Denver’s high-end luxury homes – those priced at $1M or more – took a steep jump in June 2011 compared to both the prior month of April and June of 2010. It seems Denver’s luxury home buyers are taking advantage of today’s market – lower home prices and interest rates.

Denver is a great place for businesses according to Forbes 13th annual list of the Best Places for Business and Careers. While Raleigh, NC was rated no. 1 and Texas rocked the Top 10 with 5 cities, Colorado made an admirable appearance with 2 cities - Denver and Ft. Collins.

Denver's Washington Park is magnetic. Through sheer charisma it beckons young professionals, mature couples, renown artists, growing families and outgoing singles without prejudice. No matter how you slice the demographic, there's a common thread woven through them all - the high quality of life everyone enjoys as a "Wash Park" resident. What was once an ignored, semi-urban cluster of brick built bungalows has been transformed into one of the most hip and sought-after communities in southeast Denver. One visit on a summery Sunday morning and you'll understand why.

Denver’s high-end luxury homes – those priced at $1M or more – took a steep jump in June 2011 compared to both the prior month of April and June of 2010. It seems Denver’s luxury home buyers are taking advantage of today’s market – lower home prices and interest rates.

Denver is a great place for businesses according to Forbes 13th annual list of the Best Places for Business and Careers. While Raleigh, NC was rated no. 1 and Texas rocked the Top 10 with 5 cities, Colorado made an admirable appearance with 2 cities - Denver and Ft. Collins.

So far, 2011 has been a rollercoaster. First we're up and then we're down, then we take an unexpected twist and we feel like we're going to lose our lunch. At least that's the way it feels to many who have been trying to sell their homes -- and to many Realtors trying to advise their clients.

Are you curious what your house is worth today? You're not alone. It's no secret that home buyers today are on a bargain hunt. That makes for a reluctant remnant of homeowners that have bantered around the idea of selling but are afraid of getting taken to the cleaners at closing. Truth is, Washington Park is one of the most stable areas for Denver real estate.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) just published a new report of the fastest selling real estate markets across the U.S. Turns out, the average time it takes to sell a home in Denver is 39 days, according to their numbers. Denver has been the number one fastest selling market for a while and continues to be strong comparatively speaking. They also report the average price for a home sold in Denver is $253,700.

Although short-sales have been around for a while, they recently become more mainstream because of the economic downturn we've all experienced over the past several years. After all, every media outlet needs something to hype and short-sales and foreclosures are great media fodder. So, what is a short-sale?

According to a new estimate by Standard & Poor’s Rating Services - Denver has approximately three more years of foreclosed homes lurking in the shadows. The curiously named "shadow market" represents all of the distressed properties that the banks own but have not yet been placed on the open market. (Others include in that definition homes that still have an attached mortgage but are at least 90 days delinquent.) Essentially, they are non-performing assets sitting on the bank's books. Denver's alleged 3-year shadow inventory is still less than the national average of more than 4 years by most estimates

The latest figures show that foreclosure homes in the urban neighborhoods of Denver are at 2-year low. According to the Division of Housing, Colorado’s 12 most populous counties report another drop in initial foreclosure filings, as well as final foreclosure sales -- for the sixth month in a row. May 2011 foreclosure filings were down 24% compared to May 2010, and Foreclosure sales also dropped nearly 20% compared to May 2010, according to the DOH report.