Getting your player ready...
Broker and former ad man John Skrabec was working for a boutique realty that specialized in older houses, when he had a Madison Avenue moment: “What draws people to these Denver neighborhoods isn’t the old houses,” he ventured, “it’s about living in the city.” Now Skrabec has created LIVE Urban Real Estate – top-selling office in the Highlands/Berkeley area for three years running, with 60 agents who focus on neighborhoods from Baker and Wash Park to downtown; from Uptown and LoHi to Sunnyside (they were named last year one of the most innovative real estate agencies in the entire country).
Starting tomorrow, LIVE Urban will sign you up for ‘Race to Your Next Place’ – a scavenger hunt set for Saturday, May 19, that could win you and your partner a $10,000 down payment, following a four-hour chase through homes and sites in popular urban neighborhoods. “It’s a race that ties directly to the mood of the market,” says Skrabec, broker/owner of LIVE Urban, along with his business partner Mark White.
Race to Your Next Place will award $10,000 toward a down provided by Guild Mortgage’s Lakewood Office, to the couple earning the most points on its way through a series of clues and “challenges” related to buying urban homes. Two-person teams compete in exchange for a $100 entry fee (all going to Habitat for Humanity of Colorado); but only 250 teams can race. Skrabec expects as many as 1,000 entries before the May 6 deadline; you can sign up free; only the randomly chosen 250 team-couples will need to pony up the Habitat for Humanity fee. (Getting a sponsor – Mom and Dad? – is fine.)
You can sign up to compete for a slot at RaceNextPlace.com or at a Sunday open house, 2-to-4 p.m., at a bungalow by agent Jana Miller in Skrabec’s own Harkness Heights neighborhood. The 2-bedroom at 4266 Grove Street is in a 1920s-era block with charismatic homes; has oak built-ins, pine floors, a totally remodeled kitchen in granite and stainless, and a 2-car garage – at $355,000.
Meanwhile, LIVE Urban hardly needs a contest to warm up what agents see in the city market this spring. “There’s a serious lack of inventory,” Skrabec said as we strolled Harkness Heights and its signature park. How hot is hot? He puts a pencil to the MultiList in his urban service area spanning southeast Denver, to Stapleton, through downtown to west Highlands, and sees only 2,200 homes this spring, down from 3,800 a year ago.
That’s a 42% drop…to what he figures is 3.1 months of supply – way into ‘seller’s market’ range. Adding more speed are buyers coming from California and the Midwest that LIVE Urban agents see at their office off Highland Square and its restaurant row.
They arrive, Skrabec says, already knowing about the walkability of those areas. Typical buyers, Skrabec says, were clearly identified in focus groups he did when he and White launched the firm: some younger – newlyweds or unmarried singles, some couples with younger kids — and older ones interested in downsizing into the city. The supply of homes dropped a tad more last week, when a bungalow listed at $309,000 by LIVE Urban at W. 35th and Julian drew five showings the day it went up, two contracts the following afternoon. “A story like that is being repeated in our sales meeting every week,” Skrabec quips.
Analysts point to a faster pace in the lowest ranges – but Skrabec’s data shows Denver homeowners in his area even to the $500,000 range are making money now – up 6% in value over the past two years. Meanwhile, sellers AND buyers are getting bad information from national media suggesting the market is still sluggish. “There’s pent-up demand right now,” said Skrabec. “If you’re sitting on the fence, you need to get in the market.” To enter for a position in LIVE Urban’s Race to Your Next Place, visit RaceNextPlace.com.
If you go…
WHERE: ‘Race to Your Next Place,’ citywide open-house scavenger hunt with a $10,000 down-payment prize, limited to 250 2-person teams; entry fee benefits Habitat for Humanity of Colorado. Created by LIVE Urban Real Estate; sponsored by Guild Mortgage, Denver Post Community & Ace Hardware. LIVE Urban offices 3627 W. 32nd. Ave., Highlands (Denver). Bungalow open house, fresh-baked cookies, Sunday, 4266 Grove St., Denver.
PRICE: Teams pay $100/each to race. 4266 Grove St. listed at $355,000
WHEN: Register Saturday thru May 6; open house Sunday 2-4 p.m.
PHONE: 303-455-LIVE WEB: LIVEUrbanDenver.com RaceNextPlace.com
Mark Samuelson writes on real estate and business; you can email him at mark@samuelsonassoc.com. You can see all of Mark Samuelson’s columns online at DenverPostHomes.com
