If you haven’t read the first half of this Top Ten list, check it out here. So the second half of this list does not include any Colorado towns, but I added a #11! Just because I love Colorado and think it deserves TWO spots on the list!
6. Winner of Best View for the Money: Deerfield Beach, Florida
When you hear under $100k do you think $99,999? How about a whopping $89,400 for a beach town?!?!?! Yes please. This city is located between Miami and Ft. Lauderdale, which is great for sports fans and cultural enthusiasts as well. If you chose Colorado as your home base, it looks like you could have an affordable second home in Florida!
7. Winner of Best City to Retire in: Durham, North Carolina
For the low, low price of $178,700 a retiree can have access to a world-renowned medical center at Duke, golf courses galore, and the greenest green of the Durham trees one can imagine. Duke not only provides excellent medical care, but they also offer over 100 senior learning classes. If that is not enough, there are also hit Broadway shows, hiking and biking to keep you busy.
8. Winner of Best City for Generation Y: Portland, Oregon
The average home price in this amazingly green city is $282,100. With the mountains a car ride away, the ocean a short drive, coffee shops to chill in, and green trees surrounding you this town is a sweet place to land. The community is generally a laid-back, environmentally conscious group of people. The large big name companies provide many great employment opportunities as well.
9. Winner of Best, Most Affordable Vacation Home: Pocono Mountains, Pennsylvania
With an average home price of around $110,000 (varies by region), you will not only enjoy an affordable home in a beautiful place, but everything the great outdoors has to offer you. Pocono lake offers you a peaceful place to sail, the ski slopes are always a blast on a powder day, ride a horse through the mountains, hike, fish, bike…your imagination is the limit here.
10. Winner of Best Military Town for the Money: Warner Robins, Georgia
Any family could be happy with an average home price of $110,400. In Warner Robins, the Robins Air Force base is the main employer. Because of this, the variety of people who call this place home is vast. Your new neighbor may be a rocket scientist, an architect, in the medical field, or be the wife of a serviceman. The recession didn’t affect this city as badly as most. There are plenty of things to do as well: aviation museums, parks, motor speedways….With the home prices being so low there will be cash leftover to enjoy the amenities.
So there is the list…OH WAIT! What’s that? One more????
Here is my top pick
11. Winner of Best Colorado Town: Ft. Collins, Colorado BABY!
Ft. Collins boasts the mountains on one side with awesome hiking, biking, and fishing. The town itself is alive with activity. Amazing microbreweries everywhere, ahem…Fat Tire. If you are a dog lover, they have plenty of fun dog parks. You can walk along the river and just meander your day away. There is always something artsy going on somewhere in town to feed your creative side. Colorado State University calls this city home and has several trial gardens and horse shows to check out, not to mention the football team. The list goes on and on for Ft. Collins. In fact, the next time I am up there I plan on taking the famous Foam on the Range tour of the breweries with my sister. Cheers Ft. Collins!
Wherever you are make sure you check out the local Colorado Exclusive Buyer Agents who can give you 100% buyer representation when you are buying a home.
I am sure you each have your own favorite part of Colorado. What city would you pick for your number 11?
I came across an article recently on walletpop.com that gave “Top Tens.” Of course they had the top 10 locations to buy a home in 2011. These are not in any particular order, and I believe them to be somewhat biased. I will let you decide for yourself whether these are in fact the winning cities of the following categories:
1. Winner of Best City All Around: Austin, Texas
The average home price in this college town is $119,788. This city is the capital of Texas and contains many quality colleges. The cultural aspect is hard to beat with a thriving music scene. Their unemployment rate is roughly 2% lower than the national average. It is a beautiful city (been there, done that) and the job growth over the last ten years has risen by just about 14%. The riverwalk is a beautiful place to take the family or significant other for a walk, and there are many great places to stop and get a bite along the way.
2. Winner of Best Jobs: Broomfield County, Colorado
Our pride and joy is…Broomfield? That’s right, with an average home price of around $239,000 you can be right smack in the middle of 2 great cities, Denver and Boulder. Though the job growth rate in Austin might seem appealing, Broomfield puts them to shame with a growth rate of nearly 50% over the last decade! Who wouldn’t want to live a stone’s throw away from great ski slopes, a great Denver nightlife, and amazing outdoor activities in the ever-eclectic Boulder?
3. Winner of Best Place to Raise a Family: Woodbury, Minnesota.
Most of us are no strangers to harsh winters, ours just happen to be riddled with warm, sunny days. In Woodbury, the average home runs $240,100. Close to St. Paul, Woodbury is known to locals as “the most livable city in the US.” The school systems are highly acclaimed. There are hiking and biking trails galore. Don’t forget about the 10,000+ lakes (they mean it!). Just make sure you save enough money for some cute sweaters.
4. Winner of Best City…Period: San Francisco, California
So what if the average home price is $628,000? With the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, Fisherman’s Wharf, local parks with regular Tai Chi classes, museums, coffee shops, cable and street cars it is worth the money. Not to mention the weather is actually pretty doable…
5. Winner of Best College Town: Madison, Wisconsin
$209,400 will buy an average home in the diverse college town. With lakes on either side, there are plenty of things to keep a person busy here. Intelligent conversations are a dime a dozen with the city boasting many schools as well as a Big 10 school. Farmers markets, Little Amerikka, Cave of the Mounds, fairs and breweries are just a few of the activities locals enjoy year round.
What is most important to you as a buyer? What kind of city holds the necessities in your life?
Stay tuned for the 2nd half of the Top 10 Places to Buy A Home in 2011 next week!
As always, if you are considering buying a home in a Colorado town like Broomfield, be sure to check out the Colorado Exclusive Buyer Agents!
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!
The big, white, fluffy powder (also known as pow-pow) is a big reason ski and snowboard addicts look to move to Colorado. When a few ski areas are only an hour and a half drive from the big city of Denver, what winter sports enthusiast wouldn’t want to live here?
Hit the slopes on your day off!
The metropolis city of Denver is the base of many top companies, colleges, and sports teams. The adversity of Colorado is so great that many different types of people feel lucky to call it home, not to mention the places to play aren’t too shabby either!
One big drive to live and work in Colorado are the famous ski areas. It is hard to match the snow quality of Colorado. Winter Park, Breckenridge, Loveland, Keystone, and Aspen are all top choices for a Denverite looking to take a daytrip to ski or snowboard. Many people I know actually started out with tourist jobs in these places to get them through college and found a deep love for the mountains of Colorado that could not be matched. They decided to make living in Colorado their dream after finishing school…
and can now be full time ski bums…
While each of these ski areas are high quality, the living culture that surrounds each of them are very different. If you are looking to buy a home near a ski area, it would be wise to check out the local towns and income averages to make sure the town would coincide with your wants and needs in a new home.
For instance, the average income that surrounds Winter Park is $60,500 according to city-data, and the average price of a home in this area is $360,245. This may not be affordable for everyone. But the good thing about Colorado is that there are so many amazing ski areas spread throughout the mountains, that it is easy to live within driving distance of many of them and still find an affordable city to live in.
Golden, Colorado has an average income of $ 56,544 and is only a mere 45 minutes to an hour from the closest ski area. Not only is it close to ski areas, it is also not a long drive from the city of Denver, where it may be easier to find employment. The average price of a home in Golden is a little more realistic for the average working person at $262, 130.
Colorful Colorado!
Talking with a Colorado Exclusive Buyers Agent would be a good place to start if you are considering moving to Colorado. These agents have a wealth of knowledge about the local economy, attractions, housing market, and local resources for insurance and financing. They are also highly skilled at negotiating the best deal for the buyer during closing and provide 100% buyer representation throughout the process of buying a home.
So all you snow bunnies, granolas, and business professionals make sure you consider working with a Colorado Exclusive Buyer Agent to find your dream place to work and play in Colorado!
To find out more about a local Colorado Exclusive Buyers Agent in your area, click here!
One of the primary benefits of home ownership is financial. Buying a house is an investment. According to Wikipedia, “Investment is putting money into something with the hope of profit.” I appreciate the honesty of this definition. There is some hope involved. Most investments are not a sure thing. Let’s take a look at the basics of a real estate investment.
Equity
For a first time home buyer, equity may be one of the most exciting and fulfilling aspects of the investment. A renter will have nothing to show for the thousands of dollars spent on rent annually. Plus, rent is increasing. A home owner must pay interest on their loan, but they will also make payments on the principal and therefore, build equity.
It is easy to calculate the amount of equity that you will build over time, especially if your loan has a fixed interest rate. Amortization schedules show the amount in principal and in interest that will be paid each year over the course of the year.
Appreciation
Historically, the value of property has increased over time. When the value of real estate increases, it is called appreciation. For example, in 1998, the average home in Denver cost about $150,000. Five years later, the average home in Denver cost about $240,000.*
Since then, we have seen the reverse as home values are dropping. Some experts will say that the prices are bottoming out now, making it a great time to buy. Buying when home values are low and expected to raise means that you could see a great return on the investment.
But, appreciation is certainly not a sure thing. I personally believe that home values will rise again, that real estate is cyclical, and history tends to repeat itself. But, no one knows when they will, or can say for certain that they will, so appreciation is where the hope comes in.
Tax Savings
Interest paid on a residence is tax deductable. Depending on other deductions, interest rate, and income tax level, the amount of savings varies.
These are a few of the important elements to a real estate investment. If you are interested in buying a home, your exclusive buyer’s agent can discuss your investment in more detail. Find an Agent that specializes in your neighborhood.
* Data from Colorado Home Buyer’s Guide, by Vicky S. Porter written in 2005.
According to one of our exclusive buyer’s agents specializing in Summit County home sales; this is the best buyer’s market since the mid 90’s. It makes me want to buy a house all over again, and we haven’t even unpacked yet.
End of real estate season pressures sellers to drop prices.
Heading into the end of the “Real Estate Season” agents are seeing sellers more eager than ever to make the sale. Faced with the possibility of not being able to sell their home until the real estate season picks up again next spring, home sellers are becoming more realistic.
What does it mean to be serious about selling your home in this market? In many ways, a serious seller looks like a price reduction. Add price reductions to low mortgage rates, and you have the “best buyer’s market.”
Our exclusive buyer’s agent states that about 20% of home sellers are truly serious about selling their home. Meaning, they are not going to throw out reasonable offers. They are realistic about the current market values. They are making huge price reductions. They want to sell, and fast.
Exclusive buyer’s agents help serious buyer’s find serious sellers.
This is a reminder to home buyers that the motivation of the seller is one of the most important factors in the sale price.
An exclusive buyer’s agent can help you find one of the 20% of home sellers that are truly serious about selling their home. A serious seller can mean a smoother transaction, a discounted price and a faster closing date.
If you find a motivated seller with a home priced to sell, you could get in contract, close, move in and be ready to hit the slopes by ski season.
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