Take a look inside this multi-million dollar home that sold in just 10 days after going under contract. 


Inside the Aspen estate that sold for $14.7 million (Photos) 

By Caitlin Hendee  –  Associate Editor, Denver Business Journal 
Feb 13, 2018, 2:44pm MST Updated 41 minutes ago
An Aspen estate has sold for $14.7 million just 10 days after going under contract, indicating just how hot Colorado real estate is these days.
The 9,200-square-foot home is situated on 1.19 acres and was recently re-built. It includes five bedrooms, five baths, and two half-baths with views of Aspen Mountain, Aspen Highlands, Red Mountain and Tiehack.
Multiple entertaining spaces, a gourmet chef's kitchen, outdoor patios, a hot tub, a fire pit, an open space pond, tennis courts and a Nordic ski trail are among the estate's amenities.
"This stunning property adds to the string of multimillion dollar sales we’ve seen in recent months, which is a true testament to the current market demand," said Will Herndon, president of Coldwell Banker Mason Morse. 
Coldwell Banker associates represented both the buyer and seller of the estate, which is located at

Redfin predicts 3 of Denver's hottest residential neighborhoods in 2018 below:
Denver area's 'hottest' residential neighborhoods? Two are in one city 
By Ben Miller  –  Contributing Writer Jan 29, 2018, 7:28am MST Updated Jan 30, 2018, 1:11pm
What are the Denver area's "hottest" residential real estate areas in 2018? Two are in Lakewood, according to Redfin.
Each year, the online real estate company picks out the nation's and large U.S. metro area's "hottest" neighborhoods. Last year in the Denver area, it was Greenfield, located in the south Aurora/Centennial area, which was rated the ninth-hottest neighborhood in the country by Redfin.
This year, no Colorado neighborhood made Redfin's national "hottest neighborhood" list. In fact, no neighborhood outside of California's Bay Area made the national list, as nine from San Jose and one from San Francisco were the top 10 in the country.
In the Denver area, Redfin says the Green Mountain area in west Lakewood will be the area's "hottest neighborhood." Homes there have an average sale-to-list price ratio of 99 percent; 22 percent sold over list price (as of December); and homes spent an average of just 28 days on the market.
Also making the Denver area's top three "hottest neighborhood" list is Applewood in Lakewood. Homes there have an average sale-to-list price ratio of 97.3 percent; 8 percent sold over list price (as of December); and homes spent an average of 55 days on the market.
The third "hottest neighborhood," according to Redfin, is the Regis neighborhood in north Denver. Homes there have an average sale-to-list price ratio of 100,4 percent; 54.8 percent sold over list price (as of December); and homes spent an average of 46 days on the market.
What determines a neighborhood's "hotness?" Redfin said "Hottest Neighborhoods is a prediction based on the most recent growth we’ve seen in page views and favorites on Redfin.com."

If you read our most current set of blogs, we have been talking about celebrities in Colorado and celebrity homes throughout the state. The featured homes below belong to less famous people, but equally notable individuals in Colorado that are making their names known and designing homes with individual flair and exceptional creativity. Read more below:

Kari Whitman: If you are a celebrity, you might have contacted Kari Whitman to design the interior of your home. Kari grew up in Boulder and pursued modeling and acting in Los Angeles, where she met Eagles drummer, Don Henley, who, after seeing Kari's home, hired her to design his home. This was her foot in the door to eventually designing other celebrity homes for stars such as Jessica Alba and Kristen Bell. In 2012, Kari moved back to Boulder, where she purchased a vintage, somewhat nondescript cottage, that transforms into a shockingly modern design when you walk inside. To design her own home, she found some  furniture from Clutter Consignement in Boulder, uses wall papers to add art and attraction, and thinks beyond the box with ideas such as installing 20 porthole windows into the second floor sitting area. 

Owners of Cured: If you visit Pearl Street Mall, you might be delighted by the cheese and charcuterie named Cured and it's sister cafe, Cured West, just a few blocks down. And, as you might expect from people in the food industry, the kitchen is of upmost importance in their personal home. The Frischkorns'renovated North Boulder home was designed to feel open and intimate at the same time. One notable design element in their kitchen is the absence of cabinets extending up the wall to allow for a more spacious feel. 

Ilona Oppenheim: Ilona is the author of the cookbook Savor and lives in Aspen with her family. She focuses on knowing where your food came from, how to buy local and how to find your own ingredients. Her 2,200 square foot wooden-barn home was renovated to emulate the same natural values as her cookbook. The home is simple and rustic and blends into its natural surroundings and mountains with ease.  Inside is reclaimed barn-wood, local stone and large windows. The kitchen is great for the whole family to cook together with the large central island. 

The Sleeper House: Driving up I-70, you may have noticed the spaceship-like home known for its use in Woody Allen's comedy, Sleeper. This home was built in 1963 by Charles Deaton and is still popular during the holidays when it is decorated with lightweight-acrylic Christmas tress that light up the home.

Learn about more locals with beautiful homes in Colorado Homes & Lifestyles

Whether you celebrate or not, decorating Easter eggs can be a fun Spring activity for any kid. Check out these creative ideas by House Beautiful! 

40+ Beautiful New Ways to Decorate Easter Eggs

If you have reservations about buying a house in Boulder, CO, take a look at this 848 sq. ft. ranch style home that just sold in Sunnyvale, CA for $2 million!

This simple Sunnyvale home sold for $2 million in only two daysMLS claims that it also broke a square footage record in the city

• By Adam Brinklow 
• on March 2, 2018 3:21 pm

 
Courtesy Douglas Larson, Coldwell BankerThe two-bed, one-bath, 848-square-foot house at  in Sunnyvale wasn’t even on the market for the length of a long weekend before a buyer dropped $2 million in cash for it—possibly breaking a Sunnyvale record in the process.
According to realtor Doug Larson, it only took two days for the circa 1953 home to find a buyer. The humble home, a one-story ranch-style, was only asking $1.45 million to begin with.
To top it off, the San Jose Mercury News repots that at $2,358/square foot, the most expensive house in terms of cash to space ratio ever sold in the city of Sunnyvale.
It’s notoriously difficult to confirm alleged records or record busting when it comes to home sales, but in this case the Mercury cites no less an authority than Multiple Listing Services President Jim Harrison.
Larson tells Curbed SF there were several past sales that appeared to have gone for more, but upon investigation all were actually record keeping errors. “There was one place on a huge lot that was going to be a teardown, but that was only about $2,100/foot” and the most likely previous record holder, says Larson.
He notes that MLS records go back only as far as the year 2000, but “I doubt anything would have gone over this before that.”
No kidding.
The home itself, though perfectly pretty, is an unlikely record breaker, the big deal sale probably having more to do with the bizarrely frantic scale of demand in Silicon Valley these days.
Although Larson’s ad does note that the 6,000 square foot lot leaves “plenty of room to expand,” so it’s possible the no-nonsense buyer has ambitions beyond just this now prize abode.

Walker Ranch is classified as a Historic Place as a cultural landscape as defined by the National Register. The ranch hosts Heritage Days where  you can immerse yourself in old-in-time culture. At their last heritage day in January, people had the opportunity to "Learn about typical winter chores and indoor games when you explore the Walker Ranch Homestead. You’ll see a working demonstration in the blacksmith shop and smell food being prepared on the wood stove. Be prepared for cold, windy weather, and to walk in snow" Activities included tours, games, blacksmith demonstrations, cooking and butter churning and more. 

Walker Ranch and its surroundings also offers wonderful explorations of wildlife, wildflowers, hiking and biking. The 7.6 mile Walker Ranch Loop is a fairly challenging bike trail located off of Flagstaff Road. It includes s spot where you must dismount, a single and double track, cliff conditions and is a loop that you can ride in any direction. The Walker Ranch Link and the Meyers Homestead Trail are shorter and easier. 

If you are a Boulder resident, visiter or new to the area, driving up Flagstaff Rd. to explore this historic location is worth the effort. Make it a day trip with your family or escape everything and ride in solitude. To learn about upcoming Heritage Days, visit Walker Ranch. 

Buying your first home? The experts have advice. Read more below on how to not forget about focussing on practicality and functionality, think about long term lifestyle and always buy with resale in mind. 
Before Buying, Real Estate Pros Insist on Doing These 4 Things
One house you’re looking at has the wraparound porch you’ve fantasized about, but it’s on a high-traffic street. The condo you like has a doorman in the lobby (you can order online now!), but it has no dedicated parking. What to choose?

It’s not every day that you buy a home and make decisions about the next three, five, or 10 years of your life. Since you can’t exactly take a home on a test drive, how do you decide? That got us to thinking about real estate pros. When they’ve seen practically everything on the market, how do they choose?
Four pros who’ve seen it all share their advice and their stories of hunting for just the right home.
Compromise for Your PrioritiesVeteran real estate agent Nancy Farkas knew exactly what she wanted in her home: ranch style, three bedrooms, high ceilings. But you know what she bought? A two-story Colonial.
Huh?
For Farkas, an associate partner with Coldwell Banker Heritage REALTORS®, in Dayton, Ohio, the home’s location and price trumped style. “I had a dog I had to go home and walk at noon, and the house was close [to work] and the right price,” she says.
Her advice: Make sure your practical and functional priorities don’t get lost in all the home buying hoo-ha (sparkling granite counters, new hardwood floors, a steam shower!). Remember, you can always add the hoo-ha, but you can’t make a home fit all priorities, such as location and price.

Best Pro Secrets for Buying and Selling

1. 5 Surprising (and Useful!) Ways to Save for a Down Payment
2. Is It OK to Use the Bathroom When You're Touring a House?
3. How to Price Your Home Like the Savviest Sellers
4. 81 Staging Tips That Help Buyers Fall in Love

Dig Into the Details (Dull, Yes, But Worth It!)When Grigory Pekarsky, co-owner and managing broker with Vesta Preferred Real Estate in Chicago, was looking for his first home, one of his priorities was to minimize his maintenance costs. He made sure to find out if the house had a newer roof, good siding, and a newer furnace. But he recommends you go even deeper to uncover a home’s not-so-obvious maintenance costs:

• Scope out the sewer line — especially if you’re interested in an older home — to make sure there aren’t any tree branches or other debris clogging up the works. Otherwise, you might find some nasty sludge in the basement.
• Look at the trees. How mature are they? Roots from older trees can invade the sewer line; untrimmed branches can pummel your gutters during storms.
• Know what’s not covered by homeowners insurance. “I learned seepage isn’t covered. Shame on me,” he says.
• Ask how old the appliances are. You might need to budget for something new in a few years. Sellers are only required to fix what the inspector finds is broken; they’re not going to upgrade working appliances for you.

   Seek a House That Matches Your Lifestyle
Having lived the high-rise apartment life as a renter, Pekarsky knew a single-family home was just what he wanted. He was tired of living in a relatively small space with no yard. He wanted a house he could “grow into in the next three to five years.” That meant multiple bedrooms and bathrooms for the family he plans on having. So what he bought — a three-story, single-family with a finished attic bedroom (shown below) on Chicago’s North Side — suits his lifestyle perfectly.

In addition, “you get the biggest value from owning the land,” he says. “In a single-family [home], people aren’t telling you what to do with the investment.”
On the other hand, Matt Difanis wished he’d bought a condo when he bought his first home, a small bungalow ranch in a charming, historic neighborhood in Champaign, Ill. It was first-home love — until it rained.
“If I didn’t clean out the gutters before every rainstorm, the basement would leak,” says the broker-owner of RE/MAX Realty Associates in Champaign. He didn’t realize that taking care of a single-family home wouldn’t be his cup of tea. “I should have opted for a condo without gutters to clean and a lawn to mow,” he says.
Agent Amy Smythe Harris of Urban Provision REALTORS®, in Woodland, Texas, bought a home with a sizable downstairs suite her parents could use now (and she could use years from now). She says her millennial clients aren’t forward-thinking about their lifestyles. Some are childless and say they don’t care about schools, pools, and tennis courts. Then they become parents a few years later and have to move.
“Once they have kids, the first question [they] ask is about school districts, and the second is about where the parks and pools are,” she says.
The pros’ bottom-line advice: Think of your lifestyle preferences and how those might change in the next few years. After all, the typical homeowner lives in a house for a median of 10 years before selling, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® data shows.
Look at the House Through the Lens of ResaleAll the real estate pros we talked to — no surprise here — emphasized resale. Take appraiser Michelle C. Bradley of Czekalski Real Estate Inc. in Natrona Heights, Pa. When she built her current home — a 2,200-square-foot ranch — she included a full, unfinished basement, even though she has no use for one and rarely ventures into it.
Why would she do that? Because basements are standard in her southwest Pennsylvania market. But Bradley’s not going to finish the basement until she’s ready to sell. That way, she avoids having to clean it and ensures she’ll install the most fashionable bathroom fixtures at sell time.
Her advice: “Don’t buy or build something unique that you can’t resell. If you’re not in an area with log homes, don’t choose a log home. If you’re not in an area with dome homes, don’t choose a dome home.”
Likewise, Don’t Overspend for the NeighborhoodIf you buy a home priced higher than average for the area, it’ll be difficult to resell at a higher price.Read More InBuy Your First Home in One Year: A Step-by-Step Guidedon't buy a home that's not in line with the neighborhood's average price . When you go to resell, you’ll find yourself in an uphill battle to maintain your higher price.
Other advice from the pros: Watch out for unfixable flaws that could affect resale, like:

• What’s next to the home, such as vacant land that could be developed, high-traffic businesses, noisy power generation stations, a cell tower, etc.
• Lot issues, such as a steep driveway that could double as a ski slope in winter, or a sloped yard that sends water special delivery to your foundation.

Of course, a home isn’t just about resale. It’s just one factor to consider. Remember the first point: Be willing to compromise for your priorities. If the home meets your priorities and you’re going to stay there awhile, then resale might be where you compromise.
Related: Are You Making a House-Hunting Etiquette Mistake?
Christina Hoffmann also contributed to this story.
TOPICBuy & Sell, Buy, House Hunting
DONA DEZUBEhas been writing about real estate for more than two decades. She lives in a suburban Baltimore Midcentury modest home on a 3-acre lot shared with possums, raccoons, foxes, a herd of deer, and her blue-tick hound. Follow Dona on Google+.