Mile High Real Estate Spotlight
Welcome to the Mile High Real Estate Spotlight - The podcast bringing you the BEST of the Denver Metro Area Real Estate Agents.
Mile High Real Estate Spotlight
Dawn Green on Navigating High Prices and Low Inventory
Discover the secrets to navigating the challenging real estate market with expert insights from Dawn Green, a seasoned realtor with nine years at eXp Realty and a solid background in mortgage underwriting. We shed light on the unique conditions currently shaping the Denver metro area, where high housing prices, low inventory, and fluctuating interest rates are the norm. Dawn offers invaluable advice on both residential and commercial markets, revealing the growing opportunities in commercial leasing and investment, particularly in office buildings and multi-units, as demand for office space resurges post-COVID.
The commercial real estate market comes under the spotlight as we explore sectors like apartment complexes, warehousing, and land development. Hear about the potential returns on investments in man caves and storage units, and why now might be the perfect time to lease office space. Dawn explains how eXp Realty's global network and innovative model provide distinct advantages to clients. We underscore the necessity of having professional representation in real estate transactions, comparing it to having legal representation in court to ensure you're treated fairly and can negotiate effectively.
For those looking to sell or buy a home, this episode is packed with practical advice. Learn how to prepare your home to attract today's discerning buyers with move-in-ready properties and strategic updates funded through equity loans. We discuss the impact of fluctuating interest rates and explore strategies for traditional buyers to compete successfully against investors. Dawn shares her insights on financial programs for first-time buyers and the potential for downsizing and reverse mortgages for older homeowners. This episode reinforces the belief that everyone deserves the opportunity for homeownership and highlights the benefits of real estate investment for building a financial legacy. Tune in to gain expert insights and practical advice on navigating the ever-changing real estate market.
Hey, welcome, welcome, welcome to another edition of the Mile High Real Estate Spotlight Contest, where we get to spotlight local real estate agents who are doing, or realtors that are doing, some amazing things in the community. We you know this has been. We are now in August of 2024. In August of 2024, whenever you're watching this, you might be watching this in 25 or something like that, but realizing where we are, because we're in this pivotal point in our country where we're trying to figure out or or what is going on with our markets. Because when you start thinking about you know typical markets that maybe say some people say, well, it's a buyer's market or it's a seller's market, or it's a market for everybody. Our last year hasn't been any of those, our last year hasn't.
Speaker 1:You know, usually when it's a buyer's market, then the house prices of houses have gone down and the buyers get to pick and they get to negotiate a price. And if you say it's a seller's market, then you know the prices are what? Inventory is real low and we're trying to find buyers for every houses and there's a bidding war that's going on. Well, here in Denver metro area it has been over the last year where the housing prices have stayed up and the inventory has stayed low and the interest rates have been up, stayed low and the interest rates have been up and the amount of people trying to figure out how they're going to buy a home and afford a home has gone down. And there's a market where, when we think of incomes where people can afford houses and buying their first homes, well, those houses aren't hardly there. And then you find this plethora of inventory of houses that are are for high end folks that probably can't afford a lot of them, especially with the interest rate that's up. So it has just been one of those interesting years. And so we are now, just in the last few weeks, we're realizing, hey, we don't want to go into a recession.
Speaker 1:So we got the feds talking about lowering interest rates and you know I'm on the the lending side, so that hasn't happened. Yet they're saying at the september meeting we're going to go ahead and lower it. Then everybody can get excited. But interest rates are moving a little bit and they are coming down and so, uh, I I would say, through all of that, it's always a good time to buy. It's always a good time to make an investment, because if you look at the history of real estate and you look at the history of time, at, at least in America, since it was popular to buy houses, which is in the 1900s, right All the way until now, the average has been that you're going to have an increase in appreciation in the house that you buy, and so I'm excited that you're on today. I'm excited that you're here. You have weathered the storm. You're still here, which is you know. There's several people that I've done podcasts with that are no longer in the business, that are no longer out there making it happen.
Speaker 1:And then those warriors that are out there, like yourself, are doing what they need to do and they're helping people, which is super important. So what I'd love for you to do first is just kind of maybe you can tell us how to get ahold of you your emails and social media and phone numbers, whatever that is and then we'll kind of go into talking a little bit about what got you into this industry, a little bit about your story and you don't have to start your story when you were two years old, but you can, if you want and then just kind of move forward into what you're doing now. So thank you for being on the show.
Speaker 2:No, thank you very much. My name is Dawn Green. I've been a realtor for nine years. I'm with eXp Realty right now. My phone number is 303-503-2650. You can look me up as Dawn Green sells Denver, colorado. Nine years in the business. I used to be a mortgage underwriter before. So I've been in the mortgage business for 20 years before this. So I know the ins and outs of that world Still do to this day. I try to keep up with it as much as possible. I do residential, I do commercial real estate as well. I've been dabbling quite a bit in the past year growing that side of it. So that's me in the nutshell.
Speaker 1:Thank you. Thank you for sharing that. The commercial side why don't we start out with the commercial side and kind of talk what do you like best about commercial and what are some of the advantages that people can take with them? Because I think a lot of what we do we talk about the residential all the time, but I know there's some advantages to being able to do commercial and know about commercial and folks that are wanting to start stuff. What would you say to those folks?
Speaker 2:Well, commercial is a good investment if you're looking to invest into a certain industry. There's plenty of land, there's office buildings. I do some leasing as well and right now leasing is pretty big right now. So I know, back in COVID everybody left the office but it's actually getting better, the office, but it's actually getting better. So the market is great for leasing. It's if anybody wants to get back into doing something. It's a lot of negotiation. We just closed on a big deal with some other realtors that we did and we were got a lot of perks for them so many of them. So I mean it's a good area. But I think investing is great If you are ready to invest. There's multi-units to invest in as well. A lot of people can do that. That is part, you know, four plex or more is more of the commercial side of it.
Speaker 1:So yeah, so, as most of the commercial, when I think about commercial there's different areas. I think of commercial. I think, like you said, the bigger complexes, the apartment complexes where people actually live. Then I think of like office spaces, where that I think is you can tell me a little bit about office spaces working. And then I think of like warehousing and the last few people that I've talked to about that are saying that a lot of people manufacturing starting to come back to the US. We're starting to hold stuff in the US because of all the container issues and stuff that we had. You know, I drive down the 70 freeway and I keep seeing more and more of these huge like you know?
Speaker 2:Oh, I mean, those are all Amazon, most of them.
Speaker 1:Yeah, exactly, amazon keeps putting them in and then you go out by the airport and they're putting a lot of commercial space in. They are what is like, is there a niche of part that you're in or is it just? You know anything that deals with like land and what are people getting into right now?
Speaker 2:Well, a lot of land actually, because then they can build on it. You know doing, you know those garage dens or doing those garage spaces actually make a lot of money. You know, like a man caves, those are actually very profitable, even your storage units. If you can buy land and then put storage units on it, you're going to make a lot of money because that's where the money is currently. So that's what I would do. Warehousing is a great tool to get into as well, but then you have to get those tenants to get that section, because you can break it up into warehousing. You can have different areas, you know, maybe multi areas, but unfortunately that's a little bit harder. So I usually stick to the lower end of commercial currently. So the commercial office space, commercial leasing. We do have a commercial building currently for sale. We have a land that we're a commercial land that we're just closing this week. So you know there's a lot of opportunities out there for people.
Speaker 1:Are people still now after COVID and people all started working from home and now people are starting to come back into buildings and offices again? Is there a big demand for office space and finding ways right now, or is it still where you just go like downtown and you're like there's a ton of office space?
Speaker 2:Oh, there's so many out there and if you want to get into it, definitely get into it now, before you're going to have a problem. Just like a residential same thing Interest rates drop, buyers are going to have a harder time to buy. You need to get your butts in there. Get it done, make it happen and then refinance later for the residential and office space. Get in there. Landlords are giving away everything currently, right now, and they're giving what they can so they don't have to pay out as much. So I would say jump, jump when you can Jump when you can.
Speaker 1:I love it. Exp has a different model than some of the other real estate places. Why did you pick eXp and what are some of the benefits that you're able to provide clients as a result of being with them?
Speaker 2:Well, I was with another company for five years. I just switched over in January to eXp. Exp is global. They have a lot to offer to everybody. I can call somebody in another state and work out a deal with them currently to help clients move or whatever the case is, and even commercial. We can help out as well, which is nice and interesting. So EXP has a lot to offer to a lot of people. Yeah, benefits. There's so much more and we're at the top of the industry currently. We're setting the industry standards currently and it's going to show this week. This week is a big change that's happening and I'm sure you know about it. But I mean, we're setting standards and I like that. At least we're ahead of the game than everybody else.
Speaker 1:Maybe you can talk a little bit about some of the changes and how they will affect the consumer. I know internally they affect people, but how will it affect the consumer that there is a need for what we do and for the people that work with them?
Speaker 2:Well, there is always a need for somebody to represent you. You don't want to be non-represented because then the other party is going to take to represent you. You don't want to be non-representative because then the other party is going to take advantage of you. If you're a buyer and you're looking at homes, say, you walk through an open house and the seller and there's an agent there, they're going to take care of the seller. They're not going to represent you. No matter which way it looks at, they're taking care of their seller at all times. So you should be representative as well, just like if you're going to hire a lawyer, you're going to hire a lawyer to represent you in any case. That's the same thing as real estate. You need to have somebody navigate, help you negotiate and get it done.
Speaker 1:So I like that analogy, because if let's say it's a criminal case, you're not going to hire the prosecutor to defend you, right?
Speaker 2:They're not going to get it done. They're not going to get it done.
Speaker 1:Well, the prosecutor's job is to put you in jail, right, and to bring a case against you. It's not to keep you out of jail.
Speaker 1:So there's no way you can hire him to say OK, you know, I went into the stands, you know, say OK, this is why the person's bad, you know, on one end of the stand, you know, say OK, this is why the person's bad.
Speaker 1:They go to the other side of the stand and say this is why the person's good. It just doesn't work that way, it doesn't happen that way. And so you know, as we're figuring it out in the industry and what it's doing, it is important that there is somebody who can advocate for you. If you're not buying a house every single day, then it's not something that you know how to do and you know how to do well, you know, and it's just.
Speaker 1:I think Colorado is kind of in the middle of it because we've been doing and negotiating and doing things for a long time and there's some people in other parts of the country that may have taken advantage of some of the you know, some of the folks that have been out there and then, as we've done a really good job here at some of the things that have been done, if people you know are wanting to come to you, what can they expect? If I come to Don Green and you know, either I'm selling my house or I'm trying to buy a house whether it's a first time or a investment property.
Speaker 2:What can I expect from Don? I walk you through the whole entire process. I start from God. I walk you through the whole entire process. I start from the beginning. I sit down and I talk to you about what expectations are going to be and what documents are out there. I show you the exact documents, what you're going to see, how we explain them, we talk to you and we get it done.
Speaker 2:I communicate with my clients. I'm over the top. I'm always there. When you need me, I'm pick up the phone. A lot of agents don't pick up the phone. I always pick up my phone every time. I don't care who it is, I always pick it up.
Speaker 2:I communicate throughout the whole entire process with lenders, title, the other agents I make sure everybody is, you know, even across the board, and everybody understands and first time buyers I'm always there. I always love to see their faces at the day of closing just to know that they got into a home that they never thought they ever could, and that's the best feeling when it comes to that side of it helping out buyers. And then, of course, sellers. You know they want to have a smooth transaction as well, and they want to make sure that there's no headaches and heartaches and whatever the case is and you know there's always hiccups Every deal, every transaction is not the same. It's different and they got to be treated differently on a daily basis. Come sit with me once a day and you'll figure it out. Nothing's the same.
Speaker 1:Gotcha. I love how you said the word we. When I was teaching and doing stuff, kids would come up to me and they'd say we did this. And I said, is there a mouse in your pocket? Because who is we right? But I think what you're implying is it takes a whole team. There is a team of you, it's not just a standalone. You're going to find the right people in the right spots that are going to help you to complete the transaction as smooth and flawless as possible. Am I correct?
Speaker 2:That is correct. I mean I do have a team, I have a lender, I have a title company, I have myself, I have my broker. If you need, there's other people that is in the mix and be glad to help, you know, at all times. So it's not just me, there's other people.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. Thank you. On the listing side, when you go and you're helping somebody, they want to sell their house. And here in what I found here in Colorado is well, probably everywhere people think their house is worth way more than it is.
Speaker 2:Or they Google it, or they get talked by somebody else.
Speaker 1:Well, and the house across. I had one guy the house across the street sold for 1.1. So mine should be worth 1.1. And then I'm going well, what makes your house worth equal to that one? Because that one was just refurbished, remodeled full basement, a whole bunch of upgrades. Your house is showing about 600. What have you done? You don't have a basement that's finished. You have windows that are broken out. You haven't done anything since 1972. So you just go. Okay, I don't see the correlation. How do you have some of those hard conversations of this is what it's going to take, not only the pricing, to price it right, but to sell it like you know? Are you asking them to take pictures down? Are you asking them, you know, to get a carpet cleaner and clean carpet, that kind of stuff? How do you go about it and help them understand? How would you help somebody understand what it's going to take to get best price on their house?
Speaker 2:Well, again, every deal is different. I just have one currently. I had to go step by step with her. Unfortunately, she had to empty out her whole entire house to get it done, and you know we're at the point that she waited too long and now we're into the school zone, school time and it's going to be a little bit harder to sell. But she thought her house was priced at a certain price.
Speaker 2:Well, unfortunately, you've never done upgrades, you've never done anything. You have the exterior needs some help. You have some interior that you have old lighting, you have old, everything is old. So why do you think it is that worth price? Well, I think it's worth this, and this is where we should price it. If you want to sell it quick, if you want to hold on to it and make mortgage payments for the next three months, we can do that. The problem is you're not going to get activity, and that's where they need to understand. Do you want to sell it or do you want to sit on it? Do you want to fork more money out? Because mortgage payments, utility payments, whatever the case, now your house is empty. Now you're living in another state. What's happening? You're paying on something that you don't want to pay on anymore, so why should you list it higher than you should?
Speaker 1:But, don, this is my house. This was my dream home before I'm moving out, and I decorated exactly the way that I love, and everybody who comes in here is going to love it because of the way that I put it together.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, you put it together 25 years ago, correct? Yes, I did. Oh, okay, have you ever updated your lighting? Have you ever changed your lighting? Have you changed your flooring? Did you do anything to update the world of 2024? Because that's what buyers are looking for. They want an updated house, something that is moving ready, and your house is not moving ready. You have an old kitchen, you have old carpet, you need to paint every single room, so there's a lot of things that need to be done in. The buyers are not look, they're looking at price. How much does it cost to do all this, to move into this property? So, no, we need to price it here before we price it there.
Speaker 1:Even though I have the mob carpet and I have the gold trim everywhere and back in.
Speaker 2:You know that. Yeah, it's all back.
Speaker 1:Let's talk about the market a little bit. What are you seeing as far as you know trends and with the interest rates, the way they've been in the last six months, and you know what has moved and where do you see it going over the, you know, should somebody be waiting to sell till spring or should they be saying, okay, I got to get out of here now Some people got to move, right, I got a new job and I got to move. But what? What are the trends that you're seeing that you would advise folks on whether they're selling or trying to buy, if you have.
Speaker 2:If you have money in your house say you have equity or anything like that and you need to move and whatever, take advantage of equity loans currently. Fix up what needs to be fixed up, because, again, buyers do not want to fix it up themselves. There's only maybe 10 or 20% of those buyers out there that don't mind moving into a house that needs to be refurbished, but most of the time, you need to always update your house on a yearly basis and don't forget it. Maintain your house, don't let things fall apart and then all of a sudden you got to move and you think your house is worth something. Don't do it on a yearly basis. Pick a project, fix it, get it done, and you know. That's how our market is changing. Everybody, everybody, wants the new. Either they want a new house or they want it to look new for the price. That's what the buyers are looking for. So that's my suggestion to those people out there.
Speaker 1:They talked a little to me about investors, because it seems like it's a market where investors are buying up everything flipping, fixing. How does a person that's trying to buy something to go live in and to be their dream, how do they compete with the investor world that is seeming to take over in our land here?
Speaker 2:Well, there is lenders out there and I'm not sure if you are one of them, but there is lenders out there that will actually give them the cash to go buy and you can actually go buy a house first, go buy it and then sell your other house later. Whatever the case is, there is those type of loans. There's many different types of loans out there that will give them advantage over those cash buyers. So you want to find the right lender to help you out with those scenarios. We did it during COVID, we did it before COVID. There's plenty of people to assist.
Speaker 1:Absolutely.
Speaker 1:And I know the neighbors would rather have you in there than the investor in there for the folks that are trying to buy.
Speaker 1:In many cases the neighbors are having struggling to say we want people and not that renting is bad. You know, one of the things that I can say is that if you want to create wealth and start generating wealth and have generational wealth, you know, purchasing a home is probably one of the best ways to be able to do it. But if you're not ready to do it yet, then let's find a way to get you into home. Like Don said, you know, as a lender, there's all kinds of programs out there for free and first time home buyers that you know I have a hundred percent, where they pay the down payment for you and then you don't have to pay on the second for several years. I mean, we have all kinds of different programs and bridge loans and all these. So don't think, because investors are out there, that you don't have a chance of getting a home. But what I would say is you need to find somebody who can help you, because if you try to do that by yourself, am I correct?
Speaker 2:No, it's very true. My statistics levels are pretty high. I pretty much minus COVID. I was pretty good about getting everybody a contract on the first try, no matter what. We made sure it happened, even COVID. Yeah, you know there's a lot of people competing, but it, you know, got them in a home eventually. It took a little bit, but you know, other than that, where everybody just needs to find the right person to help them navigate, and of course, the lender side as well, because if you don't have the cash, you do need to have the right person to help you on that side as well.
Speaker 1:Oh, it is One of the big things.
Speaker 1:I pretty much have a team of people do stuff, but I pretty much work with reverse mortgages, and reverse mortgages for purchase has been what I've done most of this last year.
Speaker 1:And allowing people who, whether they were saying, well, I have to downsize or I have this big home that you know I can't really live in my spouse died and we have this five bedroom house and the taxes are expenses or something too expensive for me Well, that doesn't mean they have to move into an apartment, right, they can. Or once they sell their house and you're about 50% down right in there, they can actually get into a home and keep some of their money. So you know, I've been doing a lot with folks that are coming from out of state, have sold their homes and say I still want this nicer new Colorado home that's more expensive than I thought it was going to be, and then being able to get them in without making a payment for the rest of their life is pretty cool to be able to do, but at the same time, they don't know how to do that without.
Speaker 2:People know reverse mortgages either.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah. So that's one of the things that can allow somebody to take advantage and that, you know, as my goal is is how do I help people be able to achieve home ownership in a way that you know can work for them when they didn't think it was possible? Those unique things For the folks that know it's possible, for those investors and stuff. You know, obviously I'm not going to turn them down if they show up to me and say we want to do it, but those it's just. You know I would rather help their person that they want to rent their house, buy a house Think of all the apartment complexes and all the things that are going up in the Denver area are, you know, are not being made for folks to own, so homeownership is key oh, rent is high, rent is high.
Speaker 1:Prices of homes are high.
Speaker 2:It's all high, Absolutely.
Speaker 1:So I wanted more time before we end today and I thank you because I think it's been enlightening and you can tell this is you know, Don is an absolute person who can help you get there. I love the statistic that she said is she helps people get into their homes right away. She knows how to price them right, she knows how to make it work. She knows how to negotiate. That is huge in this time and era. I just promise you trust me on that. It is huge to be able to negotiate. So maybe you can, you know, just tell us one more time how to get a hold of you, how somebody could you know, take what you have here and run with it and call you and do stuff. And then the other closing thoughts that you would have for us. That would be, you know, enlightening, that people would get to know that we didn't get to cover already and ask the right question to get it to be covered.
Speaker 2:Well, it's Dawn Green with eXp Realty 303-503-2650. You can reach me at dawngreensellsdenvercom. That is my website. Check me out and if you have questions, I'm always here to answer any questions, at all times. I don't care who you are, I'll answer you, even if you're another realtor, I'll be glad to help you. Insightful, just look for things to change in the next three to four months. The world is changing. We are here and you have to grow with it. Grow with the change and make it happen, and just make sure you have somebody in your back to help you out.
Speaker 1:Absolutely Well. Thank you again for being part of our show. Thank you for taking the time out of your day. I mean, people are rushing and running and I know you're busy with clients and people that are, you know, coming to you saying I need help, and so, you know, one of the things that I say at the end of each of these shows is, first, that you can do this. This is not something that is above wherever you're at, even if we have to start out and say here's our plan and you don't get into a house until the spring, or until six or seven months.
Speaker 2:It could be two years from now. It could be a long time.
Speaker 1:It doesn't matter.
Speaker 2:Work on the steps.
Speaker 1:Work on the steps and the process, so you absolutely can do this. So don't think you don't deserve this either, because that's the second thing is, everybody deserves, at least in our country, to be able to have the opportunity for home ownership, and so you deserve it. But everybody should have the opportunity to have investment properties if that's what they want. Everybody deserves the opportunity to be able to utilize real estate for their portfolio that helps with their legacy. If that's what you want to do, don't think that you don't deserve it, and somebody is more deserving of you because of where they grew up or how they grew up, or because, they were able to save money or something like that.
Speaker 1:And then the last thing is please let us help you. You know, whether it's calling me as a lender, calling Don as a real, or calling Don and having her use it, I'm OK with it. My goal is that you get into a home and that you do it in a way that makes sense for you and you get some help, because it's too complex in this day and age to try to figure this out by yourself.
Speaker 1:So if you do those three things, you will be on it, you will be having it and, just again, thank you for being on the show. We look forward to talking to you on the next one. Have a great one, have a wonderful, just incredible day.