I've had a few sellers ask me some version of the same question lately: "I got my loan in 2021 at under 3%. Is there any way to actually use that when I sell?" It's a fair question. Freddie Mac's weekly rate survey put the average 30-year fixed at 6.69% as of August 6, an 11-month high, and I'm hearing more buyers do the math out loud during showings. If your loan happens to be assumable, that gap between...
A question I get more often than you'd expect: "Can I just buy my parents' house for less than it's worth?" The answer is yes, and there's actually a name for it, a gift of equity. It's one of the more overlooked ways Colorado buyers cover a down payment, and it doesn't involve anyone writing a check. Here's the basic idea. A family member sells you a home for less than its appraised value, and the...
I get a version of the same question from almost every buyer who's looking seriously at Castle Rock: is the water actually going to be there in twenty years? It's a fair thing to wonder about a town that's growing as fast as this one is. So let's go through what's actually happening, not the rumor-mill version. The Math Behind Castle Rock's Water Situation Castle Rock Water currently serves around 90,000...
I've had three separate conversations this week with clients who used almost the same phrase: "the market feels different than it did in June." They're not wrong. Denver's numbers for July just came out, and for the first time since early spring, prices across the board actually dipped instead of climbed. According to the Denver Metro Association of Realtors' latest Market Trends Report, the median price...
My contract file from a closing back in early January looked different from every file I'd worked with before it. Same address format, same layout, but the Dates and Deadlines page had a few new lines I had to explain twice to my buyers. Colorado's Contract to Buy and Sell Real Estate got an update this year, and as of January 1, 2026, the new version is the only one brokers are supposed to use. If you...
A stat crossed my desk this week that stopped me mid-scroll. In May 2021, the average home listed in Denver Metro was getting 14.2 showings a month. This May, that number was 4.7. That's not a typo, and it's not one bad month. It's a nearly two-thirds decline over five years, according to InfoSparks data cited in the Denver Metro Association of Realtors' June 2026 Market Trends Report. If you've listed a...
You get a letter from your HOA. Certified mail, return receipt requested. Somewhere in your yard, your fence, or your trash cans didn't sit right with the architectural committee, and now there's a fine attached. Most homeowners' first instinct is to just pay it and move on. Here's what a lot of people in Parker and Aurora don't realize: under Colorado law, your HOA legally cannot fine you the moment it...
Picture this: you've accepted an offer on your Parker home. Good number, reasonable terms, everything you wanted. Then you get to the fine print and see it, the buyer's purchase is contingent on selling their own house first. Suddenly your "sold" home isn't really sold. It's sold if their house sells too. This is one of the most common questions I get from sellers who are otherwise thrilled with an offer:...
If you've seen a headline saying the 2026 conforming loan limit is $832,750, that number is right for most of the country, but it's not what buyers in Denver, Aurora, Parker, or Highlands Ranch actually get. Douglas County and the rest of the Denver metro area sit above the national baseline this year, and knowing your real number before you start shopping can change which homes qualify as a...
If you've been touring homes in Highlands Ranch, you've probably noticed something that doesn't quite add up. One listing shows an HOA fee, another mentions something called HRCA, and a title company disclosure might reference a third charge you've never heard of. It's not a mistake. Highlands Ranch runs on three separate fee layers, and knowing which one pays for what can save you from a confusing...
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