In a competitive Denver real estate market, eager sellers need to pull out all of the stops for their home to stand out from the sea of others. At TeamCox Realtors, we highly recommend staging a home, prior to putting it on the market. Staging is not about spending your money, but preserving your home’s equity. Contrary to some opinions, staging is not a fad - it is what every wise homeowner should do to get the highest possible return on their dollar, in the fastest amount of time.

It is important to remember that as your Realtor, I am selling your home, not your stuff. Since a potential buyer is not only looking at a home’s square footage, but also determining how his furnishings will fit into it, your home must be neutral so the buyer can see all of its possibilities.

The following are a few essential staging tips that we provide all of our sellers with:

• The home should be Q-tip clean
• Remember, less is more
• Keep the room balanced
• Let there be light – as much light as possible!
• Reduce the amount of furniture
• Take anything out that you have not used in eight weeks
• Add greenery to every room
• All vertical and horizontal lines should be neutral
• Add color for accent and accessories
• Paint will yield the highest return on your investment
• Pictures should be hung at the average person’s eye level
• Stagger picture height only when it follows an architectural line such as an staircase.

Having undergone extensive training to become Accredited Staging Professionals (ASP), TeamCox Realtors can help your home shine. We also  recommend the services of Trish Pachak, Accredited Senior Staging Professional Designer and Owner of WeStageColorado, who recently staged one of our Piney Creek listings. Not suprising to either Trish or TeamCox, the first couple that toured the home bought it for 98.5% of its list price. Needless to say, the home seller is absolutely ecstatic with their decision to invest in staging, since it obviously resulted in a high return and a shorter marketing time.

For more information on getting your Denver home ready to put on the market, please contact TeamCox Realtors.

As a follow up to yesterday's blog, I wanted to post a few suggestions on greening your lifestyle. Happy (Belated) Earth Day!

It's Easy Being Green!
5 tips for greening your life

The choices we make everyday have a direct impact on our planet. Here's some helpful suggestions to consider:
 
1) Carpool, Walk, Ride a Bike or Take the Bus: Using mass transit or human power is one of the best ways to reduce your carbon footprint

2) Go Zero Waste: www.ecocycle.org  About 80% of what Americans throw away is recyclable, yet our recycling rate is just 28%. ~Environmental Protection Agency. You can feel good about helping our economy at the same time: recycling creates 6 times as many jobs as landfilling. ~ Colorado Recycles

3) Buy local and Buy Green Products: Purchase Compact Fluorescent Light (CFL) Bulbs instead of regular bulbs. If you change just 3 bulbs in your house, you can reduce your carbon emissions by over two tons! You can find compact fluorescent light bulbs at most general purpose stores such as McGuckins, Home Depot, Lowes, and Target.

4) Unplug: From Treehugger.com: When you're not using your electronics, appliances, and lamps, unplug them. Or better yet, plug them into a power strip and turn off the power strip when you're not using them. Appliances and electronics pull power even when they are turned off. The cell phone charger is the biggest offender. Your cell phone charger pulls the same amount of power whether your cell phone is plugged into it or not. So unplug your cell phone charger when you aren't charging your phone. By unplugging you can save up to 40% on your electric bill. Who said going green is more expensive?"

5) Offsets Won't Save Us, But Are a Useful Tools: Carbon offsets can help compensate for the greenhouse gases you contribute to Earth's atmosphere. While making real changes in your life will have more impact than any carbon offset you purchase, you can still help reduce the impact of your lifestyle on global climate change by purchasing offset credits.

It's Easy Being Green Part II

4 things the federal government can do

Our Federal government can play an important role in reducing the emissions of global warming pollutants. Here are some ideas I will work on in Congress that can help America play a leadership role:

1) Set a high goal: At least an 80% reduction in emissions of climate changing pollutants by 2050;

2) Increase the standard mileage that cars get to 50 miles per gallon by 2020, and require that 10% of vehicles sold in the country are electric vehicles within five years;

3) Support a renewed national commitment to research into renewable fuels, both to make production more cost effective, and to facilitate distribution. Federal dollars for renewable energy research should be doubled immediately and new outcome-based funding models should be used to more effectively allocate some of the increased funding;

4) Encourage conservation by providing incentives through a revenue-neutral "feebate" approach to energy-consuming products such as vehicles, refrigerators, housing, and appliances. Feebates charge fees on inefficient products and use the funds to provide rebates for efficient ones. Rather than saving $1.63/month on an energy efficient refrigerator, consumers could recognize $200 off the purchase price, which is 10 years of energy savings.

As a matter of personal and collective integrity, we need to stand up for the environment by initiating and supporting policies that emphasize sustainability through innovation and collaboration. Rejecting the false dilemma that pits economic growth against environmental stewardship, we should focus on solutions that achieve both of these important goals. Listen to an Earth Day discussion of the most pressing issues our world faces.

Happy Earth Day!

TeamCox Realtors - Your Denver Real Estate Specialist

As an Eco-Broker, I am increasingly aware of the legacy that we are leaving to future generations by not being better stewards to our planet. It is up to each of us to make a difference. I have made a personal commitment in recent years to thoroughly evaluate each purchase I make. Is it really going to enhance my life? How much petroleum did it take to manufacture this item? How much energy did it require to actually get it to me, sometimes from the opposite end of the world? By being more mindful, I have not only reduced my expenditures, but I am doing my own part to save our earth!

For this Earth Day, let’s focus on positive aspects of our lives, and bring together friends and family to celebrate this important milestone. With global warming and environmental destruction threatening not just us, but all living creatures, what could be more important this year than Earth Day? I encourage you to use today as an occasion to discuss these important issues with your families and friends.

For more information on eco-friendly properties in the Denver metro area, please contact TeamCox Realtors at 303-400-6060 – your Denver real estate specialist.

Don’t miss today’s Denver Post real estate section that features, “A lesser-known Park Hill,” by Christian Toto. My expertise on the Park Hill neighborhood is showcased in the article, which examines the “unofficial” Park Hill neighborhood, lying to the east of Monaco Parkway. Many of TeamCox’s buyers are attracted to the vibrant Park Hill neighborhood, including a young couple who will be arriving this week for a house-hunting trip. The couple, a newly minted doctor and her husband, is searching for an affordable home in the dynamic northeast Denver neighborhoods of Park Hill or Stapleton. 

The attractiveness of the Park Hill neighborhood is endless – it is not only a short distance to the Anschutz Medical Campus, home to Children's Hospital and the University of Colorado Health Science Center, but boasts lower home prices than neighboring areas. As mentioned in the Denver Post article, Park Hill’s eastern section’s close proximity to the highly popular Stapleton community could equate to substantial future equity for its homeowners.

This particular young couple has several other factors to consider, including safety and environmental issues. Buyers are willing to pay a premium if an older home has high-energy thermal windows, or an energy efficient heating and air conditioning system. Since sophisticated buyers are willing to pay a premium for products that will save energy dollars in the future, they easily recognize the inherent value of features like Energy Star rated appliances.

Park Hill real estate, which ranges in price from the $200s into the millions, features a diverse mix of architectural styles, including the famous Denver Square, Colonial, Mediterranean and Queen Anne. Similar to other Denver neighborhoods, many homes in Park Hill have been extensively renovated. 

For more information regarding the Park Hill, Mayfair, Congress Park, City Park, Hilltop, Hale or Montclair neighborhoods, please contact TeamCox Realtors at 303-400-6060 - our intricate knowledge of the Denver real estate market allows us to lead our buyers to the very best homes available!

While the Denver real estate market has been branded a “buyer’s market” for well over a year now, I did a double take last week after reading that Forbes Magazine had chosen Denver as one of its “10 Best Cities for Home Sellers.”

Although it was unexpected to see this tidbit in black and white, it did not come as a big surprise, as TeamCox Realtors has recognized the strengthening seller's market for the past several months. Why? Sellers are facing less competition from builders, the Denver economy remains sound, and the market is gaining strength faster than in many other parts of the country. Builders have decreased their activity, resulting in a 58% decrease in building permits, and sold off the bulk of their inventories months ago. Currently, homebuilders are scanning the market for signs of a rebound before increasing activity. While this is obviously not good news for Denver homebuilders, the decreased competition is nothing but promising for Denver sellers.

The other good news for the Denver housing market is that area job growth remains steady, at 2%, which is contradicts national trends. The Denver area is also anchored by a diverse group of industries that seem to be weathering the economic downturn quite well.

Whether you are a Denver homebuyer or seller there is no better time than the present to make your move! For more information on selling your home in the Denver real estate market, please contact TeamCox Realtors at 303-400-6060.

It's amazing what a few flowers will do for a home's appeal! In a tight Denver real estate market, every extra thing that a seller can do to help his home stand out from the glut of unsold homes will help.

During the spring and summer months, a home’s landscaping is especially important in a tight real estate market. A very informative article, "Outdoor Attraction" by Christian Toto, appeared in The Denver Post over the weekend. It examines the impact of a home’s landscaping on its salability. The article reveals that sellers are increasing their landscaping budgets as the housing market tightens. It brings up a very important point, though. While landscaping projects can help sell a home, it is important not to go overboard on outdoor projects, or you won’t see a solid return on your investment. This is a great point since kitchen and bathroom improvements often yield a higher return than landscaping.

While the article mentions installing costly concrete stamped patios or outdoor entertaining areas (keep in mind that a concrete stampled patio can cost up to $10,000), there are more simple things that a homeowner can do to improve the overall curb appeal to his or her home. For starters, try planting some colorful flowerbeds (tulips are beautiful in the spring!) or some new sod to patch up those problem areas. Trees are also a good investment since they are not only attractive, but provide shaded areas that might even eventually improve a home’s energy efficiency.

For more information on getting your home ready to sell in a tight Denver housing market, please contact TeamCox Realtors at 303-400-6060. We will help your home stand out from the crowd!

If anyone knows where people are moving to and from, it's U-Haul International!

This past week, U-Haul released the results of its annual, “U-Haul National Migration Trend Report,” and Colorado was ranked at the top! Colorado had the highest growth rate among states with more than 20,000 families moving. How is this figure calculated? It’s simple. According to U-Haul, 7.01 percent more families moved into our state last year than moved out of it. The data were compiled from compiled from U-Haul’s over 1.61 million transactions in 2007. Other high growth states included Oregon, Kentucky, and Virginia.

This good news comes on the heels of several major companies, including ConocoPhillips and VMware, announcing relocation plans to our great state. It’s clear why Colorado, especially the Denver metro area, is becoming an increasingly popular relocation destination. This is no suprise, as Colorado is a very desirable place to live with its diversified economy, appealing climate, and gorgeous scenery. In addition, the Colorado economy and real estate market are both proving to be much more more resilient  to the current economic downturn than many other states.

For more information on relocating to the Denver metro area, please contact TeamCox Realtors at 303-400-6060. We are your Denver real estate and relocation experts.