Boulder City Council Frustrated with Unexpected Change in Hospital's Negotiating Approach

By Ron Rovtar

Cherry Creek Properties LLC

303.981.1617

Boulder Community Health has engaged two Denver brokers to manage the sale of the old hospital buildings at Balsam and Broadway, significantly changing the hospital's tactics for selling the site and making more tenuous Boulder city's position in its attempt to purchase the properties.

The hospital said it has hired Eric and Martin Roth of Denver Commercial Real Estate - CBRE.

Council members Tuesday expressed major frustrations with the change from what they had assumed would be a fairly cordial process. Councilman Sam Weaver encouraged area residents to "contact Community Health and let them know that the city is clearly frustrated with this."  (You can e-mail the hospital with the this form.)

We like Weaver's idea! The hospital now demands purchase offers be presented by June 26, just eight business days after last night's public hearing about the possible acquisition. And the hospital seems to be actively blocking the city from getting an appraisal, which would be almost impossible by the deadline.

This is a prime piece of property near downtown Boulder. The city, and especially the surrounding neighborhoods including Newlands, Old North Boulder and Mapleton Hill, deserve a say in its future. The hospital's relocation to a site 15 to 20 minutes away by ambulance has already damaged the area and its residents enough.

Were the city to purchase the nine-acre site, it would move some city offices to the property by either re-purposing the existing structures or building new. The site would support a fair amount of additional residential, governmental or commercial construction. It seemed from council member's  comments that the city would want to build some affordable homes on the site. There also was mention of finding space for some Boulder County offices. One organization, Goose Creek Neighbors, has mentioned building market-rate homes and some commercial office space along with the affordable homes and government offices.

Most of the property now is zoned for public use. An independent buyer/developer would have to ask the city to change the zoning if business or residential construction were planned. (Presumably, a new public use by another government or quasi-governmental entity would be allowed under current zoning.) Councilwoman Lisa Morzel suggested the city would have "significant control" during zoning and planning reviews if the city failed to obtain the property.

"I really would hate to see some out-of-state developer take this over," said Boulder resident Francoise Poinsatte, during a period set aside for public comments. "This is such a great opportunity," she added.

There was no mention during the meeting of any other known bidders, nor was "eminent domain" mentioned as a way of securing the property.

The city does have another option for building much-needed additional office space for city services. A plan also being studied would put a new building at the east end of the Boulder Civic Area between Canyon and Arapahoe. A third proposal would split city offices between the Civic Area and the old hospital site.

Here's the Daily Camera's article about the public hearing.

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Ron Rovtar, Cherry Creek Properties, LLC, is a broker associate in Boulder, CO. Please call Ron with all your questions. He can be reached at 303.981.1617.  To learn more about Ron, please visit his website. For more about life in Boulder County and nearby, check out our facebook page. Ron Rovtar does business as Front Range Real Estate, Ltd.  All photos © Ron Rovtar

#Boulder
#BoulderCommunityHealth
#Hospital

Home Prices in Boulder Continue Rising, Defying Logic and Creating Problems for Some

By Ron Rovtar

Cherry Creek Properties LLC

303.981.1617

Something almost inexplicable is happening to Boulder's housing prices. They are rising dramatically -- far more than most of us expected.

This may count as good news for people who have owned Boulder homes for at least a few years. But we can't say it's great news because people who really want to live here are increasingly excluded.

And it's not just the outsiders who have wanted –– even planned –– to move to Boulder for some time.

Many who now rent in Boulder are watching dreams of owning vanish. Worse, continuing to rent is becoming a less viable option for many. Rents are rising and will continue to rise, forcing some to reconsider staying when leases expire.

Meanwhile, some current homeowners may have to leave a city they've come to love. Increased  property taxes, higher home insurance premiums and other rising costs can create serious problems, especially those on fixed incomes.

This graph shows how average (red bars) and median (orange bars) detached home prices have grown in Boulder since 2002. The Blue and green bars show average and median prices during the first four months of this year.

Consider the numbers.

Home sale prices for Boulder houses during the first four months of this year (the blue line on the graph above) have averaged $885,000. This is $67,800 higher than average prices during all of 2014. Median house prices (the green line) jumped $40,000 to $725,000.

More to the point, average house prices have jumped $218,000 since 2012. Median prices rose $155,000 during the same period. These are huge jumps for less than two-and-a-half years, even when one considers that prices were fairly stable for several years prior.

Prices for "attached dwellings" like condos, duplexes and townhouses also rose.

The average price for an attached home sold during the first four months of 2015 was $376,000, a rise of $15,000 over the average during all of 2014. The median jumped $9,000 for the same periods. The average attached residence price rose $68,000 between 2012 and the first four months of this year. The median was up $46,000 during the same period.

This graph shows how average (red bars) and median (orange bars) attached home prices have grown in Boulder since 2002. The Blue and green bars show average and median prices during the first four months of this year. Attached dwellings include condos, townhouses and duplexes.

So why is this happening? A couple reasons come to mind. Both are supply issues.

First, very few new homes have been built in Boulder since before the recession. The economy may have slowed development, but there really are serious impediments to development here anyway.

Developers suggest complying with Boulder's planning regulations can make profitability difficult, causing them to hesitate about even starting new projects.

Since the early 1970s the city has passed a series of measures that control expansion and, therefore, development. Boulder is landlocked and height-locked by design, leaving less development space.

Local appetite for controlling growth continues to grow, at least in some quarters.

Second, inventory of existing homes for sale in Boulder is low by recent standards. Homeowners are staying put, often because they dread having to find replacement homes.

So upward pressure on prices does compute, at least to a point. Supply is low, so prices rise.

What does not fully compute is demand; why it remains so strong even as prices climb into the stratosphere.

Typically people find alternative solutions to high prices.  And this we have seen. Some homeowners are indeed staying in current homes longer than expected. Many younger folks live with parents or other relatives, putting off the urge to strike out on their own.

We've also seen many renters hunt for homes to buy, only to sign a new lease after realizing how long and tedious searching can become; and how disappointing it can be to lose a bidding war for an absolutely perfect dwelling; and how agonizing this can be when it happens for the third or fourth time.

But, no matter how many would-be buyers leave the market, demand stays strong –– strong enough to push prices heavenward. This is what does not compute. We just don't know where all the buyers come from.

So we wonder when will it end? And how will it end?

Are we in a bubble? Or is something else at play?

Predicting when this buyer's market will cool or even end seems impossible. But it is showing no signs of slowing yet.

Nice homes continue to go under contract within a few days after listing –– some not-so-nice homes also. Additionally, closings continue at ever higher prices.

We've followed 11 specific homes since before they went under contract. All closed in May for prices between $475,000 and $630,000. The home listed for $630,000 sold for the asking price.

But, taken together, the 11 homes (five condos and six houses) closed for prices  on average $23,860 above asking prices, which may mean the blue and green lines on the graphs above will grow taller when we get new numbers for a full six months of 2015 Boulder sales.

Who knows what happens afterward?

Your thoughts?
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Note: Home prices in Boulder appear to have risen considerably faster than increases reported nationally. We've stayed away from comparisons because regional differences and even differences in how numbers are collected can make valid comparisons difficult.

All Boulder numbers come from the Boulder Area Realtors Association and the IRES Multiple Listing Service.

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Ron Rovtar, Cherry Creek Properties, LLC, is a broker associate in Boulder, CO. Please call Ron with all your questions. He can be reached at 303.981.1617.  To learn more about Ron, please visit his website. For more about life in Boulder County and nearby, check out our facebook page. Ron Rovtar does business as Front Range Real Estate, Ltd.  All photos © Ron Rovtar

#Boulder
#Homes
#RealEstate
#Prices 

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