“Sixty-four million is nothing to sneeze at,” said independent broker Gary Bauer, who released the report that also showed almost a 50 percent drop in the unsold inventory from a year earlier.

The report also showed that while sales of single-family homes priced at $1 million or more are down in April almost 30 percent from April 2011, year-to-date sales volume is higher than in 2011.

An earlier report by Kentwood Real Estate showed a similar trend, although it did not include Boulder County, but focused on the counties in the Denver area. Both reports use Metrolist data.

In April, 20 of the luxury sales were evenly divided between Boulder and Denver counties, according to Bauer. There were eight luxury home sales in Douglas County, six in Arapahoe County and two in Jefferson County. All five condo sales were in Denver.

“The luxury market is almost a mirror of the overall market,” Bauer said. “We are seeing a declining inventory for the luxury market, just like for the overall market.”

One reason that the April sales figures showed a big percentage drop, is because well-heeled buyers have been able to land excellent deals, knocking many homes out of the seven-figure category.

“Many homes that previously were listed at $1 million to $1.15 million or even $1.2 million, are now selling below $1 million,” Bauer said.

There are now only 596 single-family homes on the market, a 48.5 percent drop from the 1,157 active listings in April 2011.

One reason there is such a huge drop in unsold inventory is because owners of high-end homes are seeking options other than outright sales, Bauer said.

“Many owners who haven’t been able to get the price they want are leasing their homes for one-year or two-year options, often with the right to buy the home at the end of the lease,” Bauer said. “Each deal is a separate and unique transaction.”

Often, the listing broker is helping the owner structure the lease arrangement, he said.

In April, the average sales price of a home was $1.6 million, compared with $1.5 million a year earlier and the median sales price was $1.4 million, compared with $1.3 million in April 2011.In April 2011, 51 luxury single-family homes sold for a total dollar volume of $76.million.

In April, five condos sold for a total of $6.2 million, compared with six condos selling in April 2011 for $7.7 million.

In the first four months of the year, there have been 161 total sales for $243.1 million, compared with 156 sales for $235.9 million during the same period in 2011. There have been 148 single-family home sales so far this year for $224.4 million, compared with 143 for $218 million through April of last year. Condo sales are unchanged, with 13 sales, although the condo dollar volume this year was $18.7 million, compared with $17.9 million in the first four months of 2011.

Have a real-estate story idea or a news tip? Contact John Rebchook at JRCHOOK@gmail.com.

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The inventory of homes in the Denver area has plunged.

The trend of a plunging inventory of Denver-area homes  continued in April, as prospective home buyers had 42.5 percent fewer homes to choose from than a year earlier, according to a report released today.

The decline in inventory in April comes as more buyers are shopping for homes, driving up prices, with bidding wars becoming increasingly common.

“We continue to see tight inventory in the market, which means there about a two- to three-month of supply available,” said Kirby Slunaker, president and CEO of Metrolist. “Conditions are favorable and we continue to look for signs of improvement such as continued price appreciation.”

There were only 10,254 unsold homes on the market in April, according to reports by Metrolist and independent broker Gary Bauer, who analyzed the Metrolist data. There were 17,847 unsold homes available in April 2011. The inventory declined 0.7 percent from 10,325 houses in March.

The shortage of homes is “what I am living and breathing,” said Rey Armendariz, an 8z broker in Westminster.

“It is the biggest challenge for buyers in the market,” he said.

He said the shortage, previously confined to low-priced homes, now is “up to $1 million, or even more than that.”

He is representing one buyer looking for a home in the $800,000 range in Greenwood Village, the Cherry Hills area Denver, “and I’m even looking in Westminster now,” he said.

It is even tougher for buyers shopping for houses priced below $380,000, he said.

“They are just champing at the bit,” he said. “My advice to serious buyers right now is to have all of your financing lined up and be ready to step up the plate if you find a home that you like. You have to make a quick decision, because a lot of houses are seeing multiple offers.”

In addition to the low inventory numbers, most metrics are showing a strengthening market:

• There were 5,681 total homes place under contract in April, 19.6 percent increase from the 4,749 a year earlier and a 6.6 percent increase from March.
• There were 3,891 closings last month, a 13.5 percent increase from the 3,429 in April 2011 and 12 percent more than the 3,475 in March.
• The average price of a single-family home sold in April was $298,712, up 9.8 percent from $271,969 in April 2011 and up 5.2 percent from $284,035 in March.
• The median price of a single-family home sold in April was $249,900, up 12.64 percent from $222,00 in April 2011 and up 7.5 percent from $232,500 in March.

“While the shortage of homes is a bit of a concern, overall, the market is showing early signs of a great year,” Bauer said.

Buying off the top

He said people who are thinking of putting their homes on the market now, will benefit from more than supply and demand.

Many sales are resulting from “buying off the top,” of recent listings, while homes that have been on the market for many months are often still languishing, he said.

Bauer also said that buyers want homes in turn-key homes.

“Most buyers want to move in and go on with their lives,” Bauer said. “They aren’t interested in buying homes that need a lot of work, for the most part.”

Peter Niederman, CEO of Kentwood Real Estate, said the market is progressing the way he predicted. He said he thinks that the next S&P/Case-Shiller report, which is closely watched, will show a great improvement for the Denver area.

“As we are starting to see nice, steady price appreciation, people who might have been upside down on their loans by 5 or 6 percent might be helped significantly and will finally be able to justify putting their homes on the market. That could signal more listings.”

Historically low rates

Although mortgage rates hit an all-time low of about 3.8 percent for a 30-year, fixed-interest rate today, Niederman said they aren’t going to help that much.

“Rates have been around 4 percent for too long for an incremental drop to help much,” Niederman said. “If they had been at 8 percent and were falling, it would be a different story. Right now, we need more economic growth, not lower rates. But I do like that we are creating jobs in the Denver area and consumer confidence is up.”

Niederman said showings and open houses also are up dramatically at Kentwood and he suspects that it the case across the market.

“Showings are a leading indicator,” Niederman said. “You don’t write contracts until people have walked through houses.”

12 showing in one day – twice

Lydia Lin, owner of One Realty, twice last month had days when she showed 12 homes each day.

“Denver in an incredible market,” Lin wrote on her Facebook page.

Scott Webber, owner of Fuller Sotheby’s International Realty, agrees.

“One thing I have no doubt about, is that Denver is one of the strongest markets in the country,” Webber said.

But the speed the market has changed from a strong buyer’s market to one that is increasingly favoring sellers is mind-boggling.

“It’s unreal. It’s unreal,” Webber said.

And it may not last.

“I think we in a little bit of a unique place,” Webber said. “I think a lot of sellers have been waiting on the sidelines will now feel more comfortable about listing their homes and there will be more foreclosures coming on the market.”

Have a story idea or a tip? Contact John Rebchook at JRCHOOK@gmail.com. InsideRealEstateNews is sponsored by Universal Lending, Land Title Guarantee Co. and 8z Real Estate.

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Kirby Slunaker

It’s official.

Kirby Slunaker, who has been the interim chief operating officer of Metrolist since last fall,  has ben appointed the president and CEO of Metrolist.

“In Kirby, we have chosen a seasoned business leader to continue our transition as a high-quality service-oriented organization serving Colorado Realtors,” said James T. Wanzeck, Metrolist’s chairman.

“Kirby has deep experience in transforming and leading top companies, such as VISA USA, eBags, FedEx, MDC Holdings, and, most recently, Pendum LLC,” Wanzeck said. “With an executive of this caliber, we’re extremely well positioned to take the company to a new level.”

Slunaker was chosen as interim COO last November, was integral in establishing a strategic partnership between Metrolist and Hillside Software, a Denver market leader in real estate software. Under Slunaker’s leadership, Metrolist re-launched its public website, www.recolorado.com, providing what Metrolist calls the most comprehensive and accurate home search website for the greater Denver market.

As a strong proponent of “Green housing” initiatives, Slunaker also lead the effort to join Colorado state’s initiative to “green the MLS”, spearheaded by the Governor’s Energy Office. Launched in early March, energy/green features are now included in the MLS along with the state recommended Green Features Addendum. Slunaker replaces Pat Bybee, who resigned last October.

“Kirby’s accomplishments as the interim COO made him the clear choice as president and CEO,” said Wanzeck. “We’re confident in his ability to fully execute our long-term strategies.”

Slunaker is a former chairman of and currently serves on, the board and the executive committee for the Colorado Technology Association.

Contract John Rebchook at JRCHOOK@gmail.com

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A condo in this building sold for close to the asking price of $599,000 before it was officially on the market.

Forget about March Madness. The real action last month did not take place on college basketball courts, but came from home buyers snapping up houses in the Denver area.

The number of previously owned homes placed under contract in March jumped by 49.2 percent compared with March 2011, while they rose 28.4 percent from February. Closings were up 39.3 percent from March and 8.3 percent from a year earlier, according to reports released on Thursday.  Single-family home prices rose by 5 percent from February, with an average price of $284,035 in March, were up 5 percent and 4 percent on a month-to-month and year-over-year basis, respectively.

While the inventory of unsold homes is still extremely low with only 10,325 unsold homes on the market – 47.7 percent fewer than the 17,707 in March 2011 – levels have risen by 2.4 percent from February, according to the report by independent broker Gary Bauer. The report is based on Metrolist data.

“It’s a very good market,” Bauer said. “There is pent-up demand in the market and brokers are increasingly seeing multiple offers on homes.”

By the numbers:

• Buyers placed 5,328 homes under contract in March, compared with 4,150 in February and 3,571 in March 2011.
• Year-to-date, 12,964 homes have been placed under contract, compared with 10,411 in the first quarter of last year.
• There were 3,475 home closings last month, compared with 2,495 in February and 3,209 in March 2011.
• In the first quarter, there were 8,440 closings, compared with 7,954 during the same period last year.

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Special to InsideRealEstateNews

Melissa Baldridge

Metrolist, the largest real estate multiple listing service  serving Colorado real estate agents, recently unveiled “Energy/Green fields,” a far-reaching initiative that integrates ‘energy/green’ data into the MLS search process, officials say.

By adding key attributes such as searchable fields, Colorado’s largest MLS will provide the industry with much-needed energy and green  data through home sales listings, a key component of quantifying market value and identifying comparison data for real estate professionals, homebuyers, and for appraisers that are valuating energy-efficient homes, officials say.

Governor’s Energy Office

Metrolist’s new green-field initiative is the result of work the company began with the Governor’s Energy Office  in 2010.

“We identified two major reasons why we should move forward with searchable green fields,” said James T. Wanzeck, Metrolist chairman. “The first is social responsibility. Buildings, after all, consume 39 percent of the nation’s energy use. The second is Realtor differentiation. Anything Realtors can do to differentiate themselves is good.”

Metrolist, which represents approximately 50 percent of Colorado’s Realtors and almost 70 percent of the state’s real estate transactions, designed its implementation of green fields to correlate with the recommendations of the GEO’s Appraisal Committee and has made available to its 15,000 members the state supplied Energy/Green Feature Addendum. An open and voluntary group, the Committee worked with key stakeholders in developing recommended searchable fields for integration into Colorado’s multiple listings services.

Green features in this home at 3404 Tejon St. will be easy to search in Metrolist's new green fields.

“Adding searchable green fields to Metrolist is very exciting” said Pete Rusin, a GEO residential program associate. “This effort will not only increase the coverage of energy efficiency fields in Colorado, it will help home owners and buyers find homes that can save them money on their utility costs.”

Consistent with the appraisal committee’s recommendations, Metrolist’s searchable fields are split into two categories, “Certifications” and “Features.” Sellers can also showcase additional common features of an energy‐efficient/“green” home.

According to  Wanzeck, compiling this data in Colorado is critical because green-building advocates say it will mirror what has  been happening in other parts of the country.

“We know that green homes sell faster and for more money than conventional, code-built comparables,” said Wanzeck. “I believe all of our re-tooling and data capture will help nearly everyone in Colorado see green.”

Melissa Baldridge is co-founder of of eGreenContractors, which offers more than 120 service categories for residential and commercial repairs, renovations and additions. She also blogs about green building, living and design. Contact her at Melissa@eGreenContractors.com

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This 1,946-square-foot home at 1640 Garfield St. is priced at $274,900, close to the average sales price of $270,821 in February.

If you were house hunting in the Denver area last month, numbers released today will confirm what you have been seeing –  or not seeing – as it were: the number of unsold resale homes plunged 42 percent in February from February 2011.

The last February when there were fewer homes for sales was in 2000, when there were 8,357 homes on the market.

“The inventory is still a somewhat challenging situation,” Bauer said. “It’s a good-bad situation, depending on whether you are a buyer or a seller. Quite frankly, I think as the word gets out more and more about how low our inventory levels are, more people will start to put their homes on the market.”

Other than the inventory, February was an extremely strong month that bodes well for the spring and summer prime selling seasons, Bauer said.

Strong start

“We started on Jan. 1 with some momentum, and it continued through the end of February,” said Bauer, who bases his report on Metrolist data. Because this is a Leap Year, he adjusted the 29 days this February for the 28 days in February 2011.

“We are seeing a lot of pent-up demand,” Bauer said. “We are seeing multiple offers for homes. We are also seeing very well-educated buyers and very well-educated sellers.”

That is absolutely correct, according to Eaun Graham, a broker with 8z Real Estate.

Snooze and you lose

Graham had an experience with the lack of dearth of houses on the market this morning, in fact. He and a client who is interested in buying a home in the Broomfield-Westminster area looked at six homes on Saturday. He offered full-price for one priced at the full-asking price of $250,000, but was out-bid. He was prepared to make an offer on his second choice, looking at it Saturday and 5 p.m. on Sunday.

“First thing this morning I called the listing broker and the home was gone,” Graham said. “In this market, the good inventory is gone right away. You can’t go home and think about buying a well0-priced home – you have to write an offer that days. It wasn’t this way a year ago.”

Graham thinks the lack of inventory is only going to get worse, as the market heads into the prime selling season. Multiple offers are driving up prices at the low-end, and he predicts that is a trend that will later increase the prices of more expensive homes, too.

Demand is improving, even as the supply dwindles.

The report shows that 4,150 homes were placed under contract in February, a 19 percent increase from the 3,486 homes in January and 12.4 percent more for the 3,693 in February 2011.

The number of closings rose 11.9 percent to 2,495 in February from 2,229 in February 2011 and were up 1 percent from 2,470 in January. Year-to-date, contracts are up 11.6 percent and closings are up 13.2 percent from the same period in 2011.

The report showed that the average price of a single-family home that sold last month was $270,821, compared with $265,277 in February 2011 and $272,328 in January. The median price was $220,00, unchanged from a year earlier and up slightly from $218,855 in January.

For single-family homes, 43 percent of the homes that closed last month were below $200,000 and 62 percent of the condos that sold in February were below $150,000.

4-month supply

Peter Niederman, CEO of Kentwood Real Estate, using both January and February closings, calculated there currently is only a four-month supply of unsold single-family homes homes on the market, compared with a 7.7 month at the end of February 2011. Niederman uses two months worth of data “to take some of the noise” out of only looking at one-month’s data. Using the same methodology, there is about a four-month supply of condos on the market, compared to almost a nine-month supply in February 2011.

‘When you get below a five-month supply that is a pretty good market,” Niederman said. “If this trend continues, with strong under contract activity, but little added supply, we could get down to a two- or three-month supply.”

Niederman was especially pleased by the jump in under contract activity in February, as it indicates activity in a given month and is a leading indicator of future closings.

An even more basis indicator is the number of showings and those numbers have been off the charts.

“Last Friday, we had the highest number of showings we have experienced in many, many years,” Niederman said. “Fridays kick off the showing activity for the weekend. You can’t sell a home unless you show it, so that is a very important leading indicator.”

Chris Mygatt, president of Coldwell Banker Residential, said buyers at the high-end still have quite a bit of inventory to choose from.

Why wait?

Still, given the historic low mortgage rates, he is encouraging anyone who is thinking of selling their home to list it now.

“What the whole Denver real estate world is talking about is our low inventory,” Mygatt said. “If you are a homeowner and in any way you are just waiting in the wings looking to sell at some point, the message these numbers tell me that if you are dreaming of moving up in Colorado, this is a great opportunity to sell.”

It wasn’t that long ago that the market was fearing quite the opposite – a flood of “shadow-market” inventory as banks unloaded properties that they had repossessed.

Legal issues involving the settlement such things as “robo-signing” of foreclosure documents likely delayed banks processing all of the pending foreclosures.

“Now that the banks have some kind of agreement with the government, we might see some more of these foreclosures being processed,” Mygatt said. “I think the banks are smart enough not to dump everything they have on the the market at the same tie. But the truth is, here in Denver, we could absorb a significant amount of additional inventory at this time.”

However, it is not just the inventory, but the condition of the homes on the market.

One buyer, named Chris, last week made a full-price, $300,000 offer for a 2,100-square-foot in Mayfair, but the deal fell apart over $5,000. Following the inspection, Chris and his wife wanted $10,000 in concessions, but the seller only offered half that amount.

“I was surprised they pushed back that hard,” said Chris, who didn’t want his last name used. “But the place would need a new roof, water heater, electrical upgrades, etc., in the next two to three years, as well as a lot of upgrades inside, so it was too much for us.”

203(k) to the rescue

That is one reason that Jocelyn Predovich, president and CEO of the Limetree Lending Group, is pushing what is called 203(k) mortgages, HUD’s primary program for the rehabilitation of properties.

“No home is ever perfect, but what is so hard in this market, when there is almost nothing to choose from, a lot of the homes out there are kind of tired and worn out,” Predovich said. “That is why we are pushing the 203(k) loans so hard.”

Borrowers typically pay an extra $49 to $52 each month for every $10,00 in 203(k) financing rolled into the mortgage, she said.

She said a lot of Realtors are surprised that more people aren’t buying homes, given how unbelievable low rates are today.

Lender Jocelyn Predovich offers a free "webinar" class to Realtors for continuing real estate education at 10 a.m. every Wednesday.

Predovich compared it to someone shopping for a new wardrobe expecting to get the perfect outfit at a basement-bargain price. Instead, she walks into store after store and everything she sees is “old, worn, torn and full of holes.  No matter how much the clothing is discounted, or how inexpensively you could finance your purchases, it does not matter. You are not buying this ugly clothing.  You are better off to keep the clothing you have. Agents are pushing worn-out, broken-down, outdated properties to an impatient generation seeking immediate gratification in a ‘buyer’s market.’”

That’s where the 203(k) comes in.

She said the beauty is you can hire professionals come in and do the work on just about any improvement, a move that more times than not will increase the value of your purchase from Day One.

“While I can’t guarantee that it is going to result in instant, organic equity, that has been the case of everyone in our files,” Predovich said. ‘It really lowers the risk of buying a home. You’re not going to be sucked into a home that needs to be fixed up and you can’t sell. It’s a huge benefit to anyone who needs to sell their home in a year or two. The improvements offers you a hedge against having to sell your home in a year, because the improvements usually provide you with instant equity.”

It seems to be catching on.

“Last Thursday, nine contracts came in (to our office) and they all had 203(k) loans.”

February, Year	Under Contracts	Closings	Unsold Inventory (Single-family homes and condos)
2012	4,150	2,495	10,086
2011	3,693	2,229	17,358
2020	4,414	2,436	18,869
2009	4,183	2,484	20,059
2008	5,126	3,001	25,037
2007	4,929	3,090	24,838
2006	4,914	3,273	25,484
2005	5,063	3,024	21,730
2004	2,771	2,899	23,212
2003	2,423	2,617	22,989
2002	2,624	3,162	17,289
2001	3,119	2,830	11,734
2000	3,358	2,654	8,357

Source: Gary Bauer, Metrolist

Video: Jocelyn Predovich on 203(k) loans

Jocelyn Predovich offers Realtors a free webinar course on 203(k) loans.

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This 2,577-square-foot home in Lakewood is on the market for $272,500, very close to the average price of a home sold in January.

It might not be a good time to be in the “For Sale” sign business – at least not in the Denver area.

The number of homes for sale in the Denver area plunged by a record 41.6 percent in January from January 2011, shows a report released today by independent broker Gary Bauer.

At the end of last month, there were only 10,443  unsold homes on the market – 8,356 single-family homes and 2,087 condos – compared with a total of 17,890 homes on the market in January 2011. It was the lowest number of unsold homes on the market in a January since 2001, when there were 9,540 unsold homes on the market.

Bauer said he wasn’t surprised by the dramatic drop. “I actually thought it was going to drop more,” he said. “I thought it would fall to 10,000.”

The inventory of unsold homes also fell by 5 percent from December, when there were 10,993 unsold homes on the market, according to Bauer, who bases his monthly housing report on Metrolist data.

“We were looking at those numbers this morning,” said Bruce Alexander, president and CEO of Vectra Bank Colorado. “There is only a 3.3-month of supply of homes on the market, which is unbelievable.”

Builders may help fill void

With relatively few new homes being constructed, and a dearth of resale homes on the market, is only a matter of time that home prices will start to rise, he said.

“Homebuilders are starting to make a move,” to build more homes to fill a void created by the lack of resale home, Alexander said.

And while year-over sales activity was strong – under contracts rose by 10.8 percent from January 2011 and closings increased by 14.6 percent, the overall housing market showed a drop in prices.

“You can tell we have really hit bottom,” and houses should start to appreciate, he said.

The average price of a home sold in January was $272,328 compared with $277,922 and $275,610 in January 2011 and December, respectively. The median price of a home  also was down to $218,855 in January from $225,00 in January 2011 and $230,000 in December.

But that doesn’t tell the whole story, Alexander said.

“That is true in the aggregate, but what I think you need to do is look at price point strata,” Alexander said. “My sense is there is a lot of demand for homes priced under $300,000, while when you look at homes priced at $1 million or above, they are selling for 30 percent or 40 percent from where they sold at the peak of the market.”

Doug Kincaid, of the Kincaid Realty Group with RE/MAX of Cherry Creek, said the low inventory is good or bad, depending on whether you are a buyer or a seller.

Listings needed

“It’s been a little bit of a problem for some buyers to find a home,” Kincaid said. “But three years ago, when we had a glut of homes on the market, buyers had an inability to make a decision because they were so overwhelmed with choices. But now is a fabulous time to be listing your home. I’m coaching people to get their homes on the market now, when there isn’t much competition.”

Peter Niederman, CEO of Kentwood Real Estate, described the inventory as “painfully low.”

Yet, he was pleased to see 3,486 homes placed under contract last month, a 23.1 percent increase from the 2,832 in December, and a double-digit jump from the 3,147 in January 2011. The 2,470 closings in January were down 21.7 percent from December, but up substantially from the 2,156 in January 2011. Closings represent housing activity from previous months, so they are a lagging indicator of the health of the housing market.

But home showings are a leading indicator, and those have been strong, Niederman said.

“Brokers are busy showing homes and a lot of contracts are being written,” Niederman said. “I think there is a little bit of urgency with buyers, especially for conforming loans below $417,000. That means homes that are selling as much as $450,000 to $500,000.”

One nice thing is that while sales are softer at the high end, there is activity in all price points.

“We’re seeing traction across the market, which was not true a couple of years ago, when most of the activity at the lower end.”

Stable stock market helps

He also said that the relative stability in the stock market bodes well for home sales.

“It has a psychological effect when there are these wild swings – down 300 points one day, up 500 points the next. Even if it results in a net gain of 200 points, it unsettles people to have such violent swings. We’re only six weeks or so into the new year, but so far the financial markets have been fairly stable and steady.”

While all markets are local, and Denver is doing better than most of the country, Niederman said the global economy is the wild card.

“I think if we were just talking about the U.S., we are moving in the right direction with unemployment dropping, which will lead to more consumer confidence. But global events are something we have no control over, but they still impact local markets. Right now, people are focusing on Greece. Who knows what will be next? I don’t want to sound like a cliche, but I am cautiously optimistic about Denver’s housing market. I think we’re going to see a 3 percent to 5 percent increase in sales and dollar volume this year over last year.”

Contact John Rebchook at JRCHOOK@gmail.com

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Metrolist effective in early January, began providing Virtual Office, Hillside’s flagship product, along with other online tools, to its 14,000 members.

“Hillside Software has been a market leader in Denver for over 15 years and this arrangement allows us to make the firm’s top products available to all of our members,” said James T. Wanzeck, Metrolist Board chairman and president of RE/MAX Masters. “The partnership will enable real estate brokers to better serve the needs of today’s home buyers and sellers.”

Greenwood Village-based Hillside Software has developed a full suite of real estate software ranging from MLS productivity tools to online marketing services for real estate brokers.

“We’re excited to be able to bring Virtual Office to real estate brokers with Metrolist,” said Alex Levy, Hillside Software’s president. “With the economic recession and slower housing market, our customers are looking for ways to maximize their budgets while still delivering top-notch services for buyers and sellers. Our partnership with Metrolist will allow this to happen in 2012.”

As part of the agreement, Metrolist will augment its services with a set of MLS tools from Hillside Software that includes Virtual Office, a comparative market analysis package, a client e-mail alert system, and statistical analysis software. These products, combined with the most accurate housing data available from the MLS, will make Front Range real estate brokers better able to manage the complexities of today’s market.

“Many of our 14,000 members are already familiar with Virtual Office,” said  Wanzeck. “Now they’ll get the professional level package as well as Hillside’s market statistics tool with their Metrolist membership. We’ll be able to deliver more value in 2012 to real estate professionals and give them powerful tools.”

Other Hillside Software products such as online marketing and website packages will be made available from the Metrolist Marketplace for purchase.

“When combining the MLS productivity tools with the other ancillary products we offer, Colorado brokers will have very powerful options to grow their businesses,” said  Levy. “This is a very exciting time for us and we’re proud to have been able to put together this important partnership with Metrolist.”

Contact John Rebchook at JRCHOOK@gmail.com

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