Denver Home Living Huettner Capital Summer 2017 | Page 32

SURVIVING
DENVER’S HOT
HOUSING MARKET
Three Tips To Buying A New Home
and Keeping Your Sanity
W
e reached out to our own Todd Huettner for some
current data on the local market, insight on the
challenges buyers face, and advice to not only find
but also successfully get the new home you want
under contract.
simply unprepared emotionally and financially to be
successful homebuyers. With that in mind, the first step
is to get prepared mentally and set proper expectations.
Proper expectations for this market
WHAT CHALLENGES DOES THE
STRONG DENVER HOUSING MARKET
CAUSE FOR HOMEBUYERS?
The single biggest factor is a very tight supply of homes that
is creating rising prices and bidding wars. As of June 7, 2017,
there were only 3,847 homes listed for sale on the Denver
MLS between $300,000 and $900,000. For a city of this
size, that is incredibly low. You would normally expect about
four-to-five times that number of listings this time of year.
The result of the tight supply is that homes listed for sale
usually receive multiple offers very quickly, often creating
bidding wars. That, in turn, causes prices to rise artificially.
So, what do people who want to buy a home do to survive in
this market?
The reality is that the market is tough, but not nearly
as bad as people think it is. The majority of people who
miss out on home after home for months on end are
• You will need to look at a home
the same day it is listed
• You should make an offer shortly after seeing a home
• You may miss out on a house or two
• You must know that you do not have to have 20
percent down or even 5 percent down to buy a home
• You must set limits so you move
forward with confidence
WHAT MUST BUYERS DO TO GET PREPARED
ONCE THEY SET REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS?
The key to being successful once you know what you
will face in this market is getting prepared financially.
To do this, you must get pre-approved with a lender
and not just prequalified. By providing all of your
documentation that might be required to apply and finish
the loan process and having it reviewed, you will know
32