November 20, 2008

Denver market expert Patsy Brown reports that Recently, the Kentwood Companies hosted the Colorado Real Estate & Economics Forum to discuss the outlook in Real Estate and Economics for the remainder of 2008 and 2009 for Colorado and especially, the Denver Metro Area.

The speakers for the evening included nationally recognized experts in their respective fields, with each speaker providing some very enlightening comments about the U.S. Economy, Denver's economy and real estate trends locally and nationally.

Panelists included Steve Murray CEO of Real Trends based near Denver; Erik Davidson, Senior Vice President and Senior Director of Investments at Wells Fargo Bank and Joe Blake CEO of the Denver Chamber of Commerce.

According to Steve Murray, CEO of Real Trends, Housing is a "Trickle Up" marketplace.

In Denver, we are seeing the trickle up beginning already-affordability is better and the lower end properties are selling well.

This will eventually "trickle up" to the high end properties where sales have been slow this year.

In many markets the leading indicator of recovery is the increase in entry-level home sales.

Predictions by all panelists were that real estate recovery will be slow and steady.

The markets that are recovering- like Denver- are recovering at the lower price points first.

As affordability increases, and inventory decreases, the area will be seeing a much more balanced market.

Although Denver's housing market has cooled, it is in much better shape than other western markets: while Denver's market fell 4.7% from a year ago, the national average was a 15.9% drop for the U.S. 20 city index.

The good news is that falling home prices and mortgage rates have led to a marked improvement in housing affordability.

On a personal note, Patsy's buyers and sellers are experiencing successful transactions on both sides:

Buyers are getting great value for the homes they are purchasing and Sellers are able to sell their homes in a timely manner for prices they can live with because they are going to great lengths to make sure their homes are in pristine condition before they put them on the market.

They are also able to take advantage of Kentwood's outstanding marketing strategies-something that is essential in this kind of market, to ensure that their home is constantly being presented to qualified Buyers.