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Top Suburb in Denver – Littleton

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Top Suburbs in Denver, Colorado! One close to my home is a favorite of mine but is it the right fit for you? The city limits are very confusing, and just because your address is Littleton does not mean you are in the Littleton school district.   There is much to learn before you move here!!!  The cost here can be more than Denver, however the prices vary by area.  Oh and let’s talk about the fun things to do here too!!

Litteton is a historic Gold Rush city dates back to the “Pikes Peak” gold rush in 1859, when gold seekers, merchants and farmers settled the area. Richard Sullivan Little of New Hampshire, and engineer that helped lay out the irrigation system for Littleton, Colorado. Littleton sits on the southwest side of town with a population of just over 50,507 in 2020.

Homes

Littleton offers suburb homes from $450,000 all the way up to properties in the millions. Many of the homes are suburban neighborhoods but there are also homes within close proximity to downtown littleton that have a more historic feel. You can easily find a great neighborhood to meet your life style and also great for the kids!

What To Do?

The City of Littleton has over 1,400 acres of parks and open space and more than 200 miles of trails. The city has an agreement with South Suburban Parks and Recreation (SSPR) to maintain most of the parks in the city.

South Suburban’s district includes the cities of Littleton, Sheridan, Centennial, and Lone Tree, as well as parts of unincorporated Arapahoe, Jefferson and Douglas counties.

Visit the South Suburban Parks and Trails for a complete list of facilities in the SSPR District and to reserve a shelter at one of the parks.

Historic Downtown Littleton is known as a quaint, charming area with a mix of unique, independently owned businesses and newer, hip restaurants and shops.

Aspen Grove Shopping District is a shopping center located off of Sante Fe and Mineral that features restaurants and popular stores such as Apple and Banana Republic. The shopping center also features the Alamo Drafthouse, which is an eat-dinner-while-you-watch-a-movie theatre that supports local breweries. Aspen Grove is connected with Denver’s RTD Light rail system and is currently the southern most stop for the C and D line trains. Right by Aspen Grove you will find the Breckenridge Brewery which is a great place to have dinner or hang out with family and friends.

Schools

LPS is among the highest academically achieving school districts in the Denver metro area. Its slogan reads “Big enough to serve you; small enough to know you” is an accurate portrayal of the district’s culture. 

Littleton Public Schools serves 28 square miles and includes the majority of the City of Littleton, Town of Columbine Valley, and portions of the municipalities of Bow Mar, Centennial, and Greenwood Village.

Pro’s & Con’s of Living in Denver Colorado

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Moving to a new city is a really big deal. There’s cost of living to consider, finding your ideal lifestyle, even assessing your compatibility with the climate in different regions. But with so many factors, it can be hard to answer the main question, where should I live? Well, if Denver, Colorado is on your list of cities to consider, don’t worry. We’ve compiled the top 5 pro’s and con’s of living in Denver, Colorado so you can see whether the Mile High city is the right move for you. Let’s dive in with the undeniably positive pro’s Denver offers!

The Great Outdoors

The Rocky Moutians have so much to offer to the outdoor enthusiast. In addition to the great things to see and do in Denver itself (more on that in a moment), Denver is ideal for work and play!

Denver is a growing city with the adventure or nature you’re looking for. Denver, Colorado is also known for its wonderful sports teams and it’s dedicated fans. These teams including the the Denver Broncos, Rockies basketball, the nuggets, and hockey the Avalanche. Not only do we have baseball, basketball, and hockey but we have our professional soccer team the rapids and also the Mammoth our lacrosse team.

If sports are not your cup of tea Denver also has the stock show every year. Check out a western rodeo!!

The city itself is also divided into distinct neighborhoods, each with their own flavor of activities, shops, restaurants, and breweries to explore. 

Of course, the trade off to living in a popular city with a million activities is that other people are going to be using the roads to get to their own adventures as well.

Denver traffic has certainly increased over the years, as we grow and change. However, just as in any other city, you’ll quickly learn the peak times to avoid certain highways, and which backroads may shave off a few minutes from your commute.

Knowledge of a city’s infrastructure and flow of traffic takes time, so for now this one might stay on your list of considerations.

Public Transpiration

Light Rail
Light Rail in Denver

Denver, Colorado has been working on expanding its public transportation infrastructure for alternatives to car commuting.

In addition to buses found in other cities, Denver has its RTD Light Rail System. This is a quick, clean, easy way for people from various metro locations to the down down area to get the newest line that goes to Denver International Airport (DIA) and avoid traffic.

Additionally, Denver boasts some of the highest walkable and bikeable neighborhoods in the country, offering 196 miles of on-street bike lanes as well as accessible bike paths for commuting option.

Of course, the con to this is that with reliable, accessible, safe, efficient transit options comes an annual increase in cost. This isn’t that noticeable compared to the prices in most major cities, but it is worth noting that improvements to public transportation systems have impacted price over the past few years.

Learn More: Cost of Living in Denver

Amazing Mondays! April 27th

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I hope you had an great weekend!
As always, I like to start the week off right with some words of Motivation…

“Learn from the mistakes of others. You can’t live long enough to make them all yourself.”
~ Eleanor Roosevelt

I hope you have an amazing day and week!

Covid-19 Craziness and the Denver Real-Estate Market

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Advice on Forbearance

David Stevens used to be the FHA commissioner and Mortgage Bankers Association president. He is one of the MOST connected people in the mortgage marketplace in D.C. Here is what I learned from David–

  • No hardship letter or proof is required to receive forbearance; you just have to “attest” to your hardship. In other words, check a box.
  • Forbearance can be for up to 6 months beginning April 1st IF your loan is owned by Fannie, Freddie, or Ginnie. (Ginnie securitizes FHA and VA loans)
  • The borrower will have to make up these payments later either when they refinance (if they can) or sell their home as this principal balance and unpaid interest WILL BE ADDED TO THEIR TOTAL LOAN AMOUNT.
  • Forbearance does NOT mean no payment or free payment! There is NO free lunch.
  • No late payments will be posted to your credit report if you were current with your mortgage as of March. However, your mortgage will reflect that you are currently in forbearance in the comments section. This is critical to know!
  • David said he was told by one very large lender on Wednesday that they will NOT close a loan for someone who has been in forbearance. This means that you can NOT refinance or buy another home right away. I expect other lenders will follow suit soon as well. They might be able to get a new mortgage after forbearance; but it depends on what the servicer says in the comments section of the account. If the servicer says the loan was in forbearance or “borrower completed forbearance” I expect some lenders will treat this like a foreclosure. Then, buyers would have to wait 7 years to get a new conventional loan.
  • David asks that anyone who just closed on a new loan to NOT declare forbearance until after they have made at least 1 regularly scheduled mortgage payment. Why? As of right now if a borrower declares forbearance before they make their first payment then the loan will be considered in default by Fannie and Freddie.

Thus, forbearance may be a good option for homeowners who have NO other options, if they have lost their job and, have no money in savings. Remember, forbearance could keep you from refinancing into a better loan in the future or keep you from buying another home.

How will Covid-19 Effect the Market?

Some take aways from Ivy Zelman, one of the top real estate analysts in the country:

  • Builders and top RE brokerage websites are still seeing incredibly strong demand from buyers.
  • Real estate is still considered an essential business and consumers still want to buy homes to live in. I do not take this lightly and I am making sure that all my clients are doing everything as remotely possible.
  • Ivy’s biggest concern for housing is lending – she wonders if underwriters will slow down the process.
  • Ivy and her firm are still forecasting that home prices nationally will rise 3% this year, down from 5% before the virus. Why? Inventory levels have been so tight and may tighten even further now.

Housing Market Minute

The average sales price for March for both single-family and detached homes came in just over $490K. We still only have only one month of inventory and I don’t see this changing in the next few months. We have seen the number of listed homes withdrawn from the market increase, but at a slower rate than the previous two weeks.

(Data provided by REColorado for Aurora, Northglenn, Westminster, Lakewood, Thornton, Arvada, Englewood, Edgewater, Centennial, Littleton, Bloomfield, Denver, Golden, Lone Tree)

Much thanks to Lonnie Glessner much of the content was used from his newsletter!

Focus on What You Can Control

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You have power over your mind not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength

Well it is Monday! I hope you enjoyed time with your family👪, most importantly I hope you took some time to your self. Maybe read a good book📚, or watched a great movie🎥.

It took me a bit to decide what to put out for my Monday motivation! Weird times we are in, motivation may be challenging right now.

Especially if we want to be helping but are trapped not knowing if we can or if we will get someone sick. I found that I have to tune out the negative. The thing I do have control of is what goes into my mind and what I choose to focus on. So I thought this quote was appropriate. Make it a great day!!

“You have power over your mind – not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.”

Marcus Aurelius

Take Care and Stay Safe!

  • You have power over your mind not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength
    You have power over your mind not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength

March 2020 Market Update

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Good News!  Buying your next home just got cheaper!!???  Investors are looking for safety with the news of the corona virus and have fled for safer ground  of treasury bills.  The result a sharp improvement for mortgage rates!!. 

Rates are in the 3% rate…With that being said here is my Denver Metro area market update. In the last 30 days there have been 2,229 new homes listed for sale and just over 1,934 home sales in the Denver Metro area. So not many people listing we are back down to  1 months of inventory available.  The average time homes are currently taking to sell here in the Metro Area is 32 days.  The average sales price is currently $457,896 average for both attached and single family homes.  

I have successfully helped families accomplish their real-estate goals here in the Denver Metro area.  The only way I have been able to accomplish and achieve this level of success is by providing world class service and always putting clients’ needs first. If you are considering selling your home or just curious about your home’s value contact me at 303-762-9848.