Luxury home sales boom in Boulder County

A short jaunt from downtown Boulder is a three-story Victorian home nestled on a half-acre lot.

The outside of the baby blue house, which was purchased in 2004 for $3.4 million, is highlighted by a swimming pool, guest house and gardens. The back balcony looks out onto the Flatirons.

Inside, the spacious and wide 7,627-square-foot home boasts five bedrooms, three bathrooms, a “grand” dining room and a gourmet kitchen. A recent remodel resulted in the inclusion of some top-of-the-line finishes.

The home that was listed for $7.95 million in July sold four months later for $6.43 million — making it one of the most expensive single-family home sales in the city of Boulder.

Driven by sales in Boulder, the luxury home market in the Boulder County area is booming.

So far this year, nearly 40 homes have sold for more than $2 million, according to Multiple Listing Service data provided to the Daily Camera. Last year, 18 homes sold for $2 million or more.

“The desire is here,” said Scott Franklund, a partner and broker associate at Legendary Properties, a Boulder-based brokerage specializing in luxury home sales. “Companies want to be here because there’s so much talent here. That’s why you see the big homes getting sold now.”

The higher-end market — much like other segments in the residential real estate industry — has benefited from low interest rates, the release of pent-up demand and a healthy business climate, Franklund said. In addition to out-of-state buyers interested in the quality-of-life aspects, the high-end market benefited from local business transactions that include acquisitions of technology firms and the initial public offerings of companies such as Noodles & Company, he added.

A favorable mortgage lending market helped to contribute to the high-end sales boom, said Lou Barnes, mortgage banker with Premier Mortgage Group in Boulder.

“Jumbo lending last year became easier … . In 2009, ’10, ’11, we were forced to pick apart appraisals at top-end deals,” said Barnes, who also is a member of the Camera’s editorial advisory board.

As cash heavily plays into luxury sales, the pick up in the market also can be attributed to the strength of the Boulder economy, the city’s high-end home prices not being more expensive than metro-area markets, a release of pent-up demand and a relaxation of economic concerns, he said.

“The Great Recession directly hurt a lot of people, but it made a lot of people, who were not hurt, cautious,” he said.

There is no way to predict how much steam is behind this push, he said, but the last big move in the top end of the housing market coincided with the technology boom, he said.

“There’s a clear migration of money from the stock market to the housing market,” Barnes added.

While the majority of the Boulder real estate market picked up steam last year, the luxury segment did not start seeing gains until this year, said David Scott, broker associate at Colorado Landmark Realtors.

“And they’ve been steady,” Scott said of transactions in the $2 million-plus market.

After a total of four homes sold for more than $2 million between January and March, sales of luxury homes picked up in April, when four sold in that month alone and then three sold in May, Scott said, referencing MLS sales data of Boulder-area homes sales by month.

During each of the months between June and October, at least four homes in the $2 million-plus range were purchased, he said.

In the city of Boulder, there are 13 active luxury listings.

“I don’t think we’ve seen this kind of strength in several years,” Scott said.

Franklund believes that Boulder is emerging into a market “like Aspen,” the Colorado mountain resort town known for its skiing and wealth.

“Boulder has changed so much dramatically in the average income of people that come here and the people I see come here,” he said.

Franklund said his No. 1 buyer sold his business for stock out of state. His typical buyer, he said, made his/her money out of state and chose to move to Boulder for its quality of life.

The low interest rates also have allowed some locals to move up in the market while paying less for their mortgage, Franklund added.

Craig Wrigley, who recently sold his family’s home in Niwot’s Somerset neighborhood for $2.3 million and landed an 8,814-square-foot Longmont home on a 10-acre lot for just under $2 million, said the local high-end market has not changed dramatically since before the recession.

“It’s largely lower interest rates,” he said. ” … I don’t think that we’ve seen much increase in net price point of a home yet.”

In fact, Wrigley said he and his family decided to move forward on the Longmont home after the price was reduced. The home was built in 2008 and priced according to pre-recession standards, he said.

During his house-hunting efforts, Wrigley intentionally stayed out of Boulder so that he could not only more easily find a house, but land one with “a lot of elbow room.”

“In this price point, if you’re in the city of Boulder … the houses sell before the sign is even staked in the yard.”

The 1002 Mapleton Ave. home that fetched one of the highest price tags did so primarily because of its large, 23,000-square-foot lot, the Flatiron views and a recent remodel that resulted in the addition of top-of-the-line fixtures, said Legendary Properties’ Franklund.

“Plus, it was wide,” he said.

According to county property records, the Mapleton house sold to BMD Holdings LLC, an entity registered to a Basalt law firm that specializes in real estate transactions and serves as a registered agent for other corporations and businesses in Colorado.

The Mapleton transaction, however, is most likely not be the most expensive single-family residence to sell in Boulder.

In 2008, an offer was put on the table for the “Glass House” — a 9,716-square-foot glass-laden mansion at 333 Bellevue Drive near Chautauqua — which was listed for $21.9 million.

Sales deeds recorded with Boulder County show a $0 transaction. The deed was recorded in this fashion as the property changed hands as part of a business asset trade, said Franklund, who was a broker involved with the deal.

Franklund declined to disclose the transaction value, but said the price was “eight digits.”

Contact Camera Business Writer Alicia Wallace at 303-473-1332, wallacea@dailycamera.com or twitter.com/dc_alicia