Kearney Realty Co.
Let us help you find your way home
Broad Experience – Sound Advice
Strong Ethics – No Pressure
Local – Culture of Service
We look forward to helping you fulfill your real estate dreams in the Boulder Valley.
The Boulder Valley’s New Breed Of Broker
Kearney Realty Co. is a local boutique real estate firm with the mission to provide the Boulder Valley with a high touch, high tech, five-star customer experience. Each of our full time associates is empowered and engaged to give top quality service based on impeccable ethics, consistent systems, professional development and cutting edge tools. Our past success and our ever present goal is to serve our clients in such a way that we become their trusted resource throughout the years for everything regarding real estate.
The Kearney Report
The Kearney Report is a comprehensive look at the real estate market in Boulder County. We take the latest market statistics and present it to you in a way that is easy to understand yet provides the depth of content you need to make a good investment decision. We first look at Boulder County as a whole and then we take each of the communities within the county and explore and explain the market trends for each. Our entire market area has been a wonderful place to invest in real estate and through this detailed report we present a long term perspective.
Like attracts like. For over 20 years Kearney Realty has been known for professionalism, honesty, friendliness and hard work. That’s the way we do business and those are the qualities that we look for in our agents. The way we do business is more important than the transaction. We have high standards and our clients reap the rewards. Here are our core values which serve as a road map to our success.
- Integrity and Class – Keeping our word; knowing what’s right and doing what’s right.
- Selfless Service – Exceeding expectations by focusing on exceptional service.
- Caring – All of our relationships are based on mutual respect, cooperation and consideration.
- Connected – Give back to the profession and the community with our time and money.
- Innovation – Continually striving to find new and better ways to serve our customers and associates.
Neil grew up in real estate. Being raised by two Boulder Realtors, Neil has a unique perspective and an intimate knowledge of what it takes to serve his clients. He is highly principled and loves figuring out new ways to analyze data and educate his clients and the public about the local real estate market. Low pressure, friendly and organized are a few words that describe him. Neil lives in the Gunbarrel neighborhood in NE Boulder with his wife Kristy, their sons Jake and Ben, and their dog Dexter. Click here to learn more about Neil.
Buying or selling real estate is not an easy process. Kathleen is here to help you make that process stress-free, straightforward and enjoyable.
Originally from Missouri, she came to Boulder in 1984, attending the University of Colorado on a tennis scholarship. After getting her B.S. in Accounting, she continued her tennis endeavors, playing professionally in local tournaments while teaching tennis at the Harvest House Sporting Association. She is a member of the Colorado Sportswomen Hall of Fame and the Colorado Tennis Hall of Fame. Kathleen currently lives in Lafayette, is married and has two boys. Click here to learn more about Kathleen.
Debra is a second generation Colorado native growing up on the Eastern Plains. She came to Boulder in 1978 to attend the business school at CU earning a degree in business management. Boulder quickly became home and Debra has enjoyed living here with her husband of twenty-eight years and raising her two sons. Volunteering in the Boulder Valley School system was a top priority for many memorable yearsDebra has been in the real estate industry in the Boulder area since 1982. She began her career as office support learning the business from top area agents and patterned herself from watching successful people. Real estate is a great fit for Debra’s talents; she is detailed oriented which helps ensure a smooth transaction and she truly loves working with people. She prides herself on her enthusiasm, work ethic and sincerity.
Click here to learn more about Debra.
A transplant from Massachusetts, Janet has lived in Boulder for over thirty years and thoroughly enjoys the beautiful weather, scenery, outdoor lifestyle and, most of all, the people.
A graduate of Skidmore College, she also holds an Associate in Risk Management (ARM) and a Certified Insurance Counselor credential. She has held executive positions for over 25 years in the property and casualty insurance and healthcare industries in Colorado and her areas of expertise include marketing, leadership, pricing negotiations, sales and program development.
Her strong business background along with skills in problem solving, listening and coaching have provided a firm foundation for her career in the real estate profession.
She has received her GRI (Graduate Realtor Institute) credential and Green Points Building Professional Certification through the City of Boulder and is a member of the Boulder Area Board of Realtors.
Click here to learn more about Janet.
Kristy married into a real estate family and ever since she has been given a steady stream of to do items that she has done so well that she has been given more and more to do. That’s the curse of being good. Kristy is the office manager, advertising director, marketing materials creator, mailing guru and so much more. Kristy’s real estate license is currently inactive but her knowledge and experience are invaluable to the success of Kearney Realty Co.
What do you love about living in Boulder County?
I love Boulder for its gorgeous scenery and seasons. Coming from growing up in Arizona, it is much prettier. I also love being in a college town.
Click here to learn more about Kristy.
The Communities We Serve
Our market area includes all of Boulder County and Broomfield County. The communities we serve include; Boulder, Louisville, Lafayette, Superior, Broomfield, Erie, Longmont, Niwot and Gunbarrel. We also help people with their real estate needs in the unincorporated plains and in the mountains up to Nederland. To learn more about these communities click on the linked names.
Click here to learn more about our services.
Senior Property Tax Exemption
With property values increasing as steadily and as rapidly as they are in Boulder County, it should come at no surprise that property taxes are following suit. This became very clear this past May when assessment notices made their way around town informing Boulder County residents that the assessed value of their property had significantly increased by on average 26%. Although it is exciting to watch the value of your assets increase it does mean that property taxes will most likely increase for you as well. When discussing property taxes I believe it is helpful for anyone to have a basic understanding or concept of how property taxes are actually determined. When boiled down to the basics it is actually quite easy to understand. Three major components go into your property taxes: Rate of Assessment Assessed Value Mill Levy (Tax Rate) The Rate of Assessment for residential properties in Colorado serves as the base for property taxes as it determines what percentage of your homes actual value can or will be taxed. This can be adjusted on the state level and just recently got lowered for the first time in 14 years from 7.96% to 7.2%. The rate of assessment is multiplied by the assessed value to your taxable value. The Assessed Value is the value assigned to your home by the county assessor. This assessment is adjusted every two years based upon comparable sales in your neighborhood. The assessed value is what arrived in your mailbox in May. Finally, the Mill Levy (also known as the Tax Rate) is the percentage of the Assessed Value that is actually... read more
Home Search Zillow Sued for Inaccurate Zestimate’s
This past May, Zillow, the online real estate search company was sued by a Chicago based home building company who claimed that Zillow’s online Automated Value Model (AVM) is deceiving home buyers with prices below the true value of properties leading to frustrated sellers. Furthermore the suit claims that Zillow’s “Zestimates” are in violation of the legal description of an appraisal, which under Illinois law must be administered by a licensed appraiser. Zillow defends themselves by stating that their Zestimates claim only to be approximations not true appraisals; to which the suit responds stating that whether or not they are technically appraisals homeowners are viewing them as such leading to confusion and irritation. It will be interesting to see over the coming months how this lawsuit plays out. It’s clear that Zillow’s Zestimate and other AVM’s which are becoming common across the internet are being used by consumers to determine the approximate value of their home. But in my experience, many times this approximation isn’t close to the true market value. So just how accurate are Zestimates. In a Nationwide study conducted by Zillow it was found that their Zestimates fall within 5% of the sales price of homes 53.9% of the time, within 10% of the sales price 75.6% of the time and finally within 20% of the sales price 89.7% of the time. Back in 2007 when Zillow was just getting its footing I conducted my own research local to Boulder on the subject and found that on a whole Zillow’s algorithm was 99% accurate. However, when I took a closer look I found that there was... read more
Tracking Boulder’s Home Appreciation Over Time
Boulder County Has One of the Most Consistently Strong Real Estate Markets In The Nation According to the most recent FHFA.gov Home Price Index quarterly report the one year appreciation in Boulder County for the period ending March 31, 2017 was 11.23%. This ranks us 12th highest in the nation out of the 257 largest Metropolitan Statistical Districts that were studied. Our area has been ranked in the top 15 for eight straight quarters including a #1 ranking for the period ending June 30th 2016. The first chart below shows the annual appreciation reported on a quarterly basis for both Boulder County (green) and the United States average (blue). The last five years have been one of our strongest “bull runs” in our history. Over the past five years, the average home has appreciated 55%. The chart below shows our national ranking compared to the 257 other markets in the FHFA report since 2nd quarter of 2006. This is an interesting graph because it shows that just before the economic downturn in 2008 our market was actually in the last quartile. Our annualized returns at that time were in the 1 to 3% range. As the downturn started and the real estate market came to a grinding halt our ranking improved compared to the rest of the country. During 2008 our appreciation remained above +2%. From 2009 – 2011 our average annual appreciation ranged from +2% to -2.8%. It turns out that we were one of the most stable markets in the country. This got me to thinking about how we compare to other currently “hot” markets over the... read moreWe Are Hiring
We are always looking for good agents to join our team. If your real estate practice is based on integrity and selfless service we would love to talk to you.
