It’s still safer to buy Denver real estate based on concrete assets within each neighborhood.  5280 Magazine pulled together a panel of Realtors to analyze what makes successful neighborhoods tick.  The panel looked carefully at locations, schools, light-rail access, housing inventory, build-out, the maturity of the communities, homeowners associations, and the community gathering areas.

Real-estate professionals can really be helpful to buyers who are sorting out details of each neighborhood.  We will also mention share here the winning neighborhood recommendations from the May 2008 issue of 5280:

Berkeley, a soul mate of Highlands, features lakes, parks, and a diversity of affordable residences including row houses.  Cherry Hills Village, an affluent community of 6,000, offers mansions close to the city amenities, excellent public and private schools, and proximity to trails for hiking and horseback riding.

A 17-block area east of downtown, Congress Park is one of the most popular urban neighborhoods.  In addition to high-achieving schools, wonderful pedestrian-friendly retail districts and namesake Congress Park invite neighbors out to meet new friends.  The always popular Country Club Historic District enjoys a secluded central location and high-end real estate at the country club and along Cherry Creek.

Highland and West Highland are perched atop the hill northwest of downtown.  The hip neighborhood features community festivals and is proud of its intimate feel.  Very popular with families, Highlands Ranch is a master-planned community of 90,000 located south of the city.  Spacious homes and excellent schools serve the established community.

Ken-Caryl Valley features homes with large lots at the base of the foothills on the western Dakota Hogback ridge, close to both the city and mountain recreational activities.  In 2003, Louisville was ranked by MONEY Magazine as a Best Places to Live.  From great schools to anticipated rail access to jobs and a real Main Street, the city of 20,000 located northwest of the Mile High City offers a balanced lifestyle

The little neighborhood of Mayfair offers a cozy home life for medical professionals employed by the surrounding medical facilities, including the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center.  Newlands in Boulder is a trendy neighborhood of re-built homes in a college town near the Rocky Mountains.

Located near the Cherry Creek retail district only 10 minutes northwest of downtown, Old Bonnie Brae is a beautiful neighborhood adjoining Washington Park.  The well-manicured South Park Hill with its Norman Rockwell feeling is near old Stapleton between downtown and the new Fitzsimons medical campus.

Enjoying a prime location and strong community organizations and events, Stapleton is a well-thought-out urban redevelopment that has filled in the acreage from the old airport.  Only two miles from downtown, Washington Park is a landmark, tree-lined neighborhood with a diversity of homes.  The Park is its community anchor point.

For more information about farms, horse properties, and real estate in the greater metro area, call Michael Paul of Realty Oasis at (303) 268-6052.

However, there is great fluctuation within the Denver communities.  While the metro area saw a 2.1 percent decline since October 2007 to 95 days, the average days on market for Englewood CO real estate declined 17.6 percent, Centennial 17.1 percent, and Aurora 16 percent.  Contrast that with luxury neighborhoods in Lone Tree.  Lone Tree Colorado homes experienced a 211.5 percent increase in average days on market.  Next was Littleton with 25-percent increase.  Other sampled communities had single digit increases—Castle Rock, Denver, Highlands Ranch, and Parker.

Those homes in Lone Tree did sell, however, after the long wait.  Lone Tree registered a 116.7 percent increase in sales volume over last year.  Castle Rock, Englewood, and Highlands Ranch reported double digit gains in sales volume over the last year. 

Nationally, single-family home sales dropped 3.1 percent during October.  New-home sales decreased 5.3 percent.  That latter figure includes drops of 18 percent in the West and 6 percent in the South but gains of 22.6 percent in the Northeast and 6 percent in the Midwest. 

Sales of existing condominiums and co-op units across the United States were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 550,000 units compared to the 625,000-unit sales pace in October 2007.

The patchwork of markets within the City, Metro area, and surrounding communities interestingly reflects similar fluctuations in markets across the nation.  It all goes city by city, neighborhood by neighborhood, and house by house and seems to defy a blanket rule.   Good thing numbers are edging up in the Mile High City.

For more information about homes, farms, horse properties, and real estate in the area, call Michael Paul of Realty Oasis at (303) 268-6052.