DENVER REAL ESTATE: The impact of Mike Shanahan’s home sale

DENVER (KDVR) — It isn’t easy to find a home in the Denver real estate market as inventory can be sparse.

Sara Hankenson, a real estate agent with VIP Real Estate CO said it’s not unusual for a home, like former Broncos’ head coach Mike Shanahan’s Cherry Hills home, to stay on the market as long as it did.

“Houses in that price range definitely appeal to a different buyer,” Hankenson said.

It just so happens to be the most expensive home ever sold in the Denver market. Hankenson said that scenario shouldn’t be applied to just any home.

“Inventory is not sitting at the average single-family home price in Denver,” Hankenson said.

Interestingly enough, she added, that home might have sold sooner somewhere else, than the five years it was on the market here.

“That house, for instance, in Vail, Beaver Creek, Snowmass, Aspen probably would’ve sold a lot faster,” she said.

The median home price in Denver sits at $500,000, at that price point, Hankenson said, the market is much more competitive. “There’s far more buyers,” Hankenson said.

How the home is paid for makes a huge difference. “The money game is completely different in those price points,” Hankenson said.

Fewer homes at the median home price mean more buyers and fewer homes to choose from. “It’s definitely more of a feeding frenzy in the more median home price market here in Denver,” Hankenson said.

It’s all about keeping your expectations realistic, according to Hankenson, whether you’re a seller or a buyer. “Sellers have to be realistic when they’re setting their price,” Hankenson said.

Even Shanahan had to drop the original asking price of $22 million for his Cherry Hills home.

As competitive as the market can be for sellers, Hankenson reminded buyers to keep an appeal in the market. “They have to be competitive offers, there’s not a lot of wiggle room right now,” Hankenson said.

A typical figure for commission on real estate sales in Colorado sits at about 5.5%, that’s according to a survey by the website listwithclever.com.

At that rate for the $15.7 million this home sold for, both the buyer’s and seller’s agents could possibly earn several hundred thousand dollars each.