• Unincorporated Arapahoe County
• Aurora
• Cherry Hills Village
• Denver
• Englewood
• Greenwood Village
• Highlands Ranch
• Littleton
• Parker

Arapahoe County is the fourth largest county in Colorado based on population (455,000) and covers approximately 850 square miles. Incorporated cities and towns in Arapahoe County include Aurora, Cherry Hills Village, Englewood, Foxfield, Littleton and Greenwood Village. Many of Arapahoe County neighborhoods, however, are in unincorporated Arapahoe County. Those directly south of the Denver area were primarily built in the 60"s, 70's and 80"s. Homes in these mature neighborhoods are in high demand and range from $150,000 to $800,000. The average sales price in this area over the last year was $246,467 and the median is $220,000. Condominiums can be found as low as the $60's and townhomes are available from the low $100's.

Here you will find individual neighborhoods from 150 to 800 homes, often with a community association pool and tennis club providing the nucleus of the community. There is currently a move to incorporate many of these neighborhoods, primarily from Broadway on the west to Gun Club Road on the east, into a new city called Centennial in order to preserve the commercial tax base for the residents. If this is accomplished, the new city will boast over 100,000 residents!

To the eastern side of the county, new housing developments are accelerating, spurred on by the new transportation corridor, E-470, which provides eastern by-pass access from the southern suburbs to Denver International Airport.

In the heart of what may become Centennial is Southglenn Shopping Center which boasts the lowest sales tax rate of any major shopping center in the metro area. A special district called the South Suburban Parks and Recreation District provides recreation, including many neighborhood parks, bike paths, hiking trails, swim and tennis facilities and the Goodson Recreation Center. The latter is a full service facility near Southglenn Shopping Center and includes an indoor pool, track, racquetball, weight and exercise equipment, and a gymnasium. The District also offers a full complement of fitness programs for the whole family and owns and operates three golf courses in the area.

Most homes in this area will show Littleton, Englewood or Aurora as their mailing address even though they are located outside the city limits of those areas. This is simply because they are served by the post offices in those cities. Unincorporated Arapahoe County is served by two school Districts, Littleton and Cherry Creek. This area is served by I-25, Broadway, University Boulevard, Quebec Street and Parker Road, the principle north/south arteries, and Arapahoe Road and C-470, the principle east/west routes.

With its 140 square miles and over 250,000 people, Aurora is the largest Colorado city in the area and the third largest in population, and spreads itself over two counties, Adams and Arapahoe, on the east side of Denver. Aurora has distinguished itself as the only metro area city that has its own water supply, totally independent of Denver and capable of supporting twice its population.

Aurora is served by two school districts, Aurora on the north side and Cherry Creek on the south. Outdoor activities abound in Aurora with its 8 golf courses, 3,000 acres of park land and two of the areas premier public parks, Cherry Creek and Aurora Reservoirs, offering boating, sailing, fishing, swimming and camping. Buy a State Parks pass for a nominal annual fee to gain free admission to these and all the other Colorado State Parks.

Housing opportunities are among the most affordable in the south metro area with condominiums available from $40,000. In South Aurora previously owned single family homes sold from a low of $67,650 to a high of $750,000. The average sale was $155,909 and the median sale was $142,450. New homes are readily available to the east and south of Aurora.

Cherry Hills Village is a unique, low to moderate density, semi-rural community of upper end homes in the midst of the bustling south metro Denver area. Many of the homes are on one to 2-and-one-half acre "horse property" sites. The residents have succeeded in maintaining Cherry Hills as a residential community. With the exception of one, small commercial district with offices and medical clinics, there is no commercial development anywhere.

the area is roughly bounded by Hampden Avenue on the north and Belleview Avenue on the south between Clarkson Street and the Denver Tech Center. Cherry Creek School District provides the public schools but there are numerous private schools serving the area. The residents staunchly defend and maintain their rural, low density quality of life through zoning laws and regulations. They maintain a system of trails allowing the residents to enjoy the rural atmosphere and surroundings by walking, biking and horse back riding.

Properties resold over the last 12 months ranged from $334,000 to $3,787,500. The average was $1,263,708 and the median was $967,500.

Denver, the Mile High City, is, of course the center of all the activity in the Metro area. Denver proper comprises 154 square miles and is home to approximately 500,000 people but over 2.2 million people make up the Denver Metro Area.

there is something in Denver Metro for virtually everyone. The sports enthusiast enjoys year round professional franchises including football, baseball, basketball and hockey in one of the few cities offering all four major sports. The Denver Center for the Performing Arts, the Denver Botanic Gardens, Denver Zoo, Natural History Museum, IMAX theater, and Elitch Gardens Amusement Park are but a few of the other attractions to the area.

Denver residents live in a wide variety of housing from Victorian and Tudor mansions, century old "Denver Squares", brick bungalows and clapboard houses, to sprawling ranches in suburban areas. It also boasts apartments and condominiums in low and high rise buildings, townhomes and, a relatively new phenomenon, lofts. Lofts are most often conversions of older buildings in or near downtown including warehouses, churches, office and retail structures. They command high prices from affluent professionals who want to work and live in our vibrant downtown area.

Covering only the southeast and southwest quadrants, sales prices for single family homes range from an affordable $30,000 to an astonishing $3,850,000. The average sale was $200,203 and the median of all houses sold was $162,500. The sale of condominium and other units within multifamily structures ranged from $25,000 to $2,399,819 for a luxury penthouse in the prestigious Cherry Creek area. The average and the median were more realistic at $130,865 and $98,000, respectively.

Englewood is an older community bounded by Denver on the North, Sheridan and Denver on the West, Littleton on the south and Cherry Hills Village and Greenwood Village on the East. It offers a good balance of residential (approximately 33,000 people) and commercial (23,500 jobs). Broadway is the major north/south artery and provides easy, 15 to 20 minute, access to downtown. The Cinderella City Mall, once Englewood's premier shopping facility, has recently been leveled and is ready for redevelopment. Englewood provides its own public school system.

Englewood offers a wide range of affordable single family homes. Resales over the last 12 months have ranged from $60,000 to $277,300. The average was $135,020 and the median was $132,500.

Greenwood Village is located directly south of Cherry Hills Village and Denver. The west end of the Village is semi-rural, much like Cherry Hills Village. Unlike the residents of Cherry Hills Village, however, Greenwood Village has expanded to the east and south, acquiring large portions of commercial property and offering several covenant controlled residential communities. Two major business parks almost split the Village down the middle, the Denver Tech Center (DTC) and Greenwood Plaza. These two business parks actually provide more class A office space than Downtown Denver!

Greenwood Village continues to aggressively annex adjoining commercial space, providing an extensive commercial tax base, making it one of the richest cities in the area. In many respects, Greenwood Village has become a model city, successfully integrating big business with upscale residential neighborhoods and rural acreage. Its 10,000 residents enjoy low taxes, great amenities and a host of civic improvement projects funded by its extensive tax base. Its aggressive stance, however, has caused the residents of unincorporated Arapahoe County to the south to band together, attempting to form a new city, Centennial, in order to block further expansion and protect its commercial tax base from further erosion by Greenwood Village.

Over the last twelve months, resale homes in Greenwood Village have sold from a low of $121,000 to a high of $2,161,892, averaging $661,829. The median was slightly lower at $578,711.

Highlands Ranch is not just another master planned community, it is Colorado's largest and one of the best in the entire nation. It is located 12 miles south of Denver in Douglas County and is the reason Douglas County has been one of the fastest growing counties in the country for several years.

the community covers approximately 34 square miles and has been under development for 16 years. Current population is approximately 44,000 people in 16,000 homes and when fully built out it is expected to have 90,000 residents in 36,700 homes!

With over 20 builders in 50 plus communities within the Ranch, there are housing opportunities for virtually everyone, from first time homebuyers in the mid $100's to executive homes in the $700's. Over the last year, previously owned single family homes in the Ranch have sold from $127,250 to $930,000. The average and median were $221,166 and $197,000, respectively. New homes in every style and price range are available.

Highlands Ranch amenities include two community parks, ten neighborhood parks, more than 20 miles of trails, two golf courses and two premier recreation centers comprising 50,000+ and 80,000+ square feet each!

Schools are provided by Douglas County and include 10 elementary schools, two middle and two high schools. A total of 26 public school sites will ultimately serve the community.

Littleton is the county seat for Arapahoe County. It is bordered by unincorporated portions of Arapahoe County on the east, Englewood on the north, roughly Platt Canyon Road and unincorporated portions of Jefferson County on the West and County Line Road and Douglas County/Highlands Ranch on the south. The principle traffic corridors are Broadway and Santa Fe, both north/south arteries providing Littleton with excellent downtown connections.

$1.5 million in federal funds has recently been approved to extend Denver's light rail system from the current I-25 and Broadway station in Denver south along the Santa Fe Corridor to Mineral Avenue in Littleton.

Littleton has its own school system which is ranked one of the best in the state and has received national recognition. It also is home to Arapahoe Community College, provides 26 neighborhood parks, two golf courses, an ice arena, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, a multipurpose recreation center and over 30 miles of bike trails through residential neighborhoods. It also boast 20 miles of biking and walking trails along the famous Highline Canal. The South Platte Park, South Platte River, Columbine, Lee Gulch, Arapahoe Greenway and Carson Nature Center provide additional outdoor opportunities.

the Littleton downtown area is famous for its turn of the century buildings, mostly restored. The city goes all out at Christmas to decorate this area and people come from all around the metro area to cruise down Littleton Boulevard and enjoy the town's efforts.

Housing in Littleton covers a wide range from affordable older homes to semi custom and custom homes in both older and newer neighborhoods. Add a nice mixture of condominiums and townhomes and apartments and you have a wonderfully diverse community.

Some of the unincorporated areas directly to the east are served by the Littleton Post Office and thus carry a Littleton address. Resale single family housing in Littleton and in this unincorporated area carrying the Littleton address have ranged from $85,000 TO $1,655,000. The average sale was $230,920 and the median price was $187,500.

Parker is a small town of 13 square miles and 14,000 residents located in Douglas County approximately 20 miles southeast of the metro Denver area. An additional 30,000 people live in the surrounding areas which include high end semi-custom and custom homes, luxury homes, homes with house property, farms and ranches. Between Parker and its neighboring towns to the south, Elizabeth and Castle Rock, there are several class residential communities including the Pinery and Stroh Ranch. What is commonly known as the Parker area also extends east into Elbert County where there are numerous communities of semi-custom and custom homes on large tracts from one to five acres.

If you own or dream of owning horses, this is the area to consider. There are 17 horse-boarding and training businesses together with a host of supporting breeders, dealers, transporters, shoers and rental and furnishing stores. When driving through, it is not hard to imagine that you are in Kentucky horse country with the scenic rolling hills, white rail fences, horses, stables, arenas and barns throughout the area. Many who love the country life choose to live here and commute to their jobs in the Denver Tech Center, Greenwood Plaza or Inverness Office Parks or even to downtown Denver!

Sister communities with similar attributes include the historic Franktown, located only seven miles south of Parker in Douglas County and Elizabeth, located further south into Elbert County, 28 miles south of the Denver Tech Center. Colorado's first gold discovery was made at Franktown in 1858. Today approximately 5,400 people live in Franktown. Most newer property is on 5 to 35 acre sites. Elizabeth is home to approximately 1,000 with another 4,000 in the outlying areas.

Home sales in each of these three areas were: Parker - $79,000 to $1,300,000, Average $211,421 and median $189,900. Franktown - $142,500 to 1,250,000; average $333,692 and median $306,000. Elizabeth - $45,000 to $1,261,740; average $195,848 and median $179,950.