West Woods/Meiklejohn School Overcrowding

West Arvada school overcrowding

With all of the new development around West Arvada the school system is filling to capacity quickly and projected to fly past capacity very soon.  As a resident of West Woods and parent of West Woods Elementary school kids I have been paying close attention to the situation. As a Real Estate Broker in the area I know that a large portion of people move to West Woods because of the excellent school system and reputation.  Any depletion of that reputation could have consequences on the housing market.   Last fall Superintendent McMinimee came to West Woods to discuss the issue with the community. At the meeting he laid out numerous options to deal with the growth as listed here:

Recommendations with Minimal Capital Investment

• Grade Configurations
• Flexibility, Impact on Utilization

• Temporary Classrooms
• Busing changes
• Boundary Changes
• Year Round School
• Split Sessions
• Repurpose Existing Facilities
• Function Change e.g. School to Support Type Facility or Community Use
• School Type / Program or Curriculum Change
• Facility Share
• Neighborhood & Charter

Charter & Option Recommendations with Capital Investment• Additions
• Replacement/Consolidations
• New Buildings
• GradeReconfigurationsw/Additions • MajorRenovations

 The projections of student growth are pretty concerning as indicated in the graph below.

Over winter break 5 temps were installed on the front lawn of West Woods Elementary.   The reality of the school overcrowding is now very apparent and real.   I was not aware of any updates on how the district planned to take to deal with overcrowding so I contacted Superintendent McMinimee.  Here is his response as to what Jeffco is doing to handle the current overcrowding situation

1. The temps are leased on a year to year basis with a renewal option for 2016 and 2017. They will be removed when the West Woods enrollment issue is under control.

2. Jeffco plans on building a new k-6 or K-8 school in Candela's to break ground in 2016 and open for the 2017 school year.

3.  Doral Academy, a charter school is scheduled to open in the old Zerger Elementary with the intent of moving to Candela's in 2017.

4. Mr. McMinimee has asked the board to reconsider finishing Sierra phase two, which would give the area an additional 250 seats in the fall of 2017

That is a brief summary of the steps being taken to elevate the West Arvada school overcrowding.   As I come across updates I will follow up to this post.  If you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact me.

Thank you,
Adam Browning
West Woods Realty
Adam@westwoodsrealty.com
303-913-2326

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How Will the Fed Interest Rate Hike Effect Arvada Housing?

How Will the Fed Interest Rate Hike Effect Arvada Housing?

The Federal Reserve hiked interest rates for the first time in 10 years.  This is a significant indicator for the future of the real estate sector and home interest rates.  In the immediate future housing interest rates will remain fairly unaffected because 30-year mortgages are priced off 10-year Treasury note yields, which do rise as short-term rates climb, but not as steeply.  In the long term, this could be the start of a slow up-tick  in real estate interest rates.  Higher interest rates equal higher payments for the same value of home. As an example, a $200,000 house at a 4% interest rate/30 years would have a principle and interest payment of $954/month.  A $200,000 house with a 6% interest rate/30 years would have a principle and interest payment of $1,200/month.  We have been extremely lucky to have interest rates so low for so long.  A 7% interest rate was considered the market average prior to the housing bust of the mid 2000's.  Interest rates have crept up to as high as 18% in the 1980's. (See chart below)

Excerpt from USA Today article by Paul Davidson: 

"Doug Duncan, chief economist of Fannie Mae, the giant government-sponsored funder of mortgages, expects this week's Fed hike of a quarter of a percentage point to have virtually no immediate impact on Treasury or mortgage rates, noting markets already have priced in the move. Assuming the Fed raises its rate by a percentage point over the next year, Duncan expects 30-year mortgage rates to drift from 3.9% to 4.1% during the period. That would boost the monthly cost of a typical $225,000 mortgage by $26 to $1,454 — not enough to deter most buyers.

Adjustable-rate mortgages, many of which are modified annually, could increase about twice as rapidly, by about a half a percentage point. Yet as long as job growth and aggregate U.S. incomes increase proportionally, Duncan expects any market impact to be modest."

What does this mean to you as a home buyer/seller in Arvada?  If you are planning on making a move in the next few years, the soon the better. Although, there is no need to panic and have a fire sale. Interests rates climb slowly but I think we have seen the bottom of the interest rate market.  From here they will rise and the cost to buy a home in the future will be higher.  If you have any questions about selling your home, buying a home or real estate loans please don't hesitate to contact me at adam@westwoodsrealty.com or call/text me on my cell 303-913-2326.  

Thank you,

Adam Browning
Broker/Owner
West Woods Realty