While “condominium” and “family” might seem mutually exclusive in LoDo, there’s nothing unusual about families in Aurora, Glendale, Lakewood and Lone Tree living in condos. The suburban condo market, however, is struggling. Prices are stagnant, even falling.
Ditto for LoDo condos? Nope.
Consider the Glass House condominiums at Riverfront Park in downtown.
The developers of the 23-story condominium tower sold all but six of the 389 units, at an average price of $365,000, within a month of their release.
The market downtown remains strong, even as housing in general runs out of steam around the state. What’s the difference between an Arvada and a LoDo condominium? Among other things, location.
“This is a very subjective market,” says real estate agent Dee Chirafisi, who focuses on downtown properties. “It’s really based more on lifestyle than on what’s going on in the economy. Anytime there is anything exciting happening downtown, the real estate market is really strong. When Coors Field came to town, it was very busy here. Now that the Highland bridge is coming in, the new Museum of Contemporary Art, the (renovated) Union Station, it’s extremely busy again.”
While suburban condos are experiencing price cuts, condos in LoDo continue to appreciate in value, she says.
Michael Marcus, a broker with Coldwell Banker in the South Metro office, near the Tech Center, says real estate now is “very neighborhood specific.”
“Downtown lofts are a hot commodity,” he says. “If you own a townhome in Aurora that you’ve got on the market, you’re in a world of hurt.
“Where you see most of the (current) building is in the areas where the market is still strong,” Marcus says, “downtown being a good case in point.”
– Douglas Brown
