Realtor.org: Great news! Your house is probably worth more money today than it was in January

Published on Realtor.org | Written by Adam DeSanctis | June 23, 2014

Existing-home sales rose strongly in May and inventory gains continued to help moderate price growth, according to the National Association of Realtors®. All four regions of the country experienced sales gains compared to a month earlier.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said current sales activity is rebounding after the lackluster first quarter. “Home buyers are benefiting from slower price growth due to the much-needed, rising inventory levels seen since the beginning of the year,” he said. “Moreover, sales were helped by the improving job market and the temporary but slight decline in mortgage rates.” 

Read the full article here: http://www.realtor.org/news-releases/2014/06/existing-home-sales-heat-up-in-may-inventory-levels-continue-to-improve

'Widespread' Softness Defines Market

from Colorado Real Estate Journal | by Jennifer Hayes | April 30, 2014

Widespread softness marked the Colorado Springs apartment market in the first quarter of 2014.
Apartment Insights recently released its Statistics/Trends Summary for the first three months of the year in which it noted vacancy rose, absorption dropped and rents saw a slight increase.

“Vacancy increased in most categories, including affordable properties, absorption was negative and concessions increased, more than offsetting the increase in rents,” explained Doug Carter of Sperry Van Ness/Doug Carter LLC, who co-authored the report with Cary Bruteig of Apartment Appraisers & Consultants. “Although long-term trends remain positive for the area, the recovery continues at an uneven pace.”

Read the rest of the story at the Colorado Real Estate Journal by clicking here.

Pros and Cons of Living Within a Homeowners Association

from Realtor.com | by Michele Lerner | April 25, 2014

Ask two different homeowners what they think about living in a community with a homeowners association and you may see one of them scowl and another smile. The difference of opinion on homeowners associations, or HOAs, depends on several factors, including individual personalities and preferences and the quality of the particular HOA.

To learn more about HOAs read the rest of the article by clicking here.

Paid-off Home Loans Decline Over Last Quarter

from Colorado Springs Business Journal | by Marija B. Vader | February 20, 2014

The number of home loans paid off in Colorado was down 28.2 percent from the fourth quarter of 2012 to the fourth quarter of 2013, but comparing the full year of 2013 to 2012, the total was up 13 percent.

According to a report released Wednesday by the Colorado Division of Housing, public trustees in Colorado released a total of 62,312 deeds of trust during the fourth quarter of 2013, compared to 86,816 released during the fourth quarter of 2012.

To read the rest of the story click here.

Springs May Be On Verge of Economic Rebound

from The Gazette | January 12, 2014 

All should hope for more headlines similar to those carried this week in The Gazette's business section. A sampling:

• "Colorado Springs-area jobless rate falls to five-year low"
• "Colorado Springs-area car sales hit eight-year high despite slow December"
• "Colorado Springs home sales for 2013 hit highest level in seven years"

Americans have endured a protracted and painful recession. Bad federal policies—most notably the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act—have slowed recovery. Yet, a few key economic indicators look good locally and should serve as incentive to consider new investments in the community's future.


To read the rest of the article at The Gazette click here.

Year in Review: Real Estate

from The Colorado Springs Business Journal | December 27, 2013 | by Marija B. Vader

If someone put a home on the market in Colorado Springs, chances are good it sold within two months.

As of the end of June, single-family homes spent an average of 62 days on the market, the lowest number since June 2006, when the Pikes Peak Association of Realtors started keeping records.

The total number of active listings was extremely low at 3,450, said Fred Crowley, associate director of the Southern Colorado Economic Forum. He compared that number with around 6,000 active listings in June 2010.

“The available homes for sale decreased 40 percent over three years ago,” Crowley said. “These numbers are just mind-boggling.”

To read the rest of the year in review click here.

2014 Housing Outlook: Home Prices Head Higher

from MSN.com | November 19, 2013 | by Pat Mertz Esswein

Home prices will rise in 2014 but at a slower, more steady pace compared with historical trends.

The housing recovery has pushed up home prices nearly everywhere. In the past year, home prices rose in 225 of the 276 cities tracked by Clear Capital, a provider of real estate data and analysis. (See how home prices are shifting in 276 metro areas.) Prices nationwide increased  by 10.9 percent, pushing the median price for existing homes up by $30,000, to $215,000. For people who have waited to sell their home or refinance their mortgage, that's good news. (Bing: How are interest rates looking this week?)

Rising home prices in Seattle enabled Mike and Kristin Litke to refinance their first mortgage last summer and pay off a second mortgage that had an 8.2 percent interest rate. The Litkes, who bought their three-bedroom, 1.5-bath home for $512,500 in 2007 at the peak of Seattle's housing market, had used the second mortgage to avoid paying private mortgage insurance. In 2010, just as home prices in the area hit a trough, they refinanced their first mortgage to a 30-year fixed rate of 4.375 percent but were stuck with the second mortgage because they didn't have enough equity to do a "cash-out" refi.

To read the rest of the article click here.

Beware Frozen Water Lines

Beware Frozen Water Lines

from Colorado Springs Utilities | October 13, 2013

Don't get left in the cold with frozen or broken water pipes. Besides creating a soggy mess, broken water pipes can put a strain on your wallet. Whether indoors or outdoors, service lines are the homeowner or property owner's responsibility. This includes the pipe connected from the water main (usually in the street) to and then through your residence or business. We recommend you regularly have lines checked for blockages or aging.

To see the full statement click here.

Colorado Springs Homes Appreciate 8.2%

from the Colorado Springs Business Journal | posted by Amanda Miller | June 4, 2013

Colorado Springs home prices climbed 8.2 percent year-over-year in April, according to analysis firm CoreLogic .

They rose 2.1 percent from March to April. Excluding the distressed sales, short sales and bank-owned properties, sales prices climbed 7.1 percent year-over-year.

The sales price increases are good news for the rebounding real estate industry. While the figures in Colorado Springs are strong, they trail the national average, where home sales prices increased 12.1 percent year-over-year.

Nationally, April saw the biggest year-over-year home price increase since February 2006, according to the report. However, the national home price index is still 22.4 percent below its 2006 peak.

Home prices climbed 3.2 percent nationally from March to April.

For more on this, the full article can be found at the Colorado Springs Business Journal by clicking here.

Gazette: Pace of Local Homebuilding Doubles

In an article published on March 1, 2013, the Gazette says that homebuilding in Colorado Springs has doubled from a year ago at this time. Single-family homebuilder permits have increased from 220 in February of 2012 to 398 this February.

This is really good news for Colorado Springs real estate, as the numbers of permits can reflect the future economic outlook builders have for the local economy.



The Gazette says:

         "The number of permits issued for housing construction is a key barometer of the local economy,  employing thousands of people and generating millions of dollars in taxes on the purchase of building materials. That tax revenue helps fund basic services such as public safety, roads and parks."

Other good news is that foreclosures are down, in fact, they are the lowest in monthly total since December of 2006.

The data definitely shows that economic recovery is beginning in Colorado Springs.

Read more: http://www.gazette.com/articles/year-151666-february-last.html#ixzz2NGjzgRVL

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/

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/

InsideRealEstateNews: Denver Area Apartment Vacancy Rate Falls to 4.3%

Published in InsideRealEstateNews.com | October 29, 2012

The apartment vacancy rate in the Denver metro area fell to 4.3 percent in the third quarter,  dropping to the lowest vacancy rate recorded in any quarter in a dozen years, according to a report released today by the Apartment Association of Metro Denver and the Colorado Division of Realty.

The last time the vacancy rate was lower was in the third quarter of 2000, when it stood at 3.7 percent. At that time, the average monthly rental rate was $722, or about $970 in inflation-adjusted dollars, which is not much higher than today’s average rental rate of $986.

The apartment vacancy rate was down from 2011’s third-quarter rate of 4.9 percent, and was also down from this year’s second quarter rate of 4.8 percent.

For the past 12 quarters, the vacancy rate has fallen when compared to the same quarter one year earlier. The last time the quarterly vacancy rate rose year over year was during the third quarter of 2009.

From the third quarter of 2011 to the same period of 2012, the vacancy rate dropped in Adams, Arapahoe, and Jefferson counties, and in the Boulder/Broomfield area. The vacancy rate rose in Douglas County and was flat in Denver County during the same period.

“Considering that we were already under five-percent vacancy, this additional drop is significant,” said Ron Throupe, professor of Real Estate at the Burns School of Real Estate and Construction Management at the University of Denver, the report’s author. “Rent growth hit an 11-year high during the second quarter, but there is still enough demand out there to keep filling up units.”

As vacancy rates moved down, the area’s average rent increased. During the third quarter of 2012, the average monthly rent of $986  in metro Denver is up  5.2 percent, or $49, from last year’s third-quarter average rent of $936.

The average rent rose in all counties measured except Adams County, with the largest increases found in Arapahoe County in the Boulder/Broomfield area where the average rents grew year over year by 7.1 percent and 8.1 percent, respectively. The county areas with the highest average rents were Douglas County and the Boulder/Broomfield area where the average rents were $1,140 and $1,115, respectively. Adams County reported the lowest average rent at $893.

“The average rent has grown year over year in every quarter for the past two and a half years, and it has recently begun to accelerate,” said Ryan McMaken a spokesman for the Colorado Division of Housing. “The rent growth we’re now seeing is starting to look like what we experienced in the days of the dot-com boom.”

Read more: http://insiderealestatenews.com/2012/10/apartment-vacancy-rate-hits-12-year-low/