Press Release: KW Commercial Names Steve Hewson as Director
23 September 08 11:35 PM | Steve Hewson | (Comments Off)   

KW Commercial

Denver, CO - KW Commercial is pleased to announce that Steve Hewson has been named as a Director in the recently launched KW Commercial division of Keller Williams Realty.

Hewson is also a member of a newly formed KW Commercial Group in the Denver-Boulder Metro area along with experienced commercial realtors, Dennis Quinn and Steve Bimm. The Commercial Group’s market specialties include office, industrial, retail, land, investment, and multi-family. Their commercial services provide for brokerage, leasing, residential and commercial development, consulting, property management, and M&A business brokerage.

The requirements for a KW Commercial Director include a recognized level of experience and volume of closed transactions, client and customer references, and a commitment to a high level of commercial real estate education.

As a Director at KW Commercial, Hewson will bring a new focus to developing and marketing the commercial division’s capabilities in the Colorado marketplace. In addition, he will be involved in training and educating other real estate agents. “I look forward as a Director to working with this newly formed commercial division within Keller Williams Realty”, commented Hewson. “It provides an opportunity to bring a vast set of resources, training and an extensive agent network to assist our clients.”

For more information go to our website.

Announcement of KW Commercial Merger
02 September 08 08:09 AM | Steve Hewson | (Comments Off)   
ANNOUNCEMENT: Fort Collins Real Estate merges with Keller Williams (September 2008)Fort Collins Real Estate is joining forces with Keller Williams of Northern Colorado to create the region’s only full-service residential and commercial company under a single roof, according to Keller Williams Operating Principal JoAnn Johnston.The merger represents a ground-floor opportunity to launch Keller Williams International’s new commercial division in Northern Colorado, said Mike Jensen, who has owned Fort Collins Real Estate since 2003. Fort Collins Real Estate specialized in commercial, investment and residential real estate. Keller Williams of Northern Colorado has offices in Fort Collins, Loveland and Greeley, focusing primarily on residential sales. Fort Collins Real Estate’s 25 brokers and agents will join KW’s force of 192. See our website.
Keller Williams Realty Announces Plans for Commercial Division
26 July 08 08:14 AM | Steve Hewson | (Comments Off)   

"Our goal is to expand our platform and make Keller Williams Realty the real estate company of choice in both the residential and commercial worlds by providing our associates the technology, marketing tools, and resources to succeed in the commercial business,” said Mark Willis, CEO of Keller Williams Realty. “We want to create synergy and referrals between the residential and commercial sides of our Keller Williams offices, increasing the income and production potential of all our agents.”
Buddy Norman, a veteran of commercial real estate has joined Keller Williams as president of the new division. Norman has more than 18 years of experience in the commercial real estate industry, including leadership within international firms, such as The Staubach Company and Burnham Real Estate, which was acquired by Cushman & Wakefield. He has led the development of new business divisions and trained commercial agents all over the U.S. including Dallas, Atlanta, Washington D.C. and San Diego. A consistent top producer, Norman has averaged approximately 400,000 square feet per year of commercial leasing and sales transactions over the last 10 years."

“There’s such a wide spectrum of commercial real estate experience within Keller Williams Realty,” said Norman. “We intend to build a strong commercial division paralleling the success and growth of the Keller Williams residential division." See our website.
Press Release: Bimm Joins Keller Williams and KW Commercial
01 June 08 04:18 PM | Steve Hewson | (Comments Off)   
DENVER, CO-January 7, 2008-The KW Commercial Group and the Denver Northwest Market Center of Keller Williams Realty announced today that Steve Bimm has joined its team.

"We are thrilled to have Steve join our team with his extensive background in land development and construction," said Heidi Greer Mosher, the Market Center Team Leader. "His experience will help carve a niche for himself in the Denver Northwest Market Center."

Bimm has 30 years experience in the land development, heavy construction management, and civil engineering industries. In addition to real estate, he is the principal of his own land development consulting firm, Advanced Development Services Group, LLC.

In real estate, Bimm specializes in vacant land sales and acquisition, marketing of development parcels, and bulk lot disposition and sales to builders.
Announcement: KW Commercial Launch
20 March 08 04:15 PM | Steve Hewson | (Comments Off)   

AUSTIN, TEXAS-March 20, 2008-We are pleased to announce that 2008 will mark the launch of the Keller Williams Realty Commercial Division [KW Commmercial].
Our goal is to make Keller Williams the commercial real estate platform of choice by providing our commercial associates the technology, marketing tools, and resources to succeed in their commercial businesses…
We are also honored to announce that Buddy Norman, a true leader in commercial real estate, has joined the Keller Williams family to spearhead this new venture.

Buddy has more than 15 years of experience in the commercial real estate industry — including leadership within international commercial firms, such as Cushman & Wakefield and The Staubach Company. He has built new divisions and trained commercial brokers all over the U.S. — including Dallas, Atlanta, Washington D.C. and San Diego. A consistent top producer, Buddy has averaged more than 400,000 square feet per year of commercial leasing and sales transactions over the last 10 years.

Buddy will serve as the President of Keller Williams’ Commercial Division, and will be working closely with a Commercial Advisory Council (CAC) of top commercial brokers within our company that will guide the launch and implementation of this new division.
We know that with the leadership of Buddy, our Commercial Advisory Council, and your input, we can truly build a Commercial Division that will create the commercial real estate platform of choice…

Mark Willis, CEO, Keller Williams Realty, Inc.Mary Tennant, President and COO, Keller Williams Realty, Inc. See our website.
Steve Hewson, Dennis Quinn and Steve Bimm Form a Commercial Group
07 January 08 08:17 AM | Steve Hewson | (Comments Off)   

KW Commercial OfficeThe Denver Northwest Market Center of Keller Williams Realty today announced the formation of a KW Commercial Group, comprised of Realtors Steve Hewson, Dennis Quinn, and Steve Bimm.“For some time, our market center has been providing our clients with both commercial and residential services,” commented Team Leader Heidi Greer Mosher. “The formation of the Commercial Group provides a new focus. These three agents bring many years of experience in providing commercial and investment real estate services to clients.”
The Commercial Group’s market specialties include office, industrial, retail, land, investment, and apartments.

Their commercial services provide for brokerage, leasing, residential and commercial development, consulting, and business brokerage.
“This commercial capability combines with the well-known Keller Williams residential strength to bring an even wider array of services to our clients,” remarked Steve Hewson. “Many clients have a need for both services, and now, they can find it all under one roof.” See our website.

Commercial Investors See Denver Industrial Property Headed Up
02 January 07 07:18 PM | Steve Hewson | (Comments Off)   
In a lecture at the Denver Metro Commercial Realtors Association (DMCAR), Paul Kluck of Trammel Crow shared his views on the current Denver Metro industrial property market.

The net absorption (demand) of industrial properties in this market in 2006 is increasing significantly from the downturn of 2002 through 2005. This is an increase of approximately 1 million square feet net absorption in 2005 to 4 million in 2006. Correspondingly, vacancy rates have been declining. Even though demand is increasing, speculative building has not created any significant supply in 2006 to fill that demand. This year has seen only 1 million square feet added in new construction.

In Klucks’ view, Denver experiences cycles in the Denver industrial property market every 8 to 10 years, moving through 4 cycles: Phase 1 Recovery, Phase 2 Expansion, Phase 3 Hypersupply and Phase 4 Recession. He believes we are at the end of Phase 1 and starting to move into the Phase 2 Expansion which is indicated by declining vacancies, new construction and growth in rents. This would give the local market another 4 years of upside investment potential. Major developers - ProLogis, Majestic, Pauls Corp, Lauth, Mountain West, Panattioni and Opus - have plans in 2007 to add 2.2 million square feet in speculative building to take advantage of the increasing demand.
Denver Jobs and Real Estate Gets Boost from Boeing-Lockheed
11 December 06 07:26 PM | Steve Hewson | (Comments Off)   
The Metro Denver area is already moving in the direction of lower unemployment rates (Denver 4.2% and Boulder 3.6%). Now Boeing and Lockheed issued a press release stating they are forming a joint venture called United Launch Alliance (ULA) that will be headquartered in the southwest area of the city. The Denver Post reported that it “is expected to bring up to 700 high-paying jobs to the south metro area…” The headquarters will be located initially in Jefferson County in their Waterton Canyon facility. Our prediction is that prices at the mid-to-upper end should experience some firming for that part of the metro area.
Investor News: Colorado Apartment Vacancy Rates
11 December 06 07:23 PM | Steve Hewson | (Comments Off)   
We have previously reported declining multi-unit vacancy rates (6.7%) and increasing rents (up by 2.6% in the third quarter) in the Denver Metro Area (denverpost.com). Seeing an opportunity, larger buyers have moved into the Denver market from other states to invest in the undervalued multi-unit apartments.

The Colorado Division of Housing recently released their most recent Vacancy and Rent Survey for the larger Colorado areas outside of the Denver-Boulder area. Areas in the under 3% vacancy range are: Aspen, Eagle County, Grand Junction, Glenwood Springs, Gunnison, Salida, Buena Vista and Alamosa. All of these are in the mountain areas. In the 3-5% range are Durango, Southeastern Colorado and Canon City. Some of the areas in the over 5% vacancy category are: Greeley (7.3%), Loveland (8.0%), Fort Collins (8.1%), Steamboat Springs (8.6%) and Colorado Springs (11.3%).
Colorado Mountain Prices Moving Up
09 December 06 07:29 PM | Steve Hewson | (Comments Off)   

  

The values of Colorado Mountain homes and vacation real estate have been steadily rising. The prices in the upscale resorts of Aspen/Snowmass, Vail and Telluride have had dramatic increases, reaching new highs, and pricing some people out of those markets. With that, there has been a shift to the other ski resorts of Keystone/River Run, Breckenridge, Copper Mountain and Winter Park.

This last week we heard from Michael Lytle, a friend of ours and real estate professional in Keystone with Slifer, Smith and Frampton Real Estate. He called and sent me a note about the activity in his area. He reported, “the real estate market in Keystone is getting tight, particularly in River Run Village. There are only 27 active listings in the entire village today…down from nearly 200 listings just 18 months ago. That’s an 85% reduction in the River Run inventory in the past year and a half.”

In this writer’s opinion, I believe we still have a significant way to go with prices in the mountain areas. Historically, when mountain real estate turns the corner upward, there are price improvements for a sustained period of time.

New construction is currently taking place, but in many mountain areas, such as Summit County, there will be a limited supply for the increasing demand. The surrounding national forests will prevent building in the future.

The shift in demand and prices we are seeing is largely attributable to baby boomers with the financial ability to place their investments in second and vacation homes in the Colorado resort areas. In terms of assets and age, the baby boom generation is starting to reach this point and may have at least another ten years to drive this demand.

The vacation possibilities in the mountain resorts are endless: downhill skiing, cross country skiing, golf, tennis, boating, fishing, hiking, rafting, ice skating, cycling, and on and on…

We believe there is still a window of opportunity to invest, so we are urging our readers to take a look and decide if this is where they would like to be before prices reach even higher levels.

If you would like to reach Michael Lytle in Keystone/River Run, you may email stevehewson@comcast.net .

 

Colorado Has Distinction of Most Expensive Home in U.S.
08 December 06 07:53 PM | Steve Hewson | (Comments Off)   
Colorado has the distinction of having the most expensive home in the country ever listed for sale, according to reporter Al Lewis of DenverPost.Com. The Aspen, Colorado home is the mountain home of Saudi Prince Bandar bin Abdulaziz and his wife, Princess Hafia. It is listed for $135 million, topping Trump's Palm Beach, Florida mansion listed at $125 million. The 27 bedroom home is located on a mountain on a 95 acre lot and has "every amenity you can think of," according to the property manager quoted in Lewis's article. It is has a permanent staff of 16, but bumps up to over 50 when the Sultan is on the mountain.

When this sells, it will certainly distort the median price home figures for the month, don't you think?

For additional information from DenverPost.com on this topic, click More ...
Denver Real Estate Helped by Low Unemployment
08 December 06 07:34 PM | Steve Hewson | (Comments Off)   

Denver’s real estate market should be pleased with the most recent jobless statistics released today by the U.S. Department of Labor. The Denver area is reported to have a low 4.2 percent unemployment rate – less than the 4.5 percent rate for the nation as a whole. This is down from the metro Denver’s August rate of 4.4 percent and September rate of 4.8 percent. In January of this year, the jobless rate in Denver was at a recent high of 5.3 percent and has been moving downward throughout 2006. Boulder has also seen a decline in the unemployment rate to a low 3.6 percent. For more information see the U.S. Department of Labor at http://www.dol.gov .

Contrarian Investing in Denver
03 December 06 07:38 PM | Steve Hewson | (Comments Off)   
Contrarian investors have long been noted as the wisest of all investors. They do it the right way - buy low and sell high. They invest when the market is all doom and gloom, the news media is negative, and the cost of their investment is at a low point.

Look at the Denver real estate market as reported by the media (and this blog). Colorado has the highest foreclosure rate in the nation. Homebuilders have excess inventory of homes because they have overbuilt. State and Federal officials are investigating title companies, appraisers and lenders. Sellers are having to hold on to their homes longer. Buyers are nervous about making the leap. And on and on...

Here is what smart, contrarian investors see. They look at what is currently good about the metro Denver economy that will drive growth in the future: low unemployment rates, increasing job growth, lower fuel prices, low interest rates, excellent availability of mortgage money.

We often look at the newspaper, television reports, or online news discussing the "national" real estate market. Then, we make the mistake of applying it to the local Denver market. The East Coast and West Coast real estate has risen dramatically in recent years, while Colorado and most of the central part of the U.S. has seen steady, or only small increases, in home prices.

The definition of a contrarian is: "An investor who buys when most people are selling and sells when most people are buying. In practice, this is very difficult to do, partly for psychological reasons, but if done successfully can improve returns (definition from telusplanet.net)."

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Metro Denver Real Estate Statistics
03 December 06 07:37 PM | Steve Hewson | (Comments Off)   
The statistics for last month were released December 7th by Denver’s Metrolist MLS. The numbers show the inventory of unsold homes has declined steadily for the last 4 months and down 7.4% from the prior month. These numbers support the anecdotal evidence that sellers are waiting for better home prices and that the normal seasonal decline is also taking place. Therefore, the assumption may be made that sellers are withdrawing their homes from the market and, and simultaneously, refraining from listing them. January, after the holidays, typically sees an upswing in sales activity. The inventory of 27,530 homes is still up by 8% from November 2005. The number of homes sold in November was 3,565, down 13.7% from the prior month and down 3.8% from the same month in 2005.

The median price of single family detached homes has seen a steady monthly decline from July through September, except for an increase of $4,100 in October, and then a decline of $7,600 in November. Condo median prices experienced an increase of $3,750 from $152,000 in the prior month to $155,750.

The average days on the market for a seller’s home continued to hover, as it has in 2006, around the 100-day mark, but up from 103 days to 110 in November.

Summary for October:

Total of all homes:
Inventory 27,530
Homes Sold 3,565
Avg. List Price $285,441
Avg. Days on Market 110

Single family detached homes:
Inventory 20,392
Homes Sold 2,785
Median Price $240,000
Avg. Days on Market 103

Condos (condominiums and townhomes):
Inventory 7,138
Homes Sold 780
Median Price $155,750
Avg. Days on Market 134

Source: Metrolist, Inc.
Denver Multi-Family Apartment Update
30 November 06 07:42 PM | Steve Hewson | (Comments Off)   

Investors from California, Arizona and other states have moved to the Denver multi-family apartment market to acquire real estate for the last several years. These larger investors are coming from over-valued markets to the undervalued Denver market. This has not failed to catch the attention of investors focused on the lower end of the multi-family market who realize that values still exist in this segment.

So what is driving this move? The Denver Post reports that “Apartment vacancies dipped while rental rates increased during the third quarter [of 2006]...” The newspaper goes on to say, “The vacancy rate for metro Denver dropped to 6.7 percent, compared with 6.9 percent the previous quarter, according to the Apartment Vacancy and Rent Survey” released this past week by the University of Denver. The current vacancy rates are a marked improvement over the double-digit vacancy rates experienced in Denver for the last few years. The Post continues, “The rental rates increased 2.6 percent to $865.76 for the third quarter.”

Why are vacancies decreasing and rents increasing? Colorado continues to experience lower unemployment rates and an improving economy. People, particularly the younger demographic, who have been living with others or at home while the economy had slowed, are now feeling enough confidence in the local economy to move back into the apartment market. Other real estate experts speculate that the high rate of home foreclosures has forced previous homeowners to also move back into the rental market.
If you have other ideas or opinions, please email us with your thoughts to Steve@ColoradoProRealEstate.Com .