The time is right for owning or buying a home in Boulder

If you own a house in Boulder or can buy one during these uncertain economic times, rest assured that there’s no place like home.

“Insofar as our market area is concerned, we really should be counting our blessings that we own property in the Boulder marketplace, which continues to show our resilience and strength,” says Ken Hotard, senior vice president of public affairs for the Boulder Area Realtor Association.

Although the latest market statistics had a couple gloomy areas – such as a drop in the number of sales in every Boulder County market from Oct. 1, 2007, to Sept. 30, 2008, compared with the year before – the sun is still shining in other parts. For instance, the average sales price remained steady or increased slightly in almost every community, with the soft spots being Lafayette and Erie. And inventory, in general, is down compared with the previous year and remained steady – or didn’t increase significantly, in other words – from September.

“Stability in this environment can be a good thing,” Hotard says, noting that the “bad news keeps piling up” – such as Citigroup laying off 53,000 employees – and “announcements like that are probably not at an end yet." If this were an area where many of those primary jobs were lost, the picture would be darker, he says.

The fact that the federal government has yet to determine how to allocate $700 billion in bail-out funds isn’t helping the economy or the real estate market, Hotard says. Banks continue to sit on whatever funds they have, which is limiting its circulation in the economy through mortgages and other credit. “Until we see credit free up, we’re going to rock along month to month pretty much as we do now,” he says. “If it sits, it’s not working. It needs to be moving to create income.”

Hotard agrees with U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson that bailing out homeowners with upside-down mortgages – they owe more than their homes are worth – should not be the thrust of the bailout. Instead, the government should restore credit to the market. Regardless, Hotard expects no decisive action until the inauguration of the new president in January.

As far as the Boulder market area is concerned, the real estate market will remain as it is, with seasonal changes but no historic highs, Hotard says. “We’re certainly not going to, in the short run, return to the kinds of sales volumes that we experienced in the late ‘90s and through 2001. We’ve got a unique situation in the quality of our marketplace. In Boulder in particular, we have a limited supply of a valuable commodity, and that’s housing. That will help sustain property values of these homes over the long term.

“For folks who are looking to get in … this is great time to buy in the Boulder area, especially if they’re looking to hold onto their property for a while. They eventually will see handsome return on their investment.”

And for those who have to sell, Hotard says, “get yourself a darn good Realtor. Now’s not the time to do it yourself. This is a tough market. This is when Realtors earn their keep, for sure.”