Hello and Goodbye to Phillips 66

As a realtor who sells homes in Louisville, Colorado, I’ve come across more than one homeowner telling me they were holding off on selling until the ConocoPhillips (now Phillips 66) research and training campus was underway. “My house will be worth a fortune once ConocoPhillips comes here,” one man even told me. “Why would I consider selling now?” Though I believe the presence of such a large, well-known company would have boded well for the area’s home prices with all the jobs it would have created, unfortunately they’ve pulled the plug.

The 432-acre property in Louisville, Colorado will be coming on the market soon. According to Louisville Mayor Bob Muckle, "The uses that ConocoPhillips originally envisioned for this site don't really fit into Phillips 66's long-term plans at this time.”

Fortunately, the site can be developed by another interested party and with it being perfectly situated between Boulder and Denver, it’s just a matter of when, not if, someone will buy it. But since commercial properties can take years to sell, I wouldn’t hold my breath that Louisville residents can expect significant home appreciation directly related to this property. The appreciation will come from Louisville’s already vibrant downtown, good schools, and overall great quality of life. 

A Refreshing Change in the Headlines

Goodbye doom and gloom. While a housing rebound has been evident recently, it is new news for the media to agree that the real estate market is on the upswing. Consumer confidence is up, foreclosures are at a 5-year low, construction jobs are back, and moving trucks are on the road again.

Just this week a Deutsche Bank executive wrote that the "residential housing market is in the very early stages of a durable recovery" and noted the housing recovery is important because housing is what led the US economy into a recession. And Barclays Capital recently forecasted that home prices could be back to peak levels as soon as 2015.

Locally, activity in the Boulder, Colorado area market is busy.  But it’s a double-edged sword. Some homeowners who would like to sell are holding onto their homes longer, in hopes that the improvement we’re seeing in the market will increase their home price. But right now, inventory is tight and buyers aren’t always finding what they’re looking for. So, many buyers continue to sit on the sidelines.

Sellers need to factor in the cost to hold. Let’s say their home is currently worth $400,000, and they’re estimating a 3% appreciation for holding on one more year. That would put the home value at $412,000. Sellers need to weigh the perceived benefits of putting their life plans on hold for one more year. It’s hard to put a price on uncertainty, and as recent years have taught us, home prices can be unpredictable. For sellers on the fence and buyers on the fence, there’s no time like the present.