Gazette: US Sales of New Homes Dip 0.3 Percent in October, but are 8.8 Percent in the West

Published by The Gazette | November 28 2012 | The Associated Press

WASHINGTON — U.S. sales of new homes fell slightly in October and September sales were slower than initially thought. The October sales pace was dragged lower by steep declines on the East Coast, partly related to Superstorm Sandy.

The Commerce Department said Wednesday that new-home sales dipped 0.3 percent in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 368,000. That's down marginally from the 369,000 pace in September, which was revised lower from an initially reported 389,000.

Sales fell a sharp 32.3 percent in the Northeast and nearly 12 percent in the South. The government said Sandy had a minimal effect on the housing data because it made landfall in the final days of the month. Still, the storm disrupted business activity from North Carolina to Maine.

States outside the area affected by the storm fared better. Sales surged 62.2 percent in the Midwest and were up 8.8 percent in the West.

"Sales probably would have been slightly stronger without the hurricane," said Jim O'Sullivan, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics. "Still, the report was disappointing."

Sales were still 17 percent higher in October than the same month in 2011. Even with the gain, new-home sales are well below the annual rate of 700,000 that economists consider healthy.

"Over the past 18 months, new home sales have been on the gentle rising trend although they remain at a very depressed level," said Steven Wood, chief economist at Insight Economics.

The modest improvement in the new-home market this year follows other reports that show the housing market starting to recover more than five years after the bubble burst. Home prices are rising, sales are up, and builders are starting work on more new homes and apartments.

The median price of a new home sold in October was $237,700. That's down 4.2 percent from September but 5.7 percent higher than October 2011.

The supply of homes for sale inched up to 147,000, slightly above the lowest level on records dating back to 1967.

The thin supply of homes for sale has helped drive this year's housing rebound. The market has finally started to shed the excess number of homes built during the housing boom.

At the same time, more people are looking to buy or rent a home after living with relatives or friends during and immediately after the Great Recession. And mortgage rates have been near record lows all year, making homes more affordable.

Though new homes represent only a small portion of the housing market, they have a disproportionate impact on the economy. Each home built creates an average of three jobs for a year and generates about $90,000 in tax revenue, according to statistics from the National Association of Home Builders.

Sales of previously occupied homes are near five-year highs, excluding temporary spikes in 2009 and 2010 when a homebuyer tax credit boosted purchases. Builders, meanwhile, are increasingly confident that the recovery has legs. A measure of their confidence rose to the highest level in six and a half years this month. And builders broke ground on new homes and apartments last month at the fastest pace in more than four years.

The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller home price index, released Tuesday, found that prices rose in most major cities in September compared to August. They rose 3.6 percent in the third quarter compared to the same period last year.

There are still factors dragging on a housing recovery. Many Americans, particularly first-time homebuyers, are unable to qualify for a mortgage or can't afford larger down payments.

Read more: http://www.gazette.com/articles/percent-147836-sales-dip.html#ixzz2DYbgv5Bv

ColoradoRealEstateNews: Colorado Apartment Vacancies at 4.6%

Published by ColoradoRealEstateNews.com | November 15 2012 | Written by John Rebchook

The overall apartment vacancy rate for Colorado fell to 4.6 percent in the third quarter, the lowest it has been since the first quarter of 2001, when the vacancy rate stood at 4.3 percent, according to a report released today by the Colorado Division of Housing.

In the third quarter of 2011, the overall vacancy rate stood at 5 percent for the state.

Demand for rental units continued at high levels in Colorado during the third quarter, and demand was especially strong in northern Colorado.

The vacancy rate fell year over year to 2.1 percent from 2.2 percent in the Fort Collins-Loveland area for the third quarter, although it rose to 3.1 percent from 1.8 percent in Greeley from the third quarter of 2011.

A vacancy rate below five percent is generally regarded by industry observers as a sign of a tight market.

The vacancy rate dropped by half in Grand Junction, falling to 3.8 percent in the third quarter from 7.7 percent in the third quarter of 2011.

The metro Denver vacancy rate during 2012’s third quarter, released last month in a separate survey, fell year over year to 4.3 percent from 4.9 percent.

“Northern Colorado vacancies are at the low levels we saw back in the late ‘90s,” said Ron Throupe, a professor of real estate at the University of Denver’s Burns School of Real Estate and Construction Management, and the report’s author. “The strong employment in the region is helping drive that, and statewide, a lack of new construction is also an important factor.”

Rents headed up as vacancy rates declined.

The statewide average rent in Colorado increased 5.1 percent from 2011’s third quarter to 2012’s third quarter, rising from $898 to $944, which is a record high.

Across the state, the average rent increased in all metro areas except Grand Junction. The average rent in the Fort. Collins-Loveland area, for example, increased 7.3 percent, year over year, while the average rent in Pueblo grew 8.4 percent. During the same period, the average rent in Colorado Springs increased only 1.1 percent, although it reached a new all-time high during the third quarter. The average rent fell 2.6 percent in Grand Junction, year-over year.

“This is the second quarter in a row in which the average rent grew all along the Front Range and by fairly sizable amounts in most cases,” said Ryan McMaken, an economist with the Colorado Division of Housing. “Demand is strong enough to the point that even in markets where unemployment is still above eight percent, as in Pueblo and Colorado Springs, landlords were still able raise rents.”

Average rents in all metropolitan areas measured were:

• Colorado Springs; $787.
• Fort. Collins/Loveland, $1,024.
• Grand Junction, $638.
• Greeley, $693.
• Pueblo, $587.

The metro Denver average rent, measured in a separate survey, was $986 during the third quarter.

Read more on ColoradoRealEstateNews: http://insiderealestatenews.com/2012/11/colorado-apartment-vacancies-at-11-year-low/

The History of the Thanksgiving Cornucopia

Happy Thanksgiving from All Seasons!

Although the United States is a young country, it is old enough to have developed traditions and stories around the national holidays. In North America, the cornucopia has come to be associated with Thanksgiving, and is set as the center piece on Thanksgiving tables all over the United States. It has an interesting history.

According to Greek legend, a goat named Amalthea--or Nourishing Goddess--suckled the Greek God Zeus with her milk. The suckling future king of the gods had unusual abilities and strength, beginning the idea of abundance. Either Amalthea broke off a horn and offered it to Greek God Zeus as a sign of reverence, or the playful child broke one off for himself, to take with him on his road to adulthood--the story differs. As a sign of gratitude, Zeus later set the goat's image in the sky, also known as constellation Capricorn. 

A cornucopia made of bread,
prepared for a Thanksgiving meal in 2005
for U.S. Navy personnel

The traditional cornucopia was a curved goat's horn overflowing with fruits and grains. Cornucopia became the most common symbol of a harvest festival. The horn-shaped container now is usually made as a basket, or made from bread, and filled with autumn foods and colors. It is also known as the Horn of Plenty. For Americans, it represents autumn and the coming of the holidays.
 





We have included a large picture of a cornucopia as a gift, that you can use as a background on your computer. Click here or on the smaller picture below to download it. 

Happy Thanksgiving from All Seasons!

CSBJ: 1st-Floor Retail and Upper-Floor Apartments Planned for Downtown Colo Spgs

Published by The Colorado Springs Business Journal | Nov 15 2012 | Written by Amanda Miller

Apartments are planned at the corner of Cimarron and Costilla

Plans are afoot to replace aging storefronts along the 400-block of South Nevada Avenue with a mixed-use development of apartments and retail.

Bob and Karen Elliott, through their company, Downtown Development Group, bought four lots, 408, 410, 412 and 414 S. Nevada Ave. during the El Paso County Public Trustee’s foreclosure auction Oct. 31.

They paid $335,150.

“I was surprised the bank didn’t bid it up from there,” Bob said. “They were owed more than $800,000.”

Downtown Development Group is best known for building the Two Eight West luxury condominiums along Monument Valley Park at the north end of downtown. That development is still under construction and houses 16 units, all over 2,000 square feet with private garages and priced between $700,000 and $1.4 million.

Bob said his latest plan is to build on Nevada using the new form-based code, retail on the first floor and four stories of apartments above. That would allow for a masonry first floor and wood construction above, which would keep costs down.

The lot is situated so there could also be ground-level parking behind the building so he wouldn’t have to build a parking structure, he said.

He’s been on the lookout for downtown property at a good price for more than a year, he said, because apartments have been a good idea that long.

As discussions about downtown revitalization have hit a fever pitch, the need for residential development has been a common theme.

“I couldn’t be more sincere in saying that I believe residential development is the No. 1 need downtown,” said Hannah Parsons, interim director of the Colorado Springs Downtown Partnership and a Realtor who focuses primarily on downtown properties. “It’s absolutely essential for a downtown renaissance.”

Downtown advocates commissioned the Urban Land Institute to send an advisory panel to review past reports, visit the city and interview more than 100 residents about how they would improve downtown earlier this year. The panel, which visited during the week of the Waldo Canyon fire in June, recently released its final report on a downtown Colorado Springs renaissance. One of its top recommendations was for 300 residential units priced around $1,200 a month. The report said the city could certainly support more residential development than that in the long run, but it would be a good start.

The Downtown Development Group project likely isn’t the only apartment development on the drawing board. Chris Jenkins, president of Nor’Wood Development Group said earlier this year that he hoped to be able to announce apartment projects before next fall. Griffis Blessing also owns property and had plans for a mixed-use development near America the Beautiful Park that it put on hold when the economy sank.

The time has come for some action, Bob said.

“I usually fly under the radar,” he said. “But I wanted to speak publicly about this because I think it gives legitimacy to building downtown.”

Bob said he believes he has a reputation in town for following through on plans. Certainty that there will be residential development downtown might be enough for others to take action and announce projects that could spur economic development, he said.

The Elliotts say they aren’t just interested in building apartments. They aim to build community.

They were trying to retire when they moved to Florida in the early 2000s and ended up building a development there. After a lot of good timing, business sense and luck in the Colorado Springs and Florida, they returned to build Two Eight West Monument.

“We wanted to do something more meaningful,” Karen said.

Their interest now is in building something that will create a stronger Colorado Springs, Karen said. With that, comes a desire to include other players in their potential mixed-use project.

“Bob is all about turning it over,” Karen said. “He wants to turn it over to the younger generation. We want to get young people involved wherever we can.”

Because of that, Bob is working closely with Darsey Nicklasson, who owns DHN Planning and Development. She comes from a commercial real estate background and lived and worked for several years in Washington, D.C.

Now, the young mother wants to be a developer. She looks at cities and infrastructure more than the sights when she goes on vacation, she said. And she’s passionate about making downtown Colorado Springs more vibrant. “Across the nation, starting in 2002, there has been a movement of people wanting to get back into an urban environment,” Nicklasson said. “And there is no reason that movement wouldn’t happen here in Colorado Springs.”

She’s been looking for land and investors for a downtown apartment project she could lead for more than a year. That’s how she found the Elliotts. She went to them to learn about their Two Eight West project.

“I’m absolutely excited and completely thrilled to be involved in this with Bob and Karen,” Nicklasson said.

She has gone with Bob to look at the property on South Nevada, which used to belong to Rickie Nelson, with Bob.

There are a lot of unknowns about the property, Bob said. And it will take some time and study to understand what the pitfalls could be. But the lots are well-situated for redevelopment.

Nicklasson said she expects rent for the property could start around $850 and go up from there. It’s hard to say how many units would fit on the 28,000 square foot lot until they plan the project out.

“We’re still very much in the early stages of this,” she said.

Read more on CSBJ.com: http://csbj.com/2012/11/15/apartments-planned-for-south-nevada-ave/

Colorado Springs Independent: Shedding the Stigma

Published by The Colorado Springs Independent | Nov 7 2012 | Written by Pam Zubeck

Shadows lifting: Elite Properties paid $30,000 for this 3,860-square-foot lot on Hot Springs Court

Even before considering the scarred landscape, and the memories associated with two people dying and 345 homes disappearing in the Waldo Canyon Fire, people could be forgiven for shying away from buying homes or lots in Mountain Shadows. After all, the fire's devastation was so widespread up there that a few months ago, County Assessor Mark Lowderman lowered property values by 10 percent on homes that didn't burn, due to the stigma of their being in the destruction zone.

But sales information collected by the El Paso County Assessor's Office now suggests the fire might not have undermined values as first thought. Which means Lowderman might consider removing that designation in coming months, upping values (and tax bills) on the homes that survived ground zero of the most destructive fire in state history.

"I was kind of surprised," Lowderman says of the recently collected sales data. "Right after the fire, I had a few people call, saying, 'The guy next door wants to buy my [burned] lot for $10,000.' I told them, 'It's worth more than that.'"

Indeed, prices of the 14 lots that sold between Aug. 28 and Oct. 11 averaged $52,400, only slightly less than the $57,000 average value of those lots reported on the tax rolls. Prices paid ranged from $12,500 for a lot in Parkside, where 141 of the homes, which are built closer together and on smaller lots, were destroyed, to $77,500 for a lot on Wilson Road just east of Parkside.

"Everyone got what I would call market value," Lowderman says.

Most of the 14 lots went to homebuilders Elite Properties and Vantage Homes, each of which bought five.

Vantage didn't return a phone call seeking comment, but Joe Loidolt, president of Classic Homes, which owns Elite Properties, says there's no mystery why builders are interested.

"Eventually there's going to be homes built on them, and that's what builders usually do," he says. "Mountain Shadows is still a great area. If you drive around, [in] some places there's just a home or two [that burned], and the area all around is very nice. We think Mountain Shadows is a desirable place to live."

Apparently, so do eight other buyers who have purchased homes in Mountain Shadows since the fire. In fact, two sold in mid- to late July, shortly after the fire was declared contained.

Two of the homes that sold are located on Ramsgate Terrace, and one each on Stoneridge Drive, Alderstone Way, Jenner Court, Avalon Court, Russett Oak Court and Vanreen Drive.

Those streets saw either no houses lost or only one, with the exception of Jenner, where four of the nine homes burned to the ground. Prices ranged from $240,000 to $665,000, and values have held. The eight homes' sales price averaged $342,125, higher than the average value of $324,650 prior to the Waldo fire.

"It really doesn't surprise me," says Steve Wrestler with Prestige Properties of America, which markets Mountain Shadows homes. "Obviously, they had terrible things happen to them. But as time goes by, that neighborhood will still be a very, very nice neighborhood."

Read more on The Indy: http://www.csindy.com/coloradosprings/shedding-the-stigma/Content?oid=2583656

CSBJ: Denver Investment Company Buys COSprings Apartment Buildings

Published by the Colorado Springs Business Journal | November 8 2012 | Written by Amanda Miller

Denver-based BMC Investments recently bought two Colorado Springs apartment properties.

BMC paid $4.2 million for 148-unit Timberlane Apartments at 3985 E. Bijou St. and $3.175 million for 95-unit Ashelyn Court at 930 N. Murray Blvd.

Both complexes are about 90 percent occupied, according to a release from FirstBank, which financed the purchases.

BMC plans to invest about $500,000 in enhancing curb appeal at Timberlane and completing some deferred maintenance projects. The company will spend another $250,000 improving Ashelyn Court, which company principals hope will add value to the property and allow them to increase rents.

“Our goal is to complete the renovations quickly, stabilize the assets and refinance in 12 months with a long-term loan from Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac,” managing partner of BMC Matt Joblon said in a statement.

BMC purchased the properties from investors who bought the bank notes and foreclosed on the properties, according to the release

FirstBank financed 70 percent of the total capitalization, including purchase price, renovation and closing costs. The first year’s interest, property taxes and insurance also are capitalized into the three-year loan, which is fixed at 4.5 percent. The first year is interest only and then roles into a 25-year amortization period if BMC has not refinanced by then.

Read more on CSBJ.com: http://csbj.com/2012/11/08/denver-investment-company-buys-springs-apartments/

Gazette: With COSprings Homebuilders Busy at Gold Hill Mesa, Commercial Project Eyed

Published by The Gazette | November 4 2012 | Written by Rich Laden

When he proposed building homes in Gold Hill Mesa on Colorado Springs’ west side more than a decade ago, developer Bob Willard acknowledged one of his biggest challenges would be overcoming public perception.

The 210-acre site had been the former home of a gold and silver milling operation for nearly a half-century. By the time it closed in 1949, 14 million tons of gold, silver, arsenic and lead tailings were left buried in the soil; for years, the property’s rutted north hillside — a byproduct of the milling operation — was an ugly reminder of Gold Hill Mesa’s past.

An engineering study commissioned by Willard and his partners showed the site, southeast of U.S. 24 and 21st Street, could be developed without removing the tailings, and he worked for years with state officials to develop a plan to mitigate environmental fears. By 2006, he received regulatory approval to allow construction on the property.

But whether the public would accept the safeguards remained the project’s biggest unknown: Would the public want to buy homes in Gold Hill Mesa? Would retailers, restaurants and other businesses want to set up shop there?

Today, Willard says one of his biggest problems is meeting the demand on the part of homebuyers who want to live in Gold Hill Mesa.

“We’re actually having to accelerate lot development to stay ahead of the demand,” Willard said of home sites at the project, where 700 to 750 single-family homes and townhomes are planned. “We’re losing clients because people can’t wait.”

Since development began five years ago, Gold Hill Mesa has sold 153 home sites — 87 single-family homes and 66 townhomes. Two homebuilders are busy in Gold Hill Mesa and a third is about to start construction.

Next year, Willard expects to submit plans to the city that lay out an 82-acre commercial project on the site, which would include large retailers and an ambitious Main Street-like development of retail uses, offices and residences.

Read more on The Gazette: http://www.gazette.com/articles/gold-146759-hill-mesa.html#ixzz2BNVFacoV

Gazette: Local Apartment Rents Hit Another Record High in COSprings Area

Published by The Gazette |  November 1 2012 | Written by Rich Laden

Colorado Springs-area apartment rents jumped to another record high in the third quarter, and more increases could be on the way as demand for rental properties remains steady.

Monthly rents averaged $787.22 from July through September, an increase from $776.85 in the second quarter and up from the previous record of $778.35 set during the third quarter of 2011, according to a report by the Colorado Division of Housing report and the Apartment Association of Southern Colorado.

Apartment rents have now risen for 11 consecutive quarters on a year-over-year basis. Rents are rising, in part, because apartments have gotten tougher to find. The third-quarter vacancy rate for Springs-area units was 6.1 percent, a slight increase from 6 percent in the second quarter, but down from 6.2 percent in the third quarter of last year.

By comparison, vacancy rates were consistently near or above 10 percent for much of the period from late 2002 through mid-2009.

The overall supply of apartments for rent hasn’t increase significantly, despite several multifamily construction projects that are under way, said Ken Greene, a vice president of Apartment Realty Advisors in Denver, which co-sponsors the report.

In addition to a relatively stable supply of units for rent, demand has picked up — driven, in part, by young adults who are moving out of their parents’ homes or roommates who are seeking their own place to live, he said.

As a result, Greene said he expects vacancy rates to fall below 6 percent, which could lead to annual rent increases of 5 percent to 7 percent — perhaps as high as 10 percent a year.

A similar report recently by Apartment Insights, an online research company, showed similar trends: Third-quarter rents averaged $757 a month, up $10 from the second quarter of this year, while the third-quarter vacancy rate of 5.8 percent fell from 6.4 percent in the second quarter.

Doug Carter, a Springs commercial broker with national real estate firm Sperry Van Ness and an Apartment Insights partner, said he expects rent increases and declines in vacancy rates to continue, albeit at a slow, incremental pace.

Demand also will be driven by more troops coming to Fort Carson, Carter said. Also, construction workers who have returned to the area because of the improving homebuilding market are renting apartments, he said.

Greene and Carter agree the apartment market would take off even more if the area saw a big boost in employment; the area’s jobless rate for September was still a relatively high 9.3 percent.

“It’s job growth that really fuels demand in the multifamily market,” Carter said.

Read more on The Gazette: http://www.gazette.com/articles/quarter-146694-rents-third.html#ixzz2B0IgNUvG