Prices, competition on the rise: lower highlands values are surpassing 2008 levels, but bargains abound elsewhere.

• Author: Titus, Steve
• Position: FRONT RANGE REAL ESTATE:

Whether you're a real estate investor looking for inventory or a home buyer looking for a dream home, you've probably noticed that prices around the Front Range are on the rise and competition is emerging for good properties.

Representatives at the Denver County Public Trustee mentioned at a recent auction that there arc about 1,600 properties in their foreclosure pipeline, a 48 percent drop over this time last year. This is good news for everyone. Stabilizing inventory and modestly rising prices makes banks feel more comfortable about lending money to home buyers who feel better about buying a house that isn't going to lose value. Even investors are able to make an honest return without chasing rapidly rising or falling prices. The bad news is there are still areas waiting for all this good news to come to them.

But where do you get the most bang for your buck? Are there still bargains? And where are prices on the rise? This study looks at single-family homes, in some of the best, worst and in-between areas around Denver and Boulder.

CENTRAL DENVER

Along with Boulder, central Denver is the big winner in the real estate market. This area never experienced the sharp drop in pricing that many parts of Colorado and much of the country suffered. While there were plenty of foreclosures, neighborhoods like Lower Highlands, which goes by the loveable oxymoron, "LoHi," has seen prices rise beyond the peak 2008 levels. LoHi is located directly west of downtown on the west side of 1-25. The landscape from about Tejon, cast to the highway is steeply sloping so that houses on t he west side of the street maintain a beautiful view of downtown from the front, while houses on the east side look over their neighbors to the rear of the property. This phenomenon creates an entire neighborhood of homes with equally great views and excellent access to 1-25 and downtown.

"One of the major differences is there are more builders in the area," said Jim Rodriquez, a well-regarded broker in the area. "Now there are competing builders, and they're competing for the acquisition of land."

Some streets in the neighborhood, like Shoshone, are getting top dollar for both junk homes on prime land, and rebuilt homes ready for move-in. Rodriquez says that many buyers of ruined homes are not investors, per se, but the homeowner who will hire a contractor to scrape the existing structure and build a high-end house.

"A house at the corner of 34th and Shoshone, it's a crappy...