ON THE HOME FRONT Mark Samuelson

Every month, area Realtors calculate what a typical home is selling for now, after five wild years when Denver area prices climbed 35% or more. As of this week, that median-priced home is at $590,000 — and Friday afternoon Kentwood agent Kendall Baker can show you one similar in Arvada — actually priced a little lower still.

The 4-bedroom 2-bath ranch at 6327 Fenton Street is in the town’s Lamar Heights neighborhood, east across Wadsworth from Olde Town Arvada. It came on the market at $575,000, but was reduced last week to $565,000. Baker calls this 1950s-60s era neighborhood a good destination for a family that’s finding that high prices and mortgage rates are keeping them out of trendy Denver city areas like Berkeley and Sunnyside. At her happy-hour themed showing, visitors will see hardwood floors, a remodeled kitchen with stainless appliances, and a big, covered back deck that overlooks a large yard with artificial turf.

Tavern scene

The house has Arvada’s Homestead Park within a block, King Soopers a half mile east, and the tavern scene in Olde Town around a mile southwest, borderline walkable. That historic area got a boost when legendary LoDo developer/preservationist Dana Crawford worked with the city to attract more dining/imbibing spots—now at 15, including Grandview Tavern & Grill across the avenue from Olde Town’s G-line light rail station. There is some funky shopping along the lines of Arvada Army Navy Surplus and Burd’s Nest Art Gallery – along with a Sunday morning farmers market, and this Saturday evening a Summer Concert and Street Festival.

With the seller’s reduction, the price point of this home makes it $85,000 less than the median-priced detached home in the Denver area, low enough that a buyer who may have felt limited to looking at attached homes and condos (median price $390,000) might go for a single-family home instead. In the same Denver Metro report that saw the new median price, agents commented that buyers are showing additional wariness about condos now, possibly because of they come with more complicated ownership and insurance structures that single family homes like this don’t have.

Price reduction

Baker says that an analysis of “comp” listings nearby show this coming in under the price-per-square-foot for the neighborhood, and notes it has a 2-car garage, unusual for the price range. She says that a year ago even at today’s higher mortgage rates, it would have sold in two weeks. At a moment when agents across the area are announcing price cuts, she adds that this seller is willing to go a little further still to make this pencil out. She notes that rates are down a little now, and she works with Shape Team mortgage lenders on down payment assistance programs and other options to stretch affordability.

Baker, with Kentwood’s Onyx Collection, says that the market outlook now is more about stabilization than a collapse. “We’re not to going to get in a 2008 situation,” she added. “What’s great about the Denver metro area is that you have a place where everybody wants to live.”

ABOUT THIS HOME:

WHERE: 6327 Fenton St., Arvada. From I-70 take Wadsworth Bypass north, past Olde Town Arvada, to W. 64^th Ave., turn east on W. 64^th 1 mile to Fenton, and turn right. Or call 720.300.5212

WHEN: Friday, Aug. 8, 4 to 6 p.m.  PRICE: $565,000