South across E. Evans from Platt Park and its South Pearl Street dining/shopping district are Rosedale and Harvard Gulch, neighborhoods that saw lots of pop-the-tops and scrape-and-builds in the 1990s and early 2000s. Look at a price map and one finds listings of newer, enlarged homes, all priced one-point-something million, next door to ones with mid six-figure prices that haven’t had the big makeovers.

HARVARD GULCH TRAIL

Keller Williams agent Liz Waldmann will show a 1925-era bungalow that’s had noticeable updates but is priced at $640,000, very close to the median single-family price in the 11-county metro area this month. At 2200 S. Corona, the home splits its attractions: Two blocks south is 50-acre Harvard Gulch Park with its rec center, par-3 golf course and Harvard Gulch Trail, reaching all the way east to Colorado Boulevard. Or, to the north is South Pearl, walkable, with Park Burger a half mile and Stella’s Coffee a mile,

Unlike the new scrapes, her 3-bedroom, single-bath home has a small footprint (1,100 square feet) but shows off a nice-sized corner lot, extensively xeriscaped (the owner was a landscaper). It has had a basement makeover for the third bedroom, plus new electric and heating, and updated bedrooms and entertaining area that retain a few period details. The kitchen is white-on-white with faux-stone tops and stainless fridge, range and vent hood.

Waldmann says that for the price, a buyer can leave it as-is or move on to more ambitious additions. “It’s move-in ready,” she said, noting that buyers these days don’t want to find projects waiting. “On the other hand, somebody could get in and make some changes without great expense.” The major systems, she notes, are already done.

She also points up the oversized garage — detached on the alley, 2-1/2 cars, insulated and with woodburning stove; a “hangout spot,” Waldmann says. A previous owner had a koi pond in the backyard, which her sellers had filled in, worried about little kids. But it’s there, including pump, if somebody wanting it.

At this price and location, the home stands poised between two market forces: the startling prices that haven’t retreated after the pandemic, and buyers’ yearnings, many of them younger, wanting to push ahead despite the uncertainty. Waldmann, like other agents, senses the latter now, reporting multiple-offer situations since the first of the month.

“Rates have held just under 6% for a while now,” Waldmann adds. “Now we’re getting to a point where buyers and sellers have more confidence in what things will cost moving forward.”

A NEED TO MOVE

She says she always tells buyers not to go beyond their comfort level. “But there are always reasons why people need to move. At some point, you have to choose to move, or you’re just going to stay where you are.”

Three other locational advantages: a choice of schools, public and private, nearby dining on Evans including places like Campus Inn to the east, and genuine walk-to grocery shopping at Safeway on Downing, just over a block. 

SHOWINGS BY APPOINTMENT:

WHERE:  2200 S. Corona Street, Denver; from S. University amid the DU campus, turn west on E. Evans Ave., continue west a just over a half mile to Downing, left on Downing a block to E. Warren. Turn west one block..

SIZE: 3 bedroom/1 bath, 1,072 square feet, 2-1/2-car garage.

PRICE: $640,000  SHOWINGS:  By appointment.  WEB: KWDTC.com  AGENT:  Liz Waldmann, 303-956-2765