FORT LUPTON PRESS S E RV I N G T H E C O M M U N I T Y S I N C E 19 0 6
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ISSUE 8
WEEK OF FEBRUARY 23, 2023
W , Metro DenverTmedian home prices fi nally dropped HE SEASON FOR SHARING
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EDNESDAY
After 2 years of growth BY TAMARA CHUANG THE COLORADO SUN
For the first time in recent memory, the median price of a house in metro Denver is less than it was a year ago. And for some who make a living selling houses, there’s a sense of relief. “Every single month in 2021 and the first half of 2022, everybody in our (real estate) community went, ‘Oh my goodness. How much more can this go? What will buyers put up with?’ I
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mean having to pay a penny over the appraised value is just bonkers to me,” said Matt Leprino, CEO of Denverbased real estate brokerage Remingo. Now, he said, “It’s calm, it’s a very tepid pool right now. It’s not increasing. It’s not going crazy. Days on market are up. But they’re up from historic lows. The majority of phone calls we get right now are … ‘Can I jump in right now?’” New data for January from the Colorado Association of Realtors has median home prices flattening statewide. Houses are taking twice as long — sometimes three times longer — to sell compared to a year ago. But that’s
not very long. In the seven-county metro Denver area, that’s 53 days, or about four weeks longer than 22 days in January 2022. That’s getting back to the time just before the pandemic, or 48 days in January 2020. Home prices in Denver and Colorado increased at unprecedented rates in the past two years. Metro Denver’s median sales price hit a high of $660,000 in April, up 17.4% in a year. That dropped to $569,804, as of January, which is 1.4% lower than a year-ago January. As Littleton economist Patty Silverstein told the real estate industry at an economic summit last week, “We’re (in)
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some type of slowdown but that’s very welcome. We’re in a rest period here.” The slowdown began last spring as the Federal Reserve raised interest rates to cool inflation. But mortgage rates have more than doubled in a year, making it much more expensive for home buyers who need a loan. Based on the Denver metro area’s median sales price, a buyer’s monthly payment is roughly $1,000 more than it would have been last January, according to Bankrate’s mortgage calculator. “The major thing we have seen is SEE HOUSING, P9
Fort Lupton tweaks victim compensation guidelines BY STEVE SMITH SSMITH@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Fort Lupton City Council heard about some slight changes to its victim compensation guidelines during a Feb. 14 town hall meeting. Deputy City Clerk Kaela Friedlan told councilors about clarifications concerning who was eligible to receive money following the commission of a crime. She based her suggestions on what other agencies were doing and a review by a local judge. “We are mainly adding to it. It’s clarification,” she said. “We’re adding things to make things clear.” Friedlan cited a case of an uninsured driver who vanishes after he/she is involved in a traffic accident. “If a judge agrees to the reimbursement and they (the driver) goes off, now it’s a restitution order,” she said. “The victim’s money Every year before Thanksgiving, First United Methodist Church in Fort Lupton and the Fort Lupton Food and Clothingcan Bank provide come fromcommunity the compensation members with food boxes. This will be the program’s 10th consecutive year. Above, Joe Hubert, left China Garcia and fund. Sue Hubert withhave Change 4 Change, You don’t to wait.” Fort Lupton’s D’mitri Garza-alarcon off afood take-down by Mullen’s Isaak another organization that helps wards with the drive.attempt See more on Page 2. Chavez during their 138-pound state title match Feb. 18 at Ball Arena. See page 8 for more.
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