Renting vs Buying is an interesting question in Denver Colorado’s economy.  Although for many of us the luxury of homeownership may be a thing of the past until we better our financial positions; for those of you “waiting for the market to bottom out” ... this glass is empty! 

The Denver real estate market is in position for Buyers to purchase and reap the rewards 5-7 years from now.  We are already seeing market value increases in some areas of the Denver Metroplex and activity is high for the first month of the year.  Don’t ignore that interest rates truly are at a 40 year low on a 30 year fixed rate mortgage and FHA provides a very appealing option with their programs that offer 3.5% down on values up to $725K.  In very few cities in the nation is the ceiling for a FHA loan available for properties at this price point.

After reviewing the numbers over the last quarter of 2008, the number of homes sold hasn’t actually had a significant decrease from 2007 (in fact they were within 10%).  Combine that with the recently announced news that Denver has been reclassified as a “stable” housing market and it’s time to make your move.  Don’t be the person that looks back and always says…if I would have bought that house I found in Washington Park at such a great price in 09’, then I would have made a bundle of money today on the sale of it.

I watch every day as people try to second guess when to get back into the stock market  (even after it sucked the life out of the retirement funds), but they hesitate to buy real estate.  At least with property you have something you can “see – touch – smell (in some cases)”.  I watched people during the last housing boom come to the closing table with up to $100K over market value because they were gambling that their property would see huge value increases in a short amount of time…now homes are literally on clearance (in cases one step away from being given away) and Buyers just can’t seem to “pull the trigger” on making an investment in their future.  It doesn’t get any better than it is today (and we should actually hope that it doesn’t get any worse…bread lines don’t sound too appealing to me!)

So, let’s talk about renting in Denver.  Since all these individuals that have lost their homes to foreclosure obviously need a place to live, is the rental market suffering?  The law of supply and demand tells me NO.  When an individual “rents” a home or apartment they are literally paying someone’s mortgage.  The choices are simple to understand, your either paying rent for someone else’s property or your renting “money” for a home you can sell in the future to regain your money from…not to mention the tax benefits of homeownership.

Below is a remedial video that talks about the difference between renting a property versus buying a home.  Keep in mind that this is a two part video and the attachment below is going to appear to suggest “renting” a place to live.  If you will simply take the time to follow-up with my second posting regarding this topic you will see in the second video why buying in this market is a wise investment.

All Denver Colorado, get on board the recovery train and let’s show this nation how to get past our countries latest screw-up!

Written By Kim Olson

Realtor-Real Estate of the Rockies / Belle Maison Virtual Home Marketing