCHOOK@gmail.com

RedPeak concessions could include 4-story building

John Rebchook — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 01:21:41 +0000

An early elevation of RedPeak's luxury apartment building along Lowell Boulevard.

Mike Zoellner, the top official at Denver-based RedPeak Properties, on Friday confirmed that his company is studying voluntarily down-zoning one of the three luxury apartment buildings it plans to develop in the Highland Square area to four stories instead of the five stories allowed under the current zoning.

RedPeak, facing heated opposition from some neighbors since last fall, initially planned to develop three, five-story buildings on Meade Street, Lowell Boulevard and West Moncrieff Place, just north of West 32nd Avenue.

Now, however, RedPeak is considering building a four-story building on Moncrieff Place, while keeping five stories on the other two parcels. InsideRealEstateNews first reported that was a possibility a week ago.

RedPeak also pointed out that the heights of the proposed buildings are below the 70 feet maximum allowed under the current U-MS-5 zoning.

The tallest building, at 62 feet tall to the top of the parapet, would be on Lowell, next to the existing church that would be incorporated into the new apartment community. The Meade building would be 56 feet high and the Moncrieff building 46 feet high.

The new buildings would not be as tall as the 65-foot tall church; the 68-foot tall condominium building at the corner of Lowell Boulevard and West 33rd Avenue; and the nearby 12-story Eden Manor at West 32nd Avenue and Julian Street, RedPeak said.

“The current designs are roughly 50 percent of the allowable building sizes when considering height and floor area,” according to RedPeak.

RedPeak said other concessions and solutions to neighborhood concerns it is offering, include:

Setbacks from the street that are greater than required under zoning. First-floor units along Meade and Moncrieff would be setback as far as possible from the street to more closely mimic single-family home setbacks. Those units also would have exterior entries and front porches.
Eliminating roof-top decks to address privacy issues of adjacent neighbors. Instead, it would provide smaller patios on the top floor of the building. Fewer than a dozen of the 150 or so units would have balconies and all of those would be facing the street.
Provide more parking than required under the zoning and work with Councilwoman Susan Shepherd to create a master-parking plan for a three-block radius around the properties.
Pursuing a car-share and B-Cycle stations to provide additional transportation options. Bicycle storage at the project will exceed code requirements.

Officials with RedPeak have met with a design advisory board to hammer-out details on 23 concerns – including height, density, traffic and parking impacts.

Members of the board include representatives from Councilwoman Shepherd’s office; the West Highland Neighborhood Association; merchants along West 32nd Avenue; and the grassroots opposition group, No High Rises in West Highland.

“Shape and improve”

“RedPeak is very excited about the progress that has been made with the design advisory committee,” Zoellner said. “There have been numerous changes that have been made to the design of the project to address the concerns raised by the committee, which has helped shape and improve the overall project. We have received a great deal of support for the project from West Highland neighbors since the release of the Meade and Lowell building elevations.”

Last week, RedPeak for the first time released preliminary elevations, or renderings, of buildings on Meade Streete and Lowell Boulevard. This week, officials from RedPeak and the No High Rise group presented their cases to the editorial board at the Denver Post.

The No High Rise group since the get-go has been concerned about the height and density of the three buildings on the parcels that RedPeak has under contract from an investment group headed by Tom Wootten.

As far as the density, the Lowell and Meade Street buildings would have 81,000-square feet and 40,780 square feet, respectively. That equates to a 24.4 percent reduction from the 53,970 square feet allowed on the Meade Street site and a 16.3 percent drop in the 96,800 square feet allowed on Lowell. RedPeak has not yet released the square footage for the down-sized Moncrieff Place building.

The maximum number of units on the three properties would be about 200 units, while RedPeak is planning 140 to 150.

Before the property was rezoned to U-MS-5 from R-4 in June 2010, Denver-based Mercy Housing considered buying the property for affordable rental housing. Mercy Housing planned to develop buildings to the maximum density allowed under R-4. At an average size of 700 square feet per unit, it would have resulted in more than 300 units. Mercy Housing dropped the plans when it couldn’t get financial help from Denver to help finance the project.

Goode: Not a compromise

Laura Goode, founder of No High Rises in West Highland, which now has about 1,800 signatures from supporters, said that RedPeak is not offering enough.

“Clearly, we would still have two five-story buildings,” Goode said. “That is not a compromise.”

A compromise, she said, would be for RedPeak to build three-story buildings on Meade and Moncrieff, and keep a five-story building on Lowell.

She also doesn’t care that the proposed buildings would not be as tall as the church.

“It’s kind of disgusting that they would even compare their building to the church The church is a historic, beautiful building,,” that has been there for more than 80 years, she said.

Asked if height is height, regardless of the use of the building, Goode answered: “No. The church has a steeped-roof and is steeped in the history of West Highland. I’m kind of offended they would compare their buildings to the church. When you are talking about mass that is comparing apples and oranges.”

Councilman Susan Shepherd, who represents the district, did not immediately return a call on Friday.

Downzoning

But Goode said that she expects Shepherd to keep to an earlier statement she made that Shepherd would seek a legislative action to downzone the parcels on Meade and Moncrieff to three stories. For such a motion to pass would take a super-majority of 10 council votes, as Wootten has said he would oppose a downzoning.

Last week City Council President Chris Nevitt told InsideRealEstateNews he would not support a downzoning and he doesn’t think most council members would, either. Earlier, Shepherd said she was reconsidering pushing for a forced downzoning in light of a recent incident in her home. On the evening of Jan. 16, two women came to her home without an appointment, and after they brought up the possibility of recalling Shepherd, a shouting match occurred.

However, Goode said even if a council vote on the downzoning is doomed to fail, Shepherd should still introduce it.

“In front of the Denver Post editorial board I committed that our organization will not hold (Shepherd) responsible if she could not deliver all of the zoning for downzoning,” Goode said. “But we will hold her responsible if she does not send a message of solidarity to this community and submit the application to downzone.”

Compromise between the neighbors and RedPeak, is in the interests of both parties, said Mark Lee Levine, Professor and Director of the Burns School of Real Estate and Construction Management, Daniels College of Business, University of Denver.

“Just because you have the right to build something doesn’t mean you should build it,” Levine said. “Compromise means give and take on both sides. If the choices are single-family homes or 300 units, you want to meet some place in the middle.”

On the other hand, he said if the neighborhood group draws a line in the sand and says under no circumstances will it allow five-story buildings, the deal may not make financial sense for RedPeak and it is unrealistic for neighbors to expect it to develop a money losing community.

“They may need five stories for the numbers to pencil out,” Levine said. “It’s a tough one.”

Goode and other neighbors have repeatedly said they are not against development, only what they consider irresponsible development, such as five-story buildings in a neighborhood of primarily Victorian-style single-family homes. They have said that the RedPeak proposal would be appropriate on busier streets such as West 38th Avenue, Federal Boulevard and West Colfax Avenue. However, extremely busy streets typically do not have the cachet to draw renters to luxury apartments such as RedPeak is proposing.

Levine said it is not unusual for neighbors opposing a development to take a similar stance to that of the No High Rise group.

“It sounds to me like a traditional conflict between neighbors and a developer,” Levine said. “They are saying not in my back yard, but it is Ok in somebody else’s back yard. It’s NIMByism. Everybody wants to have New York plays, but they don’t want New York traffic.”

Contact John Rebchook at JRCHOOK@gmail.com

Case-Shiller: Denver No. 3

John Rebchook — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:17:32 +0000

This 4,836-square-foot home in Aurora sold for $417,000 last year, the top of the price point where home sales where increasingly sellers are getting full-priced offers.

The closely watched Case-Shiller index ranked Denver’s housing market No. 3 of the 20 major market it tracks, in a monthly report it released today.

The Denver-area housing market fell by 0.2 percent in November 2011 from November 2010, with only Detroit and Washington, D.C. performing better during that period, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices. Detroit gained 3.8 percent and Washington, D.C. rose by 0.5 percent during that time period.

“Once again, we maintained our position in the Top 5,” said independent broker Gary Bauer. “It shows the resiliency of this market. Detroit has no place to go but up, while Washington will stay up there because of what it is.”

November marked the 17th consecutive month Denver showed a year-over year drop, but it also was the lowest percentage drop during the time period. The last time the Denver-area showed a lower drop was in July 2010, when home prices fell by 0.1 percent.

Denver in November vastly out-performed the 20 MSAs, which showed a composite drop of 3.7 percent.

From October to November, Denver prices fell by 0.5 percent, tying for second place with Charlotte and Miami. Phoenix was the only city in positive territory on a month-over-month basis, rising by 0.6 percent. Overall, the 20 MSAs fell by 1.3 percent from October to November.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, Denver was No. 2, showing a 0.4 percent gain. Only Phoenix performed better, with a 0.6 percent gain, the same as it did on a non-seasonally adjusted basis. The overall drop for the 20 MSAs was 0.7 on a seasonally adjusted basis.

Lane Hornung, CEO and co-founder of 8z Real Estate, a sponsor of InsideRealEstateNews, noted that the Denver-area housing market is bucking the national trend of still substantial declines.

Hornung: Ignore national headlines

“Because our market is decoupling from the national market and actually one of the markets leading a slow motion recovery, I don’t spend too much time on the national headline and am more interested in the performance of the Denver MSA,” Hornung said. “I was a bit surprised that the Denver non-seasonal index fell from October to November. That just did not jive with the strength we saw in the market two months ago. However, this disconnect was cleared up when I took a look at the seasonally adjusted index which increased and confirmed what we already experienced in the field. On both a non-seasonal and a seasonally adjusted basis, the index is within 0.2 percent of last year and the overall trend for prices in our market is up. I look for a positive year-over-year figure for Denver in the coming months.”

Bauer agrees with Hornung’s prospects for this year.

A snapshot of Denver housing by Case-Shiller

“If you talk to “experts” or consumers, there is a belief that 2012 is going to be better than 2011,” Bauer said. “No one is predicting dramatic gains – this is not going to be a gang-buster year by any stretch of the imagination – but just a slow, steady increase.”

Gloomy national housing outlook

Nationally, however, even historically low mortgage rates and overall economic growth were not enough to pull the overall housing market out of its doldrums, said David M. Blitzer, Chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Indices.

“Despite continued low interest rates and better real GDP growth in the fourth quarter, home prices continue to fall,” Blitzer said. “Weakness was seen as 19 of 20 cities saw average home prices decline in November over October.

He noted that Phoenix was the only MSA to be in positive territory on a month-over-month basis, adding that it was “one of the hardest hit in recent years. Annual rates were little better as 18 cities and both Composites were negative.”

Blitzer added that nationally, home prices are lower than a year ago.

“The (national) trend is down and there are few, if any, signs in the numbers that a turning point is close at hand,” Blitzer said. “The crisis low for the 10-City Composite was April 2009; for the 20-City Composite the more recent low was March 2011. The 10-City Composite is now about 1.0% above its low, and the 20-City Composite is only 0.6% above its low. From their 2006 peaks, both Composites are down close to 33% through November.

“Atlanta continues to stand out in terms of recent relative weakness. It was down 2.5% over the month, after having fallen by 5.0% in October, 5.9% in September and 2.4% in August. It also posted the weakest annual return, down 11.8%. In addition, Atlanta, Las Vegas, Seattle and Tampa all reached new lows inNovember.”

Niederman says Denver poised well

But Peter Niederman, CEO of Kentwood Real Estate, like Hornung of 8z Real Estate, said it more important to focus on the Denver- area numbers, than the national performance.

Niederman likes what Case-Shiller reported for Denver.

“In my opinion, I think these numbers are phenomenal,” Niederman said. “The are very strong numbers. ow, a month never makes a market. But with Case-Shiller reporting 11 months of the year, with Denver solidly and consistently in the Top 5, what bodes well.”

He said that Denver is clearly stronger than most of the 20 MSAs tracked by Case-Schiller, which gives him confidence that Denver will be one of the first markets to emerge from the housing downturn.

“We’re going to be one of the first out of the starting blocks,” Niederman said.

At the same time, he thinks Denver will get some help from some national economic data points.

“In the first four weeks of this year we have seen some calmness in the financial markets,” Niederman said. “We have not seen any big downswings nor any big upswings. If we can see some more jobs created and more people going back to work, we could start to see an increase in consumer confidence, and that will be great.”

The low supply of unsold homes in the Denver area also should help homes regain some value, he said.

“We are increasingly hearing that homes the conforming market, those at $417,000 and below, are more frequently getting full-priced offers and on some occasions even a bit higher than than the full-price, when there are multiple offers,” Niederman said. “There are people who want to get into the market, but they can’t because they have no equity. They might be 5 percent or 10 percent underwater and they don’t want to bring a check to the closing table. If their home prices could rise enough so they have a little bit of equity, these people sitting on the sidelines could get into the market.”

MSA	Change from January 2000	October-November(non-seasonly adjusted)	1-Year Change from October
Atlanta	-11.07%	-2.5%	-11.8%
Boston	50.34%	-1.6%	-1.6%
Charlotte	11.25%	-0.5%	-1.9%
Chicago	12.46%	-3.4%	-5.9%
Cleveland	-1.06%	-0.8%	-1.1%
Dallas	13.97%	-1.3%	-0.8%
DENVER	24.79%	-0.5%	-0.2%
Detroit	-29.34%	-2.4%	3.8%
Las Vegas	-8.59%	-1.0%	-9.1%
Los Angeles	63.92%	-1.0%	-5.4%
Miami	37.47%	-0.5%	-4.4%
Minneapolis	13.25%	-0.6%	-5.0%
New York	65.66%	-1.1%	-2.3%
Phoenix	1.12%	0.6%	-3.6%
Portland	33.26%	-1.6%	-4.8%
San Diego	51.45%	-0.9%	-5.4%
San Francisco	29.78%	-1.9%	-5.5%
Seattle	32.65%	-1.2%	-6.3%
Tampa	25.32%	-1.1%	-6.1%
Washington, D.C.	84.75%	-1.1%	0.5%
Composite-10	51.90%	-1.3%	-3.6%
Composite-20	38.49%	-1.3%	-3.7%

Month	How Denver ranked out of 20 MSAs	1-Year Change
January 2010	6	2.6%
February	5	3.6%
March	7	4.1%
April	8	4.4%
May	8	3.6%
June	9	1.8%
July	11	-0.1%
August	11	-1.2%
September	9	-3.1%
October	7	-1.8%
November	6	-2.5%
December	7	-2.4%
January 2011	6	-2.3%
February	5	-2.6%
March	7	-3.8%
April	6	-4.1%
May	5	-3.3%
June	3	-2.5%
July	4	-2.1%
August	3	-1.6%
September	5	-1.5%
October	4	-0.9%
November	3	-0.2%

Overlay district proceeds

John Rebchook — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 04:57:28 +0000

An overlay district is being proposed to preserve the charm of the Highland Square area in West Highland.

Denver City Council President Chris Nevitt said today that he would not support a downzoning of three parcels in northwest Denver where RedPeak Properties plans a trio of five-story buildings, but one West Highland neighbor is pursuing another option to stop the development – an overlay district for a wide-swath of land that includes the parcels earmarked for five-story buildings.

Marie Benedix this week filed a “pre-application review request” with the Community Planning and Development for the overlay district, which would limit the height of all new buildings in an area that is bordered by West 33rd and West 30th avenues and Julian to Perry streets to 35 feet. That includes the three parcels that RedPeak has under contract north of West 32nd Avenue on Lowell Boulevard, Meade Street and West Moncrieff Place.

Trevor Greco, who said he will act as Benedix’s “representative throughout the process,” has not yet responded to a request for details regarding the overlay proposal. Earlier, the West Highland Neighborhood Association narrowly voted to support the overlay district, as well as recommending new zoning for the three parcels, if the City Council decided to consider a downzoning – a remote possibility, according to Nevitt, as it would undermine the integrity of the zoning process, in his opinion.

“The intent of the proposed overlay is to provide additional height limitations that create a transition from the adjacent residential properties and that respects the character of the West Highland neighborhood…We would like to meet with you at your earliest convenience and will do our best to accommodate your earliest opening,” Greco, an engineer, said in a letter to the planning department.

Theresa Lucero, a senior planner for the city, in an email to another planner, said “If this application goes forward it will involve both a language and a map amendment.”

Steve Kite, zoning chairman for the West Highland Neighborhood Association, speaking at a WHNA meeting, said an overlay is a zoning change, and would require a super majority of the council. Kite voted against the overlay.

Kevin Neimond, president of the WHNA, said he is just learning how an overlay district, sometimes called a conservation overlay, would work. “No way is an overlay district a magic bullet, but it is another option, and we’re not opposed to it.” On the other hand, he said the group is more focused on trying to get a maximum of three stories on the West Moncrieff Place and Meade Street sites.

Many of the properties in the proposed overlay district are single-family, detached homes. A number of those homes, possibly the majority, already have a maximum height of 30 feet. Some houses with especially wide lots could have a maximum height of 35 feet.

Benedix, for her part, has spoken frequently and passionately against not only the zoning change that allows the five-story buildings, but new zoning that allows three-story buildings along much of the popular West 32nd Avenue shopping and restaurant district. She worries that the charm of the neighborhood could be lost, adding that similar well-known districts along South Gaylord and South Pearl streets escaped such development threats during the rezoning in June 2010.

Benedix recently posted this missive on the No High Rises in Highlands Facebook page:

During re-zoning 2009-2010, most parcels along 32nd Ave at Highland Square were wrongly up-zoned to 3-stories. They are now zoned to be scraped. This is morally wrong and in blatant disregard for Blueprint Denver, a document created to accommodate growth in a sustainable way, balancing the needs of the city as a whole. Blueprint Denver does NOT advocate scraping stable 100-year old neighborhoods. Please help us stand for what is right according to Denver City plans and for protecting Historic Highland Square from being scraped; just like we are glad that South Pearl, South Gaylord were protected from the same fate through appropriate 2-story zoning. Thank you.

Contact John Rebchook at JRCHOOK@gmail.com

Hornung: Freakonomics got it wrong on Realtors

John Rebchook — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 20:53:54 +0000

Lane Hornung

It’s been almost seven years since Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything, became a run-away non-fiction best-seller, but Lane Hornung still periodically gets questions about the passages involving real estate agents.

To refresh your memory, the book by economist Steven Levitt and writer Stephen Dubner, said that Realtors on average sold their homes for 3 percent more than an average price for a home and kept their own homes on the market 10 days longer.

In their sequel, Super Freakonomics, published in 2009, they were even harsher on Realtors, comparing and contrasting them to pimps.

“A Realtor and a pimp perform the same primary service: marketing your product to potential customers, Just as you can sell your body with or without the aid of a pimp, you can sell your house with or without a Realtor,” they wrote. “While Realtors charge a much lower commission than the pimps — about 5 percent versus 25 percent — the Realtor’s cut is usually in the tens of thousands of dollars for a single sale.”

Ouch!

Hornung, President, CEO and co-founder of 8z Real Estate and COhomefinder.com, found the first book to be a good and entertaining read, but he thinks they missed the mark when it came to their analysis of real estate agents.

“Great book by the way,” Horunung said, in a recent monthly conversation InsideRealEstateNews.com. “I really enjoyed it. People often ask me about my thoughts on the part of the book about Realtors. As a person, I like to base my arguments and conclusions on data, just as the authors of Freakonomics do. But I thought their section was fairly amateurish.”

IREN: In Freakonomics, the authors contend that Realtors have an incentive to low-ball listing prices to sell them quickly. While a $10,000 increase is a big deal for most sellers, for a Realtor, it might only mean another $500 or so in their pocket, so they would rather sell it quickly at a lower price – something they don’t do when selling their own homes. What do you think, Lane?

Lane: I’ll start by saying, “Have there ever been cases where that has happened? Yes. I’m not going to say, “Gee, a Realtor has never done that.” Is it as pervasive in our industry as the authors contend? I don’t think so.”

IREN: Why not? It seems to make sense on a purely economic level?

Lane: I think their logic and analysis is pretty laughable. It ignores variables and dynamics of this business.

IREN: Can you elaborate?

Lane: No. 1, time and price are extremely correlated in real estate. Sellers have to make trade offs between time and price. The dynamics are very different for someone who has to sell a home in a month compared with one who can sell it any time in the next six months or longer. If you’re not in a hurry to sell your home, you can probably price it a little higher.

IREN: What about the danger of over-pricing?

Lane: There is a huge risk in over-pricing a house. Most Realtors will tell you that in this age of the Internet, people will look at two things – price and photos. If both of those aren’t attractive, they seldom return to it, even with successive price reductions. It has already has passed over their transom and has become a stale listing. So you take a huge risk in over-pricing a home.

IREN: Getting back to Realtors selling their own homes, if they are correct that they command premiums, why do you think that is the case?

Lane: First, as I recall it was a very limited data set. But for the sake of argument, let’s say they are correct. There are actually very good reasons they sell them for more, and they have nothing to do with the notion that they are somehow ripping off consumers and clients.

The first is the question of time that I mentioned before. Realtors often put their homes on the market not because they have to sell. It is usually a move of convenience, so they have plenty of time to wait it out for a higher price.

IREN: Other reasons?

Lane: The authors completely overlook the presentation or staging of a home. Realtors are in the business. They know what needs to done to receive the maximum price. They know that merchandising a property correctly can mean a plus or minus 5 percent swing in the final selling price. You can’t really do a proper analysis without accounting for that.

IREN: Even though it has been a number of years since Freakonomics was first published, do you think its impact still lingers?

Lane: It just adds to the perception that you can’t trust Realtors. It’s part of the long history of trashing Realtors. But a good Realtor who sells 20 or more homes each year – not someone who sells one or two homes a year to friends and family – is a true professional. They take classes, they truly study the neighborhood they work in and they get to know their clients. They want repeat business. They want their buyers and sellers to be happy.

And like I said, I really enjoyed Freakonomics. They just should have dug a little deeper into their analysis of Realtors selling their own homes.

IREN: Thanks, Lane.

8z Real Estate is a sponsor of InsideRealEstateNews. A monthly conversation with Lane Hornung is a feature of IREN. If you wish to contact 8z, please visit this link.

Council can’t wave magic wand

John Rebchook — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 01:57:02 +0000

By Michael Kadovitz

Special to InsideRealEstateNews

I grew up in Northwest Denver. I’ve been politically and communally active for many years.

Mayor Michael Hancock and Michael Kadovitz.

When I moved back into our family home of 50 year at Sloan’s Lake, I returned at the beginning of the downzoning debate. We were against the downzoning.

After the application ran its course, and had its due, our side lost.

In a vote of 10-3, the Denver City Council supported the application and 730-plus parcels/homes were downzoned to R1 and many were carried over to that status in the new zoning code that was adopted in June 2010 after years of public process.

In the weeks following the council vote, I had encountered several of those council members at other civic events. At one particular event, I came across Council Members Paul Lopez, and Doug Linkhart. I politely approached them, and introduced myself, and registered my disappointment with their vote on the downzoning. They were not dismissive of me, and we engaged in a brief conversation as to why I felt as I did.It wasn’t going to change the situation; what was done, was done. They showed me respect, as I did them.

Two years later, I ended up working for Linkhart’s mayoral campaign. Last week I was sitting in Councilman Lopez’s office to discuss my concerns about photo radar. This past June, I supported Ken Padilla in the District 1 Council race. I didn’t vote for Susan Shepherd. Shepherd won. Three months later she reached out to me to fill in for Rita Contreras while she was on maternity leave. Rita, by the way, has diligently served our district as a council aide under three administrations now. (Shout out to Rita for her service!)

Shepherd could have asked someone else – someone who worked closer with her campaign, who knocked on doors and made phone calls and helped her election. But she didn’t. She asked me. I asked her why she wanted my help, and her response was that she wanted someone who has lived here for a while and is active in community issues. To me, that was a demonstration of her respect for others who might have a differing point of view.

Neither, Shepherd nor the rest of the City Council were endowed with magical powers when they were sworn in. They cannot wave a magic wand and make something happen on demand of the public. Just because we’ve elected them, they cannot simply march into City Hall, and be expected to know everything, especially freshmen council members, and order people around with their agendas.

And I, in the three months I was there, quickly got a new perspective of how things get done and an appreciation of our elected officials on how they strive to be as fair as possible on issues regardless of their magnitude.

Susan Shepherd is also called upon by constituents, besides the concerns of residents in West Highland and West 32nd Avenue and Lowell Boulevard (where RedPeak Properties wants to build three, controversial five-story apartment buildings.)

I helped Susan deal with parking issues, trash dumping, abandoned homes, graffiti, police concerns, public safety, nuisance abatements, ROW enforcement, child neglect, LEAP assistance, downed tree branches, welfare needs. The list goes on and on.

As I have seen the Red Peak issue unfold, I have observed a lot of foot stomping, finger pointing, recall threats, and hyperbolized impatient behavior.

And as I learned from the errors of my opinions of the past, during the earlier downzone, I have been able to overcome differences with many of those people who stood on the other side.

You’d be surprised at what a little contrition, courtesy and kindness from both sides can do.

Down the road, no matter what your opinion of our elected officials, nor the outcome of your pet concerns, you may need their support on something else later.

Today, I can honestly call Doug Linkhart, now Manager of Environmental Services, Councilman Paul Lopez and Councilwoman Susan Shepherd, more than by their current titles.

I call them my neighbors and my friends.

Michael Kadovitz is the Democratic Co-Captain of Colorado House District 4B. He recently gathered signatures from other citywide activists calling for civility following a shouting match in Susan Shepherd’s home.

Shepherd reconsiders RedPeak downzoning

John Rebchook — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 18:38:40 +0000

Susan Shepherd, who represents District 1,is re-evaulating her next stop on downzoning parcels where RedPeak wants to build three, 5-story buildings.

Councilwoman Susan Shepherd said that in the wake of a what she described as a vicious verbal attack on her in her northwest Denver home this week, she may reconsider potentially attempting to downzone parcels in the heart of West Highland where RedPeak Properties plans a controversial five-story luxury apartment development.

“It’s given me incredible pause,” on what her next step should be as far as any legislative action on downzoning, she told InsideRealEstateNews this morning, during a 29-minute, wide-ranging phone interview.

Earlier, she indicated that if RedPeak does not voluntarily agree to lower than five-story heights on the parcels on Moncrieff Place and Meade Street, she would consider some “legislative action” to downzone those parcels. A third parcel, on Lowell Boulevard, already has a 65-foot tall church on it, so it might make sense to allow a five-story building on that site, she said earlier. RedPeak has the parcels under contract from an investment group headed by Tom Wootten. A zoning change in June 2010 allows the five-story buildings, although the previous zoning allowed even taller buildings. However, the West Highland Neighborhood Association has opposed, and continues to oppose, the U-MS-5 zoning that allows five story building on the parcels, because of the proximity to many one and two-story homes, fears of congestion, lack of parking, and changing the character of one of the most popular areas in Denver.

Counter-productive

“It is really unfortunate that this thing could result in me changing my mind on how I proceed going forward,” as far as pursing a downzoning, Shepherd said. “They have achieved just the exact opposite effect of what they wanted by coming to my house and threatening me.”

She said she is going to take this weekend to think about her next step. Also, next week members of RedPeak are scheduled to meet with representatives of the neighborhood, including retailers along West 32nd Avenue, members of the West Highland Neighborhood Association, and a grassroots opposition group, No High Rises in West Highland. RedPeak is expected to reveal preliminary drawings at that time, and Shepherd said she wants all of the various parties have a chance to consider updated information before she makes a decision. The meeting was supposed to have taken place this Wednesday, but was postponed.

Flip flop?

Laura Goode, founder of the grassroots group No High Rises in West Highland, said that the “incident,” as it is being called as shorthand for the encounter between Shepherd and the two women, does not change the “facts” surrounding why her group opposes the five story development.

“I’d just say that if she decides to flip-flop on the issue, it should be based on the facts and merits of the issue at hand, which is as she (previously) characterized as ‘an error in judgment’ on the zoning of these parcels,” Goode said.

The latest incident, which Shepherd said has left her in a “state of shock,” began around 7:30 p.m. on Monday, when two women came to her home to talk about the RedPeak development.

Shepherd said she recognized one woman, but did not know the other. She said they told her their names, but she doesn’t recall them.

She estimates they were in her home for 10 minutes or less.

“It went quickly from wanting to talk to you to just criticizing and attacking anything having to do with the project, like I said in a letter,” that she previously had sent to Mayor Michael Hancock, fellow city council members and others.

She said they never threatened her or her family with bodily harm.

Recall raised

Soon after arriving, she said the women told her they had enough signatures to launch a recall election against her.

“Once they threatened me with the recall, the whole tenor and the tone of the conversation changed,” Shepherd said. “It was not a conversation, but a clear attempt to intimidate and bully me to do what they want. They want me to take legislative action to stop (RedPeak’s current plan.)

After they brought up the recall election, Shepherd said, “I jumped up and said how dare you come to my house uninvited and threaten me with a recall. After that, my husband and I focused on getting them to leave.”

She estimates that it took them about another three minutes to leave. She said has since been told that it is illegal for people to stay in your home after the owner tells them to leave.

The incident continues to be traumatic for her.

On Wednesday night, she said her 4-year-old son, who was present when the women came to her home, saw Shepherd was still upset and asked, “Mommy, are the mean women coming back again?” She said that the doorbell rang that night, she “I was kind of panic-stricken, and hid in the back of the house, while my husband answered the door. It was the pizza guy. I don’t feel safe in my home.”

Police patrols increased

Police have beefed up patrols on near her house. She said it never occurred to her to file a police report, and since she invited them in to her home, she’s not sure it would warrant a police report. However, when she reported the incident to a Denver police commander, she said she was surprised he didn’t ask her more details about the incident. (Editor’s note: After this article was posted, the police told her they are trying to find the two women to question them on the incident.)

Today, however, the police told her they are trying to find the two women to question them on the incident.

Since Monday, the thought of selling her home has crossed her mind.

“Oh, absolutely,” she said. “I’ve even thought of moving out or this city. This has been really hard on me.”

Shepherd said this is the worst in a long line of attacks on her since many neighbors learned about the five-story zoning last fall.

“For months now, I have endured bullying and have received emails that are really abusive and attacks in the media and social media,” Shepherd said. “I am just flabbergasted by this. This is not the way we do business in this neighborhood or this city. I have tried really hard to listen to people and look beyond their tactics. But I will say this – I am human.”

Asked if she had spoken to fellow city council members about downzoning, she said that some council members who have seen numerous threatening emails to her, have indicated that even though they might think that five stories are too high for those parcels, they might not support a downzoning because of the tactics of some opponents.

Shepherd would need to recuse herself from any downzoning vote. To downzone property against the wishes of the owner, requires a super majority of 10 of the remaining votes. In other words, three “no” votes would stop a downzoning.

Bullying adults

Shepherd said that she is further upset that some people are questioning the veracity of her account.

“Some folks are commenting on the furor, questioning that it really even happened,” Shepherd said. “I’m appalled by that. I’m shocked that people are doubting my account.We talk so much about bullying against kids in school, and yet as adults, we are utterly inconsiderate of how we treat each other. We seem unwilling to have civil conversations and show common decency in difficult situations. I think we should treat people the way we want to be treated, yet a lot of people don’t do that. That breaks my heart. That really breaks my heart.”

However, she said she is glad that InsideRealEstateNews has reported on the incident.

“I want people to know this is wrong. I don’t want to embolden people and encourage them to come to my home uninvited and try to intimidate and bully me.”

When told that one reader had posted her address on this blog, (which has since been removed), Shepherd was incredulous.

“Why would someone do that? That’s just sick.”

Contact John Rebchook at JRCHOOK@gmail.com

Shouting match erupts in councilwoman’s home

John Rebchook — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 23:11:32 +0000

Susan Shepherd, who represents District 1, is getting extra police patrols around her home in northwest Denver, following an oral confrontation in her home.

Two women opposing the proposed RedPeak Properties’s apartment community in West Highland this week made an unscheduled visit to Councilwoman Susan Shepherd’s house and launched into a vicious verbal attack against her in her home, Shepherd told colleagues and the police.

The visit Monday night was so unsettling that Shepherd’s friends told her they fear for the safety of herself and her family. Shepherd was told that police will immediately increase patrols around her house. However, no police report was filed. Attempts to find the identities of the women by InsideRealEstateNews and ask them for their side of the story, have so far been unsuccessful. One woman who knows one of the women involved in what is being termed as “the incident,” declined to reveal her identity. However, she urged the woman to come forward. In addition, the Denver police are interested in speaking to the women, Shepherd said.

Shepherd detailed the confrontation that occurred around 7:30 p.m. on Monday when there was a knock on her door, in a letter on Tuesday afternoon to other City Council members,Mayor Michael Hancock’s office, the City Attorney’s office, and Denver Police Commander Doug Stephens. InsideRealEstatenews received a copy of the letter today.

In the letter, titled, “Extreme verbal harassment incident in my home re: Red Peak,” Shepherd said that because it was dark and cold, and “because I am nice,” she invited the women into her home. They said they wanted to talk to her “just for five minutes,” about the Red Peak’s plan. RedPeak plans to build three, five story buildings north of of West 32nd and Lowell Boulevard on sites next to a church on Lowell, Meade Street and West Moncrieff Place.

A grassroots group, No High Rises in West Highland, says it has received about 2,000 signatures opposing the development. The group believes the buildings are inappropriate for the neighborhood because of their height and mass, although a number of leaders say they would support “more responsible” development. RedPeak has the land under contract from an investment group headed by Tom Wootten. The City Council approved the zoning allowing five story buildings on the parcels in June 2010, before Shepherd was elected. Rick Garcia was the city council person when the zoning of the land took place after numerous public hearings.

Laura Goode, a founder of the grassroots group, had this to say: “We do not condone under any circumstances inappropriate discourse and actions regarding this issue. No High Rises in West Highland encourages and supports civil discourse at all times as we work to help fix the flawed zoning and other problems that are at the heart of this issue, and we hope that the city takes the necessary steps to show its citizens that it will make things right in West Highland.”

Shepherd has not yet returned a call to InsideRealEstateNews. A spokeswoman indicated that she will be available for an interview on Friday. It is unclear at this time whether she knows the identities of the women. She did not say exactly what the women said, and if they threatened to harm her or her family, although they did raise the possibility of a recalling her, according to Shepherd’s letter.

Outburst in front of 4-year-old

In her letter, Shepherd the conversation “started typically enough, but quickly devolved into them criticizing (and) attacking anything to do with the city (and) this development, including former Councilman (Rick) Garcia, Brad Buchanan (the architect on the project), Red Peak & Tom Wooten. Then it quickly shifted into them berating (and) attacking me, intimidating me (and) bullying me – to the point where they said “we have all the signatures we need to initiate a recall on you (and) are ready to turn it in.”

All of this took place in front of her husband and 4-year-old son

Some vocal opponents have criticized Shepherd since many neighbors first learning of RedPeak’s plan last fall.

But Shepherd has never experienced anything of this magnitude before.

“Through it all up until this point I have kept my composure in public, but this was too much – the conversation at this point devolved into a shouting match between all 4 of us. I said something like “how dare you show up at my house uninvited & threaten me, “ and my husband (and) I demanded over (and) over very loudly that they leave.”

Shepherd said the women kept trying to argue. Her husband finally “pretty much had to force them to leave,” although she noted he never touched them.

No remorse shown

“They continued to argue with him on the front porch once outside,” Shepherd said. “At no time during the entire conversation was there any recognition on their face that what they were doing was completely inappropriate or wrong – they never apologized or expressed any remorse.

“We are completely, completely appalled that neighbors are behaving this way. I have received numerous abusive emails along these lines over the last couple of months and have been attacked significantly in public (and) in the press, but nothing as blatantly audacious as this. Several friends have expressed concerns for our safety (and) Commander Stephens has said he will increase patrols around my home immediately.”

She ended her letter this way: “Colleagues: I am completely at my limit over this project. I need additional support.”

Councilman Chris Nevitt and Councilwoman Jeanne Robb immediately responded before the City Council meeting on Tuesday.

Nevitt: “Not okay”

“Our colleague, Councilwoman Shepherd was recently subjected to a really unfortunate incident that I think broke the barrier between Councilperson as public servant and Councilperson as private citizen,” Nevitt said. “She was visited at her home, uninvited, at 7:30 at night on a weekend, by constituents with an issue, and being a kind person & wanting to serve, she invited them in and they proceeded to argue with her and threaten her with recall if she didn’t do what they asked. And this is all in front of her husband and little kid; in her home, uninvited, on a weekend. That’s not okay, that’s not okay.”

Robb said it was really unfortunate that Shepherd’s little boy was subjected to such a display.

“I know it’s not an uncommon plight of politicians, but I am very really sympathetic that a four- or five-year-old had to be subjected to this situation,” Robb said.

Also, Robb said is such aggressive “tactics” by constituents can be counter-productive.

“I work very hard, sometimes more successfully than at other times, to hear the message that my constituents or the city’s residents are trying to deliver to us, but I will say that sometimes the tactics make it even harder to listen,” Robb said. “I hear best when people address me in the most polite way.”

Letter of law may not have been violated

Sonny Jackson, spokesman for the Denver Police Department, who received a copy of Shepherd’s letter from InsideRealEstateNews, said that the department “takes every threat very seriously.” He said that it is not unusual for high-profile people to receive more threats than a typical citizen.

However, he said he could not find a police report on the incident. And although Shepherd clearly felt threatened, he said there was nothing that he read in the letter that indicated a crime had taken place.

Below is a copy of Shepherd’s letter.

Colleagues:

Yesterday at about 7:30 pm there was a knock at my door – two women asking to talk to me about the Red Peak incident “just for 5 minutes.” Because it was dark & cold & because I am nice I invited them in & asked them to sit down. The conversation started typically enough, but quickly devolved into them criticizing & attacking anything to do with the city & this development, including former Councilman Garcia, Brad Buchanan, Red Peak & Tom Wooten. Then it quickly shifted into them berating & attacking me, intimidating me & bullying me – to the point where they said “we have all the signatures we need to initiate a recall on you & are ready to turn it in.” My husband was in the room & my 4 year old son was sitting on the couch next to me the whole time.

Through it all up until this point I have kept my composure in public, but this was too much – the conversation at this point devolved into a shouting match between all 4 of us. I said something like “how dare you show up at my house uninvited & threaten me, “ and my husband & I demanded over & over very loudly that they leave. They kept trying to argue & my husband pretty much had to force them to leave, although he didn’t touch them. They continued to argue with him on the front porch once outside. At no time during the entire conversation was there any recognition on their face that what they were doing was completely inappropriate or wrong – they never apologized or expressed any remorse.

We are completely, completely appalled that neighbors are behaving this way. I have received numerous abusive emails along these lines over the last couple of months and have been attacked significantly in public & in the press, but nothing as blatantly audacious as this. Several friends have expressed concerns for our safety & Commander Stephens has said he will increase patrols around my home immediately.

Colleagues: I am completely at my limit over this project. I need additional support.

Thank you,

Susan K. Shepherd

Councilwoman, Denver District 1

John Rebchook can be reached at JRCHOOK@gmail.com

New Town hosting Bennet on SAVE Act

John Rebchook — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 02:00:21 +0000

New Town Builders does more than just paint some homes green in Stapleton. They can actually generate more energy than they use.

Vote in a poll at the end of this blog.

Stephen Myers, son of Gene Myers, owner of New Town Builders, can afford to buy one of his father’s $400,000 homes in Stapleton.

But just barely.

If Stephen wants to pay an additional $26,900 for the one of New Town’s “net-zero energy” packages, he wouldn’t be able to qualify for a loan.

That is stupid, the senior Myers says, because the package, adds only $100 per month to the mortgage, but saves $100 a month from one of New Town’s already efficient homes. In other words, it is a wash.

“If you compare it to a standard home built to code, it will save you $200 a month,” said Myers, one of Denver’s top production builders when it comes to energy saving features. “So if you compare to a typical home, he comes out 200 bucks ahead. If you roll the extra $100 into the mortgage, as most buyers do, you actually come out slightly ahead on a net basis, after you deduct your mortgage payment on your taxes. And the $100 is a fixed cost for the life of your mortgage, which is not something you can say about your Xcel bill.’

Stephen is a perfect example of who would be helped by a bill co-sponsored by Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet, called the SAVE – Sensible Accounting to Value Energy – Act. Bennet is scheduled to appear with Myers on Wednesday at Stapleton to tout the act, which Bennett, a Democrat, is sponsoring with Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga.

Sen. Michael Bennett today discussed the SAVE Act at Stapleton.

The SAVE Act makes it easier for consumers to qualify to buy an energy efficient homes, Myers said.

First, it will require lenders to include expected energy costs in debt-to-income qualifying ratios, which determines a buyer’s ability to make mortgage payments. Along the same lines, lenders must also include the value of expected energy savings when calculating the loan-to-value ratio of a mortgage, allowing homeowners to finance the cost of energy efficiency improvements as part of their mortgage.

It also will require appraisers to include the energy saving features in determining the value of the homes, Myers said. If energy saving features such as photovoltaic systems are not included as adding value to home, it may not appraise for the purchase price, Myers said.

“Energy saving features should provide ‘bonus’ value,” Myers said.

Bennet and Isakson estimate the SAVE Act would create more than 80,000 jobs.

“First, this is all just common sense. Most economists believe the overall economy will not truly recover until the housing economy gets back on its feet, and this will create tens of thousands of jobs in the homebuilding industry,” said Myers, who believes New Town is currently the only production builder currently rolling out such a zero-energy option in the Denver area. Other local builders, however, are expected to offer their own versions of these type of energy saving plans in the near future.

New Town has set the bar high when it comes to being green.

SAVE Act a game changer

SAVE Act will be a game changer for energy efficient homes, Myers said. He said some big national builders in California and elsewhere already are incorporating energy saving features into production homes, although he is not sure they do it to the levels New Town is taking green building.

New Town is using the HERS Index, established by the Residential Energy Services Network, an independent, non-profit group, to measure its energy efficiency.

“HERS gives you the equivalent of MPG for a car,” Myers said. “But I tell people, like in golf, a low score is better.”

A typical homes will have a HERS score of 130, he said, a newer home built to code will have a score of 100, while an Energy Star home will have a score of 85.

But a New Town home with its energy package of added insulation, Energy Star appliances, energy efficient heating and cooling systems and about 10-kilowatt solar photovoltaic panels, “will have a HERS of negative 1. Typically, we will produce slightly more energy than the home uses. First, we build the home with added insulation and very tight construction, so it doesn’t consume much energy, and then we add things like the solar panels that generate energy.”

The SAVE Act will encourage more homes built like the net-zero homes planned by New Town. Not only does it save energy and help the environment and create job, but it helps reduce the country’s reliance on foreign countries that may not always be friendly toward the U.S.

“It is a way to encourage the construction of more energy efficient housing, without the government having to subsidize it,” Myers said. “This is not a grant program, so there is no out-of-pocket costs to increase the deficit. And because Bennet has a Republican co-sponsor, it has bipartisan support, rare these days in Washington. But the big question in my mind is given how partisan and dysfunctional Congress is, is there any hope it is going to pass? I don’t know the answer to that, but it something I’m going to ask Sen. Bennet when I see him tomorrow.”

Myers’s word echoed Bennet’s, when he made the announcement about the SAVE Act last October.

“It is rare to have such diverse interests come together, and that’s because this is a common-sense bill,” Bennet said last fall. “The SAVE Act would help provide access to useful information about energy usage that home owners, buyers, appraisers and underwriters want and need. It would lead to more complete and accurate mortgage underwriting, would encourage investments in home energy improvements, create more than 80,000 jobs and lighten the load for Colorado families’ budgets.”

Bennet elaborated on the SAVE Act today.

“When the construction and finance industries realize the benefit of accounting for energy efficiency, thousands of new jobs are sure to follow,” Bennet said. “The SAVE Act would provide owners, buyers, appraisers and underwriters access to useful information about energy usage that will lead to lower energy costs for consumers and thousands of jobs for our economy.”

If passed, Myers knows one person who will directly benefit – his son, Stephen.

One of the best features of the program, for Stephen or anyone else, is that there is no waiting for a payback. Sometimes, it can take years, or even decades, to recoup the cost of energy savings.

“People sometimes ask how long they have to wait to recoup their zero-energy option’ investment – but there is no wait,” Myers said. “If you take out a mortgage, the loan covers the cost of the Zero-Energy Option, and then you just pay the bank with the monthly savings and pocket the rest.”

To find homes by New Town Builders on the resale market, please visit this COhomefinder.com link.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Contact John Rebchook at JRCHOOK@gmail.com

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