DIYbanter - View Single Post - Putting and Offer on Townhome in Booming Area

Todd H.

writes:

Hello,

I have been looking around to buy a place in the Highlands area
(Denver, CO) for the past few months. I plan to put an offer down on a
place in the next day or two but had a question for the experts. There
is so much new residential construction going on in the area. I'm not
sure what to make of it. I've been looking in the townhome market and
there are quite a few planned townhomes going in and hundreds of condo
units going up. On one hand, I see the surrounding property value
increasing but on the other, I'm concerned about resale 2-5 years from
now with all of the new places going in.

As well you should be.

Just wondering what the take was on the Highlands (specifically
E. Highlands) and if it is a good investment to buy new construction
where so much new has already gone up and much more is planned.

Thanks for your insight.

There are a couple schools of thought on this. If the market is
robust, new construction is thought to be a good investment,
particularly if you get in on pre construction pricing. The builder
enforced price increases make your home automatically appreciate.

On the other hand, when you go to sell if they're still building in
the area, you're competing with other builders and all their upgrade
and financing incentives, etc.

If you have an old property in an area suddenly flooded by new, if
they have features you don't have and you look dated by comparison,
you're gonna take longer to sell, and/or sell for less.

Right now the overall market is pretty tepid so I would be careful...
Any chance you can drum up some local advice?

Best Regards,
--
Todd H.
http://www.toddh.net/