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6/16/2010
It seems the clouds
that hovered over the nation’s luxury housing market have parted over Boulder, Colorado,
and the city has weathered the recent economic storm quite well. I have been
busier this month listing and selling luxury homes in Boulder and Denver than I
was the entire second half of 2009, and judging by recent real estate headlines
I’m not alone. Both the Denver and
Boulder real estate markets are experiencing an infusion of luxury home
sales. 
On Monday an
article in the Denver Business Journal reported that Denver-area sales of homes
priced at $1 million or more jumped 61.8 percent in May from the same time in
2009. This report came on the heels of Boulder’s No. 4 ranking in Kiplinger's
Personal Finance magazine’s list of “10 best cities for the next decade.”
It’s great news, but
not surprising to us natives who have watched Boulder and nearby Denver become
choice cities for individuals, families and companies relocating from around
the world in recent decades. As I stated in the Legendary
Report back in January 2009, what astonishes me most about Boulder,
Colorado, is its real estate market’s resilience to adverse conditions.
So what makes
Boulder’s housing bubble so burst-proof? I recently completed an extensive
questionnaire about Boulder luxury real estate for an upcoming feature in Haute
Living magazine and had to give this question a great deal of thought. So, in
summary, here are the conclusions I shared as to why Boulder is THE U.S. market to beat when it comes to
luxury real estate and luxury living as a whole.
Natural beauty: Boulder’s undeniable natural beauty draws
thousands of visitors and real estate buyers. And it’s an attribute that is
fiercely protected by the people who call it home. Boulder was the
first U.S. city to have a publicly funded open space program. In 1967,
Boulder voters made history by approving 4/10 of a cent sales tax specifically to buy and maintain open space. It was the first time citizens in any U.S. city
had voted to tax themselves specifically for open space. Today, 67 percent of
Boulder County’s land is dedicated to parks and open space in perpetuity,
meaning the Boulder area’s natural beauty and incredible recreation won’t be
trampled by growth and development. It is an irreplaceable gift for future
generations … and a big boost for real estate values.
Education and innovation: As home to the University of Colorado,
Boulder boasts a highly academic population that helps feed the entrepreneurial
spirit that largely defines much of the area’s business environment. Boulder is
home to more than 6,600 small businesses and corporations, and it is where
dozens of federally funded scientific research labs are based. Boulder was just
named America’s best city for tech start-ups in a Bloomberg Businessweek
report. And it’s just a stone’s throw from Denver, which recently ranked 18th among 100 large U.S. cities on a
new Forbes.com list of "America's
most innovative cities."
Quality of life: I speak as a resident and a business owner
when I say that Boulder offers an
incredible quality of life and economic climate that allows me and others like
me to successfully balance family commitments with professional pursuits.
Boulder is a unique market because its inherently appealing characteristics —
recreation, fine dining, the arts, business, technology, academics, family life
and many more —make it highly desirable to so many walks of life. But the
common denominator is that people are happy in Boulder and it shows.
Media attention: Boulder’s magnificence as a place to visit,
live and buy real estate is no secret. The media has been kind to Boulder in
its “best of” lists. Consider these recent accolades:
Happiest and Healthiest City, Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index
Top 25 Destinations in the US, TripAdvisor
Top Ten Best Places to Live in America, RelocateAmerica
America’s Smartest City, Forbes magazine
The West’s 20 Best Small Towns, Sunset magazine, 2009
Top Ten Best Midsize Metropolitan Areas, bizjournals.com
America’s Top Town to Live Well, Forbes.com
Ten Top Wine Destinations, Food & Wine
No. 1 City to Raise an Outdoor Kid, Backpacker magazine
Best Cities for Gen Ys, BusinessWeek.com
America’s ‘Greenest
City’ (multiple awards)
Bottom
line, it’s no mystery why Boulder’s real estate market has fared so well
despite the economic downturn. Boulder is Boulder, and as long as lifestyle
matters to luxury buyers, Boulder will prove a good place to be for those who
buy, sell or make their business in luxury real estate.
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