How many homes were on the market over the first, frigid weeks of the year in the city of Centennial? Not enough to meet the demand, said agent Kate Perry with LIV Sotheby’s International.

She has proof of that a few blocks east of Arapahoe High School, where last week she saw a 3,761-square-foot, 4-bedroom home at $975,000 go under contract in a single weekend. Since Jan. 1, there were 28 listings brought to market in Centennial neighborhoods west of I-25, but there were 35 homes that went to “pending contracts” in the same span.

STABLE MARKET

Some of that success is about price, Perry said. She had deliberately set that home under $1 million, which is seen as a threshold in these 1980s-era neighborhoods along Dry Creek Road that feed into Arapahoe High — including The Knolls, Cherry Knolls, Homestead Farm, and Heritage Greens.

How much did the owners of this home miss out on for having waited until now to sell, as opposed to the top of the market three years ago? Perry guesses, at most 5%. But she adds that having a fresh look and all of the fix-up projects out of the way is also important to getting that price.

“People don’t want projects, so why not update a home while you live in it?” Perry asked.

“Showings are up, and there’s so little product available in Centennial,” Perry said, noting that lower price ranges are in demand now. Only in the range over $5 million, in more expensive areas a little north and south of the town, does the market start to look saturated.

She knows Centennial prices, as last year she sold the most expensive one ever sold in the city, at $2.25 million. (She has one coming on the market next month that will be slightly higher, $2.4 million in Homestead in the Willows, a Sanford Homes neighborhood. It will have unobstructed mountain views, she added.)

“The prime selling season is from right after Super Bowl through April,” said Perry, noting that even in years when the Broncos aren’t in the hunt for a championship, the market shifts upward the following week. This year, with President’s Day Weekend tight on the heels of the game, she expects lots of additional product will arrive the week of the 17th.

Perry says the attractions of these areas are the schools and the open space. Even 40 years back when builders were bringing neighborhoods here to market, they were already setting aside trail corridors that are very appealing now. Numbers of communities included pools and tennis courts that spelled the advantage, Perry notes, of not having to join a country club.

Big Dry Creek

That isn’t the case for Tiffany, the area of 110 houses where 3124 E. Hinsdale Place quickly went under contract, two blocks from a park and Big Dry Creek Trail. Pool or no pool, Perry said, “People want good schools, close proximity to the highway and to the airport, and they want open space.

She adds that the shopping attractions are another draw — including Whole Foods at Southlands, Trader Joe’s at Arapahoe and Orchard, and the high-end furnishing store Homefest, at Orchard and Holly.

UNDER CONTRACT:

WHERE:  3124 E. Hinsdale Place, Centennial; from South University at Dry Creek Road beside Arapahoe High School, head east two long blocks (0.7 mile) to South Steele Street and turn north; continue two blocks to Hinsdale Place and turn west.

SIZE: 4-bedroom/4 bath, 3,761 square feet

PRICE: $975,000 (Under contract) 

WEB: KatePerryProperties.com 

AGENT:  Kate Perry, 303-810-0474