Housing - To buy or not to buy?

[JD401]

Buy. Now.

[davebarnes]

Originally Posted by coloradoalimony

We may have room, but we don't have the water.

Lots of water. We just have to buy it.
http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/st...5/daily47.html

[mayra285]

Buy now and if you are looking to sell take advantage of the local market and sell!!!

And pray for lots of snow...

[coloradoalimony]

Originally Posted by davebarnes

Lots of water. We just have to buy it.
Front Range uses only 19% of Colorado?s water, report says - Denver Business Journal

Great article, four years old. Go back and really read it:

"The report, titled “Water and the Colorado Economy,” was commissioned by the Front Range Water Council, made up of the major water suppliers along the Front Range between Fort Collins and Pueblo."

The Front Range water suppliers are in the business of diverting as much water to the Front Range as possible. Unfortunately for them, the agriculture industry is not going to watch their way of life be destroyed, nor are the environmental issues of water diversions going to go away, nor are the downstream water users on the Colorado River going to go away.

Since that article was written about their self-serving report, much has happened. Much of the state has been in historic drought, the oil industry has begun sucking up water like mad, the downstream water users have begun their sabre-rattling, and the development has continued unabated. Douglas County also discovered that their source of groundwater is depleting *much* more rapidly than they had predicted.

Consequently, Hickenlooper signed an executive order that a State Water Plan be developed and implemented.

Governor John Hickenlooper - Gov. Hickenlooper orders work to begin on Colorado Water Plan


As the saying goes, in the West, "Whiskey is for drinking, and water is for fighting over." All states west of the Mississippi are currently jockeying for position in the regional water wars, and the entities within Colorado are jockeying for what is going to be left after the Feds dictate that the Colorado River Compact of 1922 be renegotiated. A lot has changed since 1922, and Colorado is likely to lose some of its water in the upcoming war. The Feds kicked the can down the road in 2007, but the interim agreement is due to be renegotiated in 2026. That sounds like it is a long time out, but the purpose of Hickenlooper ordering the state plan is that by the time it is nailed down, Colorado will have only 8-10 years to decide how it will adapt to the inevitable cuts in the amount of water we are allowed to take out of the Colorado River. It is possible that a River emergency will be declared in 2016 if we don't get massive snow and rain before then, because the water levels in Powell and Mead will reach critical levels. When a River emergency is declared, California, Arizona and Nevada take drastic hits in the amount of water they are allowed to use, while under current rules Colorado doesn't suffer at all. The combined population of those three states is about 48 million, compared to Colorado's 5.5 million. Colorado currently gets over half of the water allocated to the upper basin, nearly as much as California gets.

Even if the state water plan would allow the Front Range to steal every drop of water in the state (and it won't), the Front Range still relies on getting massive amounts of water from the Colorado River, which has been declared the most endangered waterway in the US, and which has a population nine times larger than that of Colorado at the other end of it that will suffer greatly if we don't get some moisture.

That population is not going to stand by and suffer massive changes in lifestyle and growth limits while watching Coloradans on the Front Range water thier non-native Kentucky Bluegrass and allow completely unchecked growth.

It isn't about money, it is about simply not having the water to sustain our way of life.

[Mystery123]

We don't have to worry about water as per DW dept.

As for the housing market, it's horribly low in inventory except outside suburbs like Parker or Thornton/Longmont areas.
I have my townhouse vacant for last 2 months still deciding whether to rent or sell.

If you find good price, jump on it as it's seller's market now and interest is still pretty low.
House prices may not go too high for flipping but hard to lose any money on them after few years.

[dude_reino]

Originally Posted by Mystery123

We don't have to worry about water as per DW dept.

As for the housing market, it's horribly low in inventory except outside suburbs like Parker or Thornton/Longmont areas.
I have my townhouse vacant for last 2 months still deciding whether to rent or sell.

If you find good price, jump on it as it's seller's market now and interest is still pretty low.
House prices may not go too high for flipping but hard to lose any money on them after few years.

^This. A lot of people lost their ass a few years ago because of the 'flipping' craze. People were seeing 50% gains in a few months and the market went crazy. I think people are wiser and more prudent these days. Flipping isn't going to take off like before, but long-term gains will be realized.

Mystery123, I suggest you list it for rent. The housing shortage has driven up rental rates and you can get top dollar for rent these days.

[coloradoalimony]

Originally Posted by mystery123

we don't have to worry about water as per dw dept.

[ArthurDaly]

Thanks for the responses / opinions. I certainly was feeling the same way but always nice to get some agreement. The rental market for single family homes is just nuts, I don't think we would be able to find a rental right now if we wanted too. I like Dave's to do list - pretty much matches mine!