Built in the 80's, the Shadow Creek development is nestled against Boulder Creek on the west side of downtown Boulder. The buildings have stood the test of time quite well, with a few obvious signs of deferred maintenance.
The primary value driver is the location; it's an easy walk to downtown shops and restaurants, the park, or the creek path. The City Club is just down the street and you can be sipping cocktails with friends on Corrida's spectacular rooftop in minutes. While nearby Eben G. Fine Park is popular with transients and the party people alike, its popularity should have minimal impact on livability.
337 Arapahoe Ave #201 is a second floor, two bedroom, two bath unit with about 2,000 SQFT. It includes one underground parking space in a secure garage and has elevator access to the unit. Interior finishes were ready for a refresh, especially the kitchen.
The property was listed for $1.2M in July of 2019. They didn't find a buyer and the listing agent tried decreasing the price by $20K in October. The property then sat on the market through the rest of the fall and early winter. It finally went under contract in mid January and closed on February 13 for $1.15M ($593/SQFT, cash, no concessions). For more on the impact of off-season marketing, read The Best Time To Sell Your House?.
We sold a similar two bedroom condo last year in this same development. Our client's condo had direct backyard patio access to the creek (convenient for accessing the pool) but had one less bathroom. We helped our clients acquire it for only $680K ($511/SQFT). That's almost 14% below the $/SQFT of this unit.
We knew it was a slam dunk when we put it under contract and this latest transaction helps prove its value. Check out Our Recent Sales for more of our transactions.
Like unit #201, our client's acquisition needed a complete interior gut and remodel. They began that project immediately after closing.
A good benchmark for decent quality, mid-80's design in this premium location might be to average these two values: $552/SQFT.
At this time, Shadow Creek is still a decent value investment. Newer construction condos, similar in function but obviously more updated, located just across the creek can hit $1,000/SQFT. For that delta, there's plenty of room for an interior remodeling project, without over capitalizing the investment.
Osman Parvez is the Founder and Employing Broker of House Einstein. Originally from the Finger Lakes region of New York, he lives in Boulder with his wife and their Labrador Retriever. He has been a Realtor since 2005.Osman is the primary author of the House Einstein blog with over 1,200 published articles about Boulder real estate. His work has also appeared in many other blogs about Boulder as well as mainstream newspapers, including the Wall Street Journal and Daily Camera. For more information, click HERE.
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The ideas and strategies described in this blog are the opinion of the writer and subject to business, economic, and competitive uncertainties. House Einstein strongly recommends conducting rigorous due diligence and obtaining professional advice before buying or selling real estate.
