Housing affordability hit a new record high in the first quarter, surpassing the previous high set in fourth-quarter 2010, according to an index released by the National Association of Home Builders and Wells Fargo today.
The Housing Opportunity Index found that 74.6 percent of new and existing homes sold in the first quarter were affordable to families earning the national median income of $64,400. That's up from 73.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2010, and it's the highest level recorded in the more than 20 years the index has been measured.
"With interest rates remaining at historically low levels, today's report indicates that homeownership is within reach of more households than it has been for more than two decades," said Bob Nielsen, chairman of the NAHB, in a statement.
"While this is good news for consumers, homebuyers and builders continue to confront extremely tight credit conditions, and this remains a significant obstacle to many potential home sales."
Housing affordability hit a new record high in the first quarter, surpassing the previous high set in fourth-quarter 2010, according to an index released by the National Association of Home Builders and Wells Fargo today.
The Housing Opportunity Index found that 74.6 percent of new and existing homes sold in the first quarter were affordable to families earning the national median income of $64,400. That's up from 73.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2010, and it's the highest level recorded in the more than 20 years the index has been measured.
"With interest rates remaining at historically low levels, today's report indicates that homeownership is within reach of more households than it has been for more than two decades," said Bob Nielsen, chairman of the NAHB, in a statement.
"While this is good news for consumers, homebuyers and builders continue to confront extremely tight credit conditions, and this remains a significant obstacle to many potential home sales."
Before 2009, the index had never hit 70 percent and rarely topped 65 percent, the association said. Last quarter was the ninth straight quarter the index was above 70 percent.
Indiana, Ohio and Michigan dominated among the most affordable metro areas. Among metro areas with populations under 500,000, Kokomo, Ind., was the most affordable area, with 98.6 percent of homes affordable to households making a median income of $61,400. The median sales price in the area was $88,000 in the first quarter.
California dominated among the least affordable metro areas. San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, Calif., was the least affordable among the smaller metro areas with 47.6 percent of homes affordable to households making the median income of $72,500. The median sales price in the area was $320,000 in the first quarter.
Areas with population under 500,000 in 2009
10 most affordable metro areas 10 least affordable metro areas
1. Kokomo, Ind. 1. San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, Calif.
2. Monroe, Mich. 2. Santa Cruz-Watsonville, Calif.
3. Cumberland, Md.-W.Va. 2. Laredo, Texas
4. Elkhart-Goshen, Ind. 4. Ocean City, N.J.
5. Springfield, Ohio 5. Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-Goleta, Calif.
6. Sandusky, Ohio 6. Brownsville-Harlingen, Texas
7. Bay City, Mich. 7. Napa, Calif.
8. Rockford, Ill. 8. Mount Vernon-Anacortes, Wash.
9. Fairbanks, Ark. 9. Salinas, Calif.
10. Flint, Mich. 10. Santa Fe, N.M.
Source: NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index
Among metro areas with populations of 500,000 or more, Syracuse, N.Y., was the most affordable metro with 94.5 percent of homes affordable to households making the median income of $64,300. The median sales price in the area was $80,000 in the first quarter.
Another New York market, New York-White Plains-Wayne, N.Y.-N.J, was the least affordable among both the larger metros and the markets overall for the 12th straight quarter. Less than a quarter of homes, 24.1 percent, were affordable to families making the median income of $65,600 in the first quarter. The median sales price of a home in the area was $425,000.
Areas with population of 500,000 or more in 2009
10 most affordable metro areas
10 least affordable metro areas
1. Syracuse, N.Y. 1. New York-White Plains-Wayne, N.Y.-N.J. ^^^
2. Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, Ohio-Pa. 2. San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, Calif. ^^^
3. Indianapolis-Carmel, Ind. 3. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, Calif. ^^^
4. Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills, Mich. ^^^ 4. Honolulu, Hawaii
5. Toledo, Ohio 5. Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, Calif. ^^^
6. Lakeland-Winter Haven, Fla. 6. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif.
7. Harrisburg-Carlisle, Pa. 7. Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, Conn.
8. Akron, Ohio 8. Nassau-Suffolk, N.Y. ^^^
9. Dayton, Ohio 9. San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, Calif.
9. Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn, Mich. ^^^ 10. El Paso, Texas
^^^ Indicate metropolitan divisions. All others are metropolitan statistical areas. Metro divisions are subdivisions of MSAs.
Source: NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Denver is ranked third in U.S. cities poised for greatness in sports, art, music, culture
By Howard Pankratz
The Denver Post
Posted: 05/24/2011 09:00:13 AM MDTUpdated: 05/24/2011 11:00:24 AM MDT
Denver is ranked third of 50 U.S. cities "poised for greatness," according to a survey by the research firm of Sperling's BestPlaces.
Sperling's did the survey on behalf of Edge Shave Gel.
In front of Denver were Boston - which was second - and San Francisco, which ranked first.
The reason the three cities ranked so high was their burgeoning arts scene and a commitment to the environment, according to researchers.
"Each of these cities landed in the top percentiles in the arts categories and in LEED certifications, while cities like Providence and Memphis barely cracked the seventh percentile in arts and were all in the bottom sixth percentile for LEED certifications," said Bert Sperling, president of Sperling's BestPlaces.
As far as Denver, the survey found that Denver has "heavy interest in alternative sports such as the X Games, snowboarding and skateboarding."
In addition, Denver has well-educated residents and heavy focus on green building.
"Its art and music scenes are not to be underestimated, coming in the top 20 with potential to rise to the top in future studies," said the survey.
The Denver Post
Posted: 05/24/2011 09:00:13 AM MDTUpdated: 05/24/2011 11:00:24 AM MDT
Denver is ranked third of 50 U.S. cities "poised for greatness," according to a survey by the research firm of Sperling's BestPlaces.
Sperling's did the survey on behalf of Edge Shave Gel.
In front of Denver were Boston - which was second - and San Francisco, which ranked first.
The reason the three cities ranked so high was their burgeoning arts scene and a commitment to the environment, according to researchers.
"Each of these cities landed in the top percentiles in the arts categories and in LEED certifications, while cities like Providence and Memphis barely cracked the seventh percentile in arts and were all in the bottom sixth percentile for LEED certifications," said Bert Sperling, president of Sperling's BestPlaces.
As far as Denver, the survey found that Denver has "heavy interest in alternative sports such as the X Games, snowboarding and skateboarding."
In addition, Denver has well-educated residents and heavy focus on green building.
"Its art and music scenes are not to be underestimated, coming in the top 20 with potential to rise to the top in future studies," said the survey.
New-home sales up, but pace remains sluggish
By DEREK KRAVITZ AP Real Estate Writer
Posted: 05/24/2011 08:15:53 AM MDTUpdated: 05/24/2011 08:58:53 AM MDT
WASHINGTON—More people bought new homes for a second straight month in April, a hopeful sign. Still, sales remain far below the pace that would represent a healthy housing market.
New-home sales rose 7.3 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 323,000, the Commerce Department said Tuesday. A normal housing market would mean a pace of about 700,000 new-home sales a month.
People have little incentive to buy new homes, in part because they're comparatively expensive. The median price of a new home rose more than 2 percent from March to $217,900. New-home prices are more than 30 percent higher the median price of re-sales—twice the normal markup.
Last year, Americans bought the fewest number of new homes on records going back 47 years. High unemployment, tight credit and a lingering fear that prices will fall further have discouraged many would-be buyers.
Still, Brad Hunter, chief economist with Metrostudy, noted that the number of foreclosures has slowed in some areas because of backlogged state courts. A result is that builders in desirable locales are "raising prices, indicating some recovery in those submarkets."
Sales rose in every region last month. They jumped more than 15 percent in the West, 7.7 percent in the Northeast, nearly 5 percent in the Midwest and more than 4 percent in the South.
Posted: 05/24/2011 08:15:53 AM MDTUpdated: 05/24/2011 08:58:53 AM MDT
WASHINGTON—More people bought new homes for a second straight month in April, a hopeful sign. Still, sales remain far below the pace that would represent a healthy housing market.
New-home sales rose 7.3 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 323,000, the Commerce Department said Tuesday. A normal housing market would mean a pace of about 700,000 new-home sales a month.
People have little incentive to buy new homes, in part because they're comparatively expensive. The median price of a new home rose more than 2 percent from March to $217,900. New-home prices are more than 30 percent higher the median price of re-sales—twice the normal markup.
Last year, Americans bought the fewest number of new homes on records going back 47 years. High unemployment, tight credit and a lingering fear that prices will fall further have discouraged many would-be buyers.
Still, Brad Hunter, chief economist with Metrostudy, noted that the number of foreclosures has slowed in some areas because of backlogged state courts. A result is that builders in desirable locales are "raising prices, indicating some recovery in those submarkets."
Sales rose in every region last month. They jumped more than 15 percent in the West, 7.7 percent in the Northeast, nearly 5 percent in the Midwest and more than 4 percent in the South.
Study: Boulder-area highway traffic delays to triple by 2035
By Heath Urie
The Camera
Posted: 05/24/2011 07:36:03 AM MDTUpdated: 05/24/2011 07:56:35 AM MDT
If traffic on U.S. 36 and other regional highways gives you a headache now, a new projection of road congestion in the metro area come 2035 will probably give you a migraine.
According to a recently released report by the Denver Regional Council of Governments -- a nonprofit association of more than 50 local governments -- traffic delays due to congestion are expected to balloon in the next two decades.
"On average, each vehicle experiences 38 hours of extra travel time per year due to congestion," according to the Annual Report on Traffic Congestion in the Denver Region. "This delay is expected to nearly triple by 2035."
That means drivers should expect to spend an extra 107 hours -- or about four-and-a-half days -- behind the wheel each year because of traffic backups in 2035. On an average weekday, that equals an extra 19 minutes of drive time, versus the 6.8 minutes of average daily delays now.
Get more on this report at DailyCamera.com.
The Camera
Posted: 05/24/2011 07:36:03 AM MDTUpdated: 05/24/2011 07:56:35 AM MDT
If traffic on U.S. 36 and other regional highways gives you a headache now, a new projection of road congestion in the metro area come 2035 will probably give you a migraine.
According to a recently released report by the Denver Regional Council of Governments -- a nonprofit association of more than 50 local governments -- traffic delays due to congestion are expected to balloon in the next two decades.
"On average, each vehicle experiences 38 hours of extra travel time per year due to congestion," according to the Annual Report on Traffic Congestion in the Denver Region. "This delay is expected to nearly triple by 2035."
That means drivers should expect to spend an extra 107 hours -- or about four-and-a-half days -- behind the wheel each year because of traffic backups in 2035. On an average weekday, that equals an extra 19 minutes of drive time, versus the 6.8 minutes of average daily delays now.
Get more on this report at DailyCamera.com.
Monday, May 23, 2011
U.S. Census: More than 200,000 people moved to Colorado between 2009 and 2010
By Howard Pankratz
The Denver Post
Posted: 05/23/2011 12:24:43 PM MDTUpdated: 05/23/2011 01:50:06 PM MDT
Colorado saw an influx of 210,939 people from other states and abroad between 2009 and 2010, the U.S. Census Bureau reported today.
The Denver-Aurora-Broomfield metro area also picked up 89,883 people from other states and abroad during that time period, said the bureau.
The city of Denver saw a total of 21,436 new residents from other states and abroad from 2009 to 2010.
By region, people in the West were most likely to move - 14.7 percent. Individuals in the South were the second most likely to move - 13.6 percent.
The least likely to move were people in the Northeast (8.3 percent) followed by those in the Midwest (11.8 percent).
In the overall report, the agency said that among those who moved between 2009 and 2010, more than four out of 10 (16.4 million or 43.7 percent) did so for housing-related reasons.
This included the desire to live in a new or better home or apartment.
Among other reasons for moving, people cited family concerns (30.3 percent), employment needs (16.4 percent) and other factors (9.5 percent).
The Census Bureau examined how many people moved from the state, metro area and Denver to other states but did not calculate how many moved abroad.
The out-migration to other states from Colorado was 154,629. From the Denver-Aurora-Broomfield metro area it was 60,605. From Denver it was 18,793.
The report noted that principal cities within the metro areas experienced a net loss of 2.3 million movers, while the suburbs experienced a net gain of 2.5 million movers.
The Denver Post
Posted: 05/23/2011 12:24:43 PM MDTUpdated: 05/23/2011 01:50:06 PM MDT
Colorado saw an influx of 210,939 people from other states and abroad between 2009 and 2010, the U.S. Census Bureau reported today.
The Denver-Aurora-Broomfield metro area also picked up 89,883 people from other states and abroad during that time period, said the bureau.
The city of Denver saw a total of 21,436 new residents from other states and abroad from 2009 to 2010.
By region, people in the West were most likely to move - 14.7 percent. Individuals in the South were the second most likely to move - 13.6 percent.
The least likely to move were people in the Northeast (8.3 percent) followed by those in the Midwest (11.8 percent).
In the overall report, the agency said that among those who moved between 2009 and 2010, more than four out of 10 (16.4 million or 43.7 percent) did so for housing-related reasons.
This included the desire to live in a new or better home or apartment.
Among other reasons for moving, people cited family concerns (30.3 percent), employment needs (16.4 percent) and other factors (9.5 percent).
The Census Bureau examined how many people moved from the state, metro area and Denver to other states but did not calculate how many moved abroad.
The out-migration to other states from Colorado was 154,629. From the Denver-Aurora-Broomfield metro area it was 60,605. From Denver it was 18,793.
The report noted that principal cities within the metro areas experienced a net loss of 2.3 million movers, while the suburbs experienced a net gain of 2.5 million movers.
Real estate values: What's in a neighborhood name? Invoking 'country' can boost sales price
By AOL Real Estate
Share ThisEditor's note: This article is excerpted with permission by AOL Real Estate. View the original article.
By CATHERINE NEW
Want to boost the price on your house? Go country. Commonly held wisdom is that a prestigious-sounding name can add value to a neighborhood or subdivision. Now the research proves it. Buyers are willing to pay a premium of 4.2 percent for a property with "country" in the name and an additional 5.1 percent for the phrase "country club," according to new research.
The researchers from the University of Georgia looked at data from multiple listing service sales reports in Baton Rouge, La., between 1984 and 2005. Like the country club areas, subdivision names tend to include words suggesting a slower, more bucolic lifestyle -- along with exclusivity and prestige.
Some of the industry's favorite buzzwords include "pleasant," "acres," "hills," "estates," "ridge" and "heights." One Denver blogger created a mix-and-match grid for Rocky Mountain neighborhood names. How about a residence at The Manor at Silver Fox Range? In cities, the art of the well-named neighborhood has long been in the dominion of brokers and developers eager to recast an area as upwardly mobile. In New York City, the rise of new neighborhood names has been so fast and furious that Brooklyn's Democrat Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries introduced a state bill in April trying to limit the names on microneighborhoods.
Read the full article at AOL Real Estate.
Catherine New is a reporter with the Huffington Post Media Group.
Share ThisEditor's note: This article is excerpted with permission by AOL Real Estate. View the original article.
By CATHERINE NEW
Want to boost the price on your house? Go country. Commonly held wisdom is that a prestigious-sounding name can add value to a neighborhood or subdivision. Now the research proves it. Buyers are willing to pay a premium of 4.2 percent for a property with "country" in the name and an additional 5.1 percent for the phrase "country club," according to new research.
The researchers from the University of Georgia looked at data from multiple listing service sales reports in Baton Rouge, La., between 1984 and 2005. Like the country club areas, subdivision names tend to include words suggesting a slower, more bucolic lifestyle -- along with exclusivity and prestige.
Some of the industry's favorite buzzwords include "pleasant," "acres," "hills," "estates," "ridge" and "heights." One Denver blogger created a mix-and-match grid for Rocky Mountain neighborhood names. How about a residence at The Manor at Silver Fox Range? In cities, the art of the well-named neighborhood has long been in the dominion of brokers and developers eager to recast an area as upwardly mobile. In New York City, the rise of new neighborhood names has been so fast and furious that Brooklyn's Democrat Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries introduced a state bill in April trying to limit the names on microneighborhoods.
Read the full article at AOL Real Estate.
Catherine New is a reporter with the Huffington Post Media Group.
Friday, May 20, 2011
Colorado jobless rate dips to 8.8%
By Denver Post Staff
The state's unemployment rate dipped four-tenths of a percentage point to 8.8 percent between March and April, according a survey released today by the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment.
Employers in Colorado added 2,200 nonfarm payroll jobs during the period for a total of 2,228,200 jobs, the survey showed. Government payroll declined by 100 jobs and the private sector increased by 2,300.
The labor force increased 5,300 to 2,691,800 and total employment increased 14,300, the survey said.
The increase in total employment was greater than the increase in labor force, causing the number of unemployed to decline by 9,000.
The national unemployment rate increased from 8.8 percent to 9 percent over the same period.
"The increase in payroll jobs and decrease in the unemployment rate is encouraging news," said state labor executive director Ellen Golombek. "We would like to see these trends continue for several months before reading too much into the numbers."
The state's unemployment rate dipped four-tenths of a percentage point to 8.8 percent between March and April, according a survey released today by the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment.
Employers in Colorado added 2,200 nonfarm payroll jobs during the period for a total of 2,228,200 jobs, the survey showed. Government payroll declined by 100 jobs and the private sector increased by 2,300.
The labor force increased 5,300 to 2,691,800 and total employment increased 14,300, the survey said.
The increase in total employment was greater than the increase in labor force, causing the number of unemployed to decline by 9,000.
The national unemployment rate increased from 8.8 percent to 9 percent over the same period.
"The increase in payroll jobs and decrease in the unemployment rate is encouraging news," said state labor executive director Ellen Golombek. "We would like to see these trends continue for several months before reading too much into the numbers."
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Home Alone House for Sale for $2.4 Million
Here’s one home that any kid can appreciate. The home made famous by the booby-trapping antics of Macaulay Culkin in the 1990 holiday hit movie, “Home Alone,”is now for sale for $2.4 million. Located in the village of Winnetka, IL, which is approximately 20 miles north of downtown Chicago, the Home Alone house is a stately Georgian on a quiet tree-lined street that is easily recognizable from the movie by its red-brick exterior and stately white columns.
In the movie, Culkin’s character, Kevin McCallister, is accidentally left behind in the house as his family boards a plane and leaves on a vacation to France. McCallister is then left to ward off a pair of bumbling thieves, played by Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern, who are trying to burglarize the house.
While the home was just as much as part of the movie as the actors — it was rigged with blow torches, flying paint cans and loose tarantulas to ward off the burglars — only some of the real home’s interior was used for the movie. Most of it was shot on a set re-created in a facility nearby.
According to Reuters, John and Cynthia Abendshien own the 5-bedroom, 3.5-bath home and are downsizing since their daughter is grown. The couple lived in the home during the six-month long film shoot and Culkin even became their daughter’s friend.
The home is on .53 acres and features a gourmet kitchen, wood-burning fireplace (photos below), a sunroom, a dormered attic bedroom and a detached garage. It is located just a few blocks from Lake Michigan. Winnetka real estate can be quite pricey and the village is considered to be the richest in Illinois; Winnetka’s median home value is $777,900.
In the movie, Culkin’s character, Kevin McCallister, is accidentally left behind in the house as his family boards a plane and leaves on a vacation to France. McCallister is then left to ward off a pair of bumbling thieves, played by Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern, who are trying to burglarize the house.
While the home was just as much as part of the movie as the actors — it was rigged with blow torches, flying paint cans and loose tarantulas to ward off the burglars — only some of the real home’s interior was used for the movie. Most of it was shot on a set re-created in a facility nearby.
According to Reuters, John and Cynthia Abendshien own the 5-bedroom, 3.5-bath home and are downsizing since their daughter is grown. The couple lived in the home during the six-month long film shoot and Culkin even became their daughter’s friend.
The home is on .53 acres and features a gourmet kitchen, wood-burning fireplace (photos below), a sunroom, a dormered attic bedroom and a detached garage. It is located just a few blocks from Lake Michigan. Winnetka real estate can be quite pricey and the village is considered to be the richest in Illinois; Winnetka’s median home value is $777,900.
Debating Property Tax Value
If you are a property owner in Colorado, you've probably just received your property tax evaluation at the beginning of May. If you think yours are too high or would like to try and lower them, I can help. As the Denver post states, "5.5 percent of the 2.3 million properties in Colorado filed protests in 2007, a 30 percent jump from 2005."
There is no ability to protest your property taxes per se in Colorado. What you protest is your value. If this is something you're interested in, you'll want to file by June 1st. You'll want to file with the respective county the property is in, by mail and phone, and sometimes, depending upon the county, by fax or email. You can challenge factual errors in County Assessor records that aren't in your favor such as, square footage, number of rooms, or finished square feet that hasn't been finished. Assessors review sales over an 18 month period that ended June 30th, 2008. Information after that cannot be in the appeal. The next step is finding comparable home sales that have sold for less than the county has your home valued at. These lower comparables are to help lower your tax valuation and are not necessarily what your home would sell for on the open real estate market. I can provide you with these lower comparable sold records for both if you like.
I am happy to provide you with comparable home sales sold prices within this 18 month time period at the very least. You will need this hard data to protest any tax valuations you see as out of line. County Assessors do have discretion when it comes to throwing out the highest and lowest comparables, yet they don't always exercise that discretion. information can also be obtained from your County Assessor's Office online.
There is no ability to protest your property taxes per se in Colorado. What you protest is your value. If this is something you're interested in, you'll want to file by June 1st. You'll want to file with the respective county the property is in, by mail and phone, and sometimes, depending upon the county, by fax or email. You can challenge factual errors in County Assessor records that aren't in your favor such as, square footage, number of rooms, or finished square feet that hasn't been finished. Assessors review sales over an 18 month period that ended June 30th, 2008. Information after that cannot be in the appeal. The next step is finding comparable home sales that have sold for less than the county has your home valued at. These lower comparables are to help lower your tax valuation and are not necessarily what your home would sell for on the open real estate market. I can provide you with these lower comparable sold records for both if you like.
I am happy to provide you with comparable home sales sold prices within this 18 month time period at the very least. You will need this hard data to protest any tax valuations you see as out of line. County Assessors do have discretion when it comes to throwing out the highest and lowest comparables, yet they don't always exercise that discretion. information can also be obtained from your County Assessor's Office online.
Interest rates to rise as QE2 ends, economist warns in Denver
By Aldo Svaldi
The Denver Post
Prepare for higher interest rates as the Federal Reserve ends its program of purchasing U.S. Treasurys next month, warns Wells Fargo Securities chief economist John Silvia.
Higher interest rates will put added pressure on a struggling housing market but in themselves shouldn't derail the recovery, said Silvia, speaking at a 2011 Economic Outlook for bank clients Wednesday morning in Denver.
"If the Fed stops buying, it will be a tough situation," Silvia said of the coming end to the central bank's second round of quantitative easing, also known as QE2.
Silvia predicted that Treasury rates could rise by one- half to a full percentage point but in a moderate way and not resembling the big moves seen in the 1970s.
"This isn't Jimmy Carter, but you can see where the numbers are going," he said.
Higher rates on government debt will spill into the mortgage markets.
The average rate on a 30-year mortgage last week was 4.76 percent, according to the Mortgage Banker's Association.
Despite that low level, mortgage applications remain anemic and home prices continue to fall in most areas.
"If you can't sell a house now, what will you do if mortgages rates go up 100 basis points (1 percentage point)?" he asked.
Higher rates are needed to make up for the Federal Reserve's reduced involvement. Compounding the lack of demand, China and Japan, the two largest foreign holders of U.S. debt, are seeking more diversification in their holdings.
Bill Gross, who oversees the nation's largest fixed-income mutual fund at PIMCO, has sold off his holdings of U.S. Treasurys and is urging investors to do the same.
When the Fed stepped back last year, growth slowed and stock markets fell, resulting in further quantitative easing.
Wells Fargo Securities is predicting growth in U.S. gross domestic product of 2.4 percent this year and 2.8 percent next year, driven by strong business investment, rising U.S. exports and modest consumer spending.
Silvia predicts that gasoline prices could rise another 10 to 20 cents a gallon through Memorial Day and early June, taking an additional bite out of discretionary spending.
Higher fuel costs also could reduce the number of people jumping in their cars to visit Colorado this summer.
"The number of visits may be less than expected," he said.
The Denver Post
Prepare for higher interest rates as the Federal Reserve ends its program of purchasing U.S. Treasurys next month, warns Wells Fargo Securities chief economist John Silvia.
Higher interest rates will put added pressure on a struggling housing market but in themselves shouldn't derail the recovery, said Silvia, speaking at a 2011 Economic Outlook for bank clients Wednesday morning in Denver.
"If the Fed stops buying, it will be a tough situation," Silvia said of the coming end to the central bank's second round of quantitative easing, also known as QE2.
Silvia predicted that Treasury rates could rise by one- half to a full percentage point but in a moderate way and not resembling the big moves seen in the 1970s.
"This isn't Jimmy Carter, but you can see where the numbers are going," he said.
Higher rates on government debt will spill into the mortgage markets.
The average rate on a 30-year mortgage last week was 4.76 percent, according to the Mortgage Banker's Association.
Despite that low level, mortgage applications remain anemic and home prices continue to fall in most areas.
"If you can't sell a house now, what will you do if mortgages rates go up 100 basis points (1 percentage point)?" he asked.
Higher rates are needed to make up for the Federal Reserve's reduced involvement. Compounding the lack of demand, China and Japan, the two largest foreign holders of U.S. debt, are seeking more diversification in their holdings.
Bill Gross, who oversees the nation's largest fixed-income mutual fund at PIMCO, has sold off his holdings of U.S. Treasurys and is urging investors to do the same.
When the Fed stepped back last year, growth slowed and stock markets fell, resulting in further quantitative easing.
Wells Fargo Securities is predicting growth in U.S. gross domestic product of 2.4 percent this year and 2.8 percent next year, driven by strong business investment, rising U.S. exports and modest consumer spending.
Silvia predicts that gasoline prices could rise another 10 to 20 cents a gallon through Memorial Day and early June, taking an additional bite out of discretionary spending.
Higher fuel costs also could reduce the number of people jumping in their cars to visit Colorado this summer.
"The number of visits may be less than expected," he said.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Colorado foreclosure filings and sales down
By Howard Pankratz
The Denver Post
Foreclosure filings in Colorado have plummeted 40 percent in the past year, the Colorado Division of Housing said today.
In Colorado's metropolitan counties, foreclosure filings fell from 3,228 during April 2010 to 1,933 during April 2011.
Foreclosure sales at auction fell 11.2 percent during the same period. There were 1,604 sales at auction during April 2011 in Colorado's metropolitan counties, compared to 1,806 in April 2010.
"It's now been seven months since foreclosure filings increased year over year, and three of those months showed drops of 30 percent or more," said Ryan McMaken, housing division spokesman.
"The filing news is great, but there are still clearly many pending foreclosures left to deal with," he added.
Year-to-date comparisons show that for the period from January to April this year, foreclosure filings are down 33.2 percent as compared to the same period last year, and foreclosure sales at auction are down 18 percent.
All metropolitan counties showed decreases in foreclosure filings, comparing year over year. From April 2010 to April 2011, foreclosure filings fell 56.3 percent in Douglas County and 51.3 percent in Larimer County. The county with the smallest decrease was Pueblo County where filings dropped 7.1 percent, compared year over year.
Foreclosure sales also showed some declines across the state but were more mixed. Pueblo, Boulder and Jefferson counties reported increases in foreclosure sales at auction in April when compared to April 2010. All other counties, however, showed decreases with the largest decrease in Weld County, where foreclosure sales fell 39.2 percent year over year.
Foreclosure filings are the initial filing that begins the foreclosure process. Foreclosure sales are the total number of foreclosures that have been sold at auction at the end of the foreclosure process.
The Denver Post
Foreclosure filings in Colorado have plummeted 40 percent in the past year, the Colorado Division of Housing said today.
In Colorado's metropolitan counties, foreclosure filings fell from 3,228 during April 2010 to 1,933 during April 2011.
Foreclosure sales at auction fell 11.2 percent during the same period. There were 1,604 sales at auction during April 2011 in Colorado's metropolitan counties, compared to 1,806 in April 2010.
"It's now been seven months since foreclosure filings increased year over year, and three of those months showed drops of 30 percent or more," said Ryan McMaken, housing division spokesman.
"The filing news is great, but there are still clearly many pending foreclosures left to deal with," he added.
Year-to-date comparisons show that for the period from January to April this year, foreclosure filings are down 33.2 percent as compared to the same period last year, and foreclosure sales at auction are down 18 percent.
All metropolitan counties showed decreases in foreclosure filings, comparing year over year. From April 2010 to April 2011, foreclosure filings fell 56.3 percent in Douglas County and 51.3 percent in Larimer County. The county with the smallest decrease was Pueblo County where filings dropped 7.1 percent, compared year over year.
Foreclosure sales also showed some declines across the state but were more mixed. Pueblo, Boulder and Jefferson counties reported increases in foreclosure sales at auction in April when compared to April 2010. All other counties, however, showed decreases with the largest decrease in Weld County, where foreclosure sales fell 39.2 percent year over year.
Foreclosure filings are the initial filing that begins the foreclosure process. Foreclosure sales are the total number of foreclosures that have been sold at auction at the end of the foreclosure process.
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Osama bin Laden's $1M mansion is no 'spartan cave'
The Real Estate Roundabout
By Mary Umberger, Monday, May 2, 2011.
Inman News™
Bin Laden's hiding place: a $1 million compound
Unquestionably, the most interesting piece of real estate on the entire planet today is the "mansion" compound where Osama bin Laden was found.
As the New York Times reported, "It was hardly the spartan cave in the mountains that many had envisioned as bin Laden's hiding place. Rather, it was a mansion on the outskirts of the town's center, set on an imposing hilltop and ringed by 12-foot-high concrete walls topped with barbed wire.
"The property was valued at $1 million, but it had neither a telephone nor an Internet connection," the Times wrote. "American officials believed that the compound, built in 2005, was designed for the specific purpose of hiding bin Laden."
The Los Angeles Times has published a graphic showing property details, as well as satellite images from before and after the compound was built.
The Associated Press reported that a doctor, Qazi Mahfooz Ul Haq, sold the land in 2005 where the compound was built, and The Telegraph reports that the contractor who allegedly built the complex, named in reports as Gul Muhammad, has been arrested near Abbottabad, Pakistan.
The man listed as the buyer of the property may have been killed in the U.S. raid, AP also reported. There is a photo of the compound (other photos in this Telegraph report), and a Guardian article discusses bin Laden's family background in building and architecture.
Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller home-price index ... the opera
Recently, the folks at National Public Radio's "All Things Considered" found themselves wishing they could show their audience, in the form of a graph, the recent history of America's home prices. But radio, of course, can't do much with the visual medium of graphs and charts.
So they converted the data into musical notes and gave it to a singer at the Julliard School in New York to perform in operatic fashion.
Jailhouse rock
Add this to the insults to the American way of life that the housing bust has caused: It's made it harder for some people to post bail.
The Wall Street Journal recently reported that bail bondsmen in areas where large numbers of homes have underwater mortgages have turned their backs on their longstanding practice of accepting homes as collateral. Some, instead, have opted for long-term payment plans for incarcerated types whose houses are no longer desirable markers.
"I've got better luck winning the lottery than I would finding someone with a home up for collateral that actually has value to it," a Modesto, Calif., bondsman told the Journal.
Rich, indeed
Money just ain't what it used to be in Aspen, Colo.: The super-rich homeowners who dominated the chi-chi ski capital in recent years lost a bundle in the recession and are unlikely to maintain their role in Aspen's future.
That's according to a former demographer for the Colorado state government, who told local officials they ought to be courting more tourists and retirees and to stop depending on the financial elite.
The demographer, Jim Westkott, suggested that some local mansions of 10,000 square feet or more eventually might be converted into duplexes, co-ops or assisted-living facilities as baby boomers begin to retire, according to an Associated Press report.
Real estate agent scores a bullseye
A Franklin, Tenn., real estate agent won $100,000 on the History Channel's "Top Shot" reality show by besting 15 competitors in the use of weapons that ranged from sniper rifles and .44 Magnums to tomahawks and blow guns.
Chris Reed, who described himself as "country boy from the cotton fields of the Mississippi Delta" is a seasoned competitor, according to the Tennessean newspaper: He was runner-up in Field & Stream magazine's 2009 Total Outdoorsman Challenge and has won numerous state and national championships in archery and long rifle events.
A nasty calling card
Police have arrested a Northwood, N.H., demolition contractor in connection with the illegal dumping of multiple truckloads of burned debris onto the driveway of a local real estate company.
Police charged the man with one count of felony criminal mischief for dumping the charred wood and debris in front of a local Keller Williams Real Estate office; a police representative didn't offer a reason for the deed, according to the Concord Monitor newspaper.
Bugged by bedbugs
A Chicago condo board is suing the resident of a North Side high-rise because it claims she is being uncooperative in its efforts to eradicate more than 500 bedbugs in her unit, according to Crain's Chicago Business. The suit said her failure to cooperate has hampered efforts to keep the bugs from finding their way to other residences in the building.
A parting of the ways
More than 120 agents and brokers are listed as supporters of Real Estate Professionals for a Better Wisconsin, which is protesting the Wisconsin Association of Realtors' backing of Gov. Scott Walker and its donation of $150,0000 to his campaign, according to the Wisconsin State Journal.
Walker has been at the center of the state's highly controversial efforts to cut its budget, including the cutting of state jobs and limiting collective bargaining for state employees.
"We are petitioning the WRA to stop endorsing individual political candidates, focusing instead on educating the public about issues affecting our industry and where the candidates stand on them," reads a statement on the group's site.
The international report
A three-story penthouse in London's Knightsbridge neighborhood has been sold for about $221 million -- and it's a fixer-upper. The new owner bought the unit with bare walls and no amenities and is expected to spend up to $100 million to finish it, according to the Telegraph newspaper.
A government survey in Ireland estimates that more than 2,800 "ghost estates" haunted the country at the end of 2010.
The Sunday Business Post reports that "ghost estates" are developments that have been bought but not completed as a result of the nation's enormous economic downturn. This amounts to 40,000 unoccupied properties in various stages of construction, with 58,000 more approved but not yet built.
By Mary Umberger, Monday, May 2, 2011.
Inman News™
Bin Laden's hiding place: a $1 million compound
Unquestionably, the most interesting piece of real estate on the entire planet today is the "mansion" compound where Osama bin Laden was found.
As the New York Times reported, "It was hardly the spartan cave in the mountains that many had envisioned as bin Laden's hiding place. Rather, it was a mansion on the outskirts of the town's center, set on an imposing hilltop and ringed by 12-foot-high concrete walls topped with barbed wire.
"The property was valued at $1 million, but it had neither a telephone nor an Internet connection," the Times wrote. "American officials believed that the compound, built in 2005, was designed for the specific purpose of hiding bin Laden."
The Los Angeles Times has published a graphic showing property details, as well as satellite images from before and after the compound was built.
The Associated Press reported that a doctor, Qazi Mahfooz Ul Haq, sold the land in 2005 where the compound was built, and The Telegraph reports that the contractor who allegedly built the complex, named in reports as Gul Muhammad, has been arrested near Abbottabad, Pakistan.
The man listed as the buyer of the property may have been killed in the U.S. raid, AP also reported. There is a photo of the compound (other photos in this Telegraph report), and a Guardian article discusses bin Laden's family background in building and architecture.
Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller home-price index ... the opera
Recently, the folks at National Public Radio's "All Things Considered" found themselves wishing they could show their audience, in the form of a graph, the recent history of America's home prices. But radio, of course, can't do much with the visual medium of graphs and charts.
So they converted the data into musical notes and gave it to a singer at the Julliard School in New York to perform in operatic fashion.
Jailhouse rock
Add this to the insults to the American way of life that the housing bust has caused: It's made it harder for some people to post bail.
The Wall Street Journal recently reported that bail bondsmen in areas where large numbers of homes have underwater mortgages have turned their backs on their longstanding practice of accepting homes as collateral. Some, instead, have opted for long-term payment plans for incarcerated types whose houses are no longer desirable markers.
"I've got better luck winning the lottery than I would finding someone with a home up for collateral that actually has value to it," a Modesto, Calif., bondsman told the Journal.
Rich, indeed
Money just ain't what it used to be in Aspen, Colo.: The super-rich homeowners who dominated the chi-chi ski capital in recent years lost a bundle in the recession and are unlikely to maintain their role in Aspen's future.
That's according to a former demographer for the Colorado state government, who told local officials they ought to be courting more tourists and retirees and to stop depending on the financial elite.
The demographer, Jim Westkott, suggested that some local mansions of 10,000 square feet or more eventually might be converted into duplexes, co-ops or assisted-living facilities as baby boomers begin to retire, according to an Associated Press report.
Real estate agent scores a bullseye
A Franklin, Tenn., real estate agent won $100,000 on the History Channel's "Top Shot" reality show by besting 15 competitors in the use of weapons that ranged from sniper rifles and .44 Magnums to tomahawks and blow guns.
Chris Reed, who described himself as "country boy from the cotton fields of the Mississippi Delta" is a seasoned competitor, according to the Tennessean newspaper: He was runner-up in Field & Stream magazine's 2009 Total Outdoorsman Challenge and has won numerous state and national championships in archery and long rifle events.
A nasty calling card
Police have arrested a Northwood, N.H., demolition contractor in connection with the illegal dumping of multiple truckloads of burned debris onto the driveway of a local real estate company.
Police charged the man with one count of felony criminal mischief for dumping the charred wood and debris in front of a local Keller Williams Real Estate office; a police representative didn't offer a reason for the deed, according to the Concord Monitor newspaper.
Bugged by bedbugs
A Chicago condo board is suing the resident of a North Side high-rise because it claims she is being uncooperative in its efforts to eradicate more than 500 bedbugs in her unit, according to Crain's Chicago Business. The suit said her failure to cooperate has hampered efforts to keep the bugs from finding their way to other residences in the building.
A parting of the ways
More than 120 agents and brokers are listed as supporters of Real Estate Professionals for a Better Wisconsin, which is protesting the Wisconsin Association of Realtors' backing of Gov. Scott Walker and its donation of $150,0000 to his campaign, according to the Wisconsin State Journal.
Walker has been at the center of the state's highly controversial efforts to cut its budget, including the cutting of state jobs and limiting collective bargaining for state employees.
"We are petitioning the WRA to stop endorsing individual political candidates, focusing instead on educating the public about issues affecting our industry and where the candidates stand on them," reads a statement on the group's site.
The international report
A three-story penthouse in London's Knightsbridge neighborhood has been sold for about $221 million -- and it's a fixer-upper. The new owner bought the unit with bare walls and no amenities and is expected to spend up to $100 million to finish it, according to the Telegraph newspaper.
A government survey in Ireland estimates that more than 2,800 "ghost estates" haunted the country at the end of 2010.
The Sunday Business Post reports that "ghost estates" are developments that have been bought but not completed as a result of the nation's enormous economic downturn. This amounts to 40,000 unoccupied properties in various stages of construction, with 58,000 more approved but not yet built.
Rate on 30-year fixed mortgage falls to 4.71%, Lowest of Year
By Janna Herron
Associated Press
NEW YORK — Fixed mortgage rates dipped to the lowest level of the year this week. The third straight weekly decline comes at the start of the peak buying season.
Freddie Mac said Thursday the average rate on the 30-year loan fell to 4.71% from 4.78% the previous week. That matched this year's low reached in January. But it is above the 40-year low of 4.17% hit in November.
The average rate on the 15-year fixed mortgage slipped to 3.89% from 3.97%. It reached 3.57% in November, the lowest level on records dating back to 1991.
Mortgage rates tend to track the yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which fell this week after a report showed slower growth last month in the service sector, which employs nearly 90% of the U.S work force. That bolsters the case for the Federal Reserve to maintain its policy of keeping interest rates low to fuel the economy.
STORY: Improving job market ignites sharp rise in apartment rents
INTERACTIVE: What's your home worth?
Low rates have done little to boost home sales, which are far below the level that economists consider healthy. Still, most sales occur between April and August.
Many homebuilders reported a drop in sales in the first three months of the year along with a decline in orders, a sign of future activity. Beazer Homes USA said Tuesday it booked a $54.6 million loss for its fiscal second quarter as new orders and closings fell.
To calculate average mortgage rates, Freddie Mac collects rates from lenders across the country on Monday through Wednesday of each week. Rates often fluctuate significantly, even within a single day.
National Mortgage Rates
National overnight averages Today +/-
30 yr fixed mtg 4.62%
15 yr fixed mtg 3.85%
5/1 ARM 3.18%
$30K home equity loan 6.81%
$30K HELOC 4.95%
About these rates
To compare rates in your area:
Enter zip code
The average rate on a five-year adjustable-rate mortgage fell to 3.47% from 3.51%. The five-year adjustable-rate loan hit 3.25% last month, the lowest rate on records dating back to January 2005.
The average rate on a one-year adjustable-rate loan fell to 3.14% from 3.15%. That marked the lowest level for the rate on the 1-year ARM in the last year.
The rates do not include add-on fees, known as points. One point is equal to 1% of the total loan amount. The average fee for the 30-year fixed loan and 15-year fixed loan in Freddie Mac's survey was 0.7 point. The average fee for the five-year ARM and the 1-year ARM was 0.6 point.
Associated Press
NEW YORK — Fixed mortgage rates dipped to the lowest level of the year this week. The third straight weekly decline comes at the start of the peak buying season.
Freddie Mac said Thursday the average rate on the 30-year loan fell to 4.71% from 4.78% the previous week. That matched this year's low reached in January. But it is above the 40-year low of 4.17% hit in November.
The average rate on the 15-year fixed mortgage slipped to 3.89% from 3.97%. It reached 3.57% in November, the lowest level on records dating back to 1991.
Mortgage rates tend to track the yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which fell this week after a report showed slower growth last month in the service sector, which employs nearly 90% of the U.S work force. That bolsters the case for the Federal Reserve to maintain its policy of keeping interest rates low to fuel the economy.
STORY: Improving job market ignites sharp rise in apartment rents
INTERACTIVE: What's your home worth?
Low rates have done little to boost home sales, which are far below the level that economists consider healthy. Still, most sales occur between April and August.
Many homebuilders reported a drop in sales in the first three months of the year along with a decline in orders, a sign of future activity. Beazer Homes USA said Tuesday it booked a $54.6 million loss for its fiscal second quarter as new orders and closings fell.
To calculate average mortgage rates, Freddie Mac collects rates from lenders across the country on Monday through Wednesday of each week. Rates often fluctuate significantly, even within a single day.
National Mortgage Rates
National overnight averages Today +/-
30 yr fixed mtg 4.62%
15 yr fixed mtg 3.85%
5/1 ARM 3.18%
$30K home equity loan 6.81%
$30K HELOC 4.95%
About these rates
To compare rates in your area:
Enter zip code
The average rate on a five-year adjustable-rate mortgage fell to 3.47% from 3.51%. The five-year adjustable-rate loan hit 3.25% last month, the lowest rate on records dating back to January 2005.
The average rate on a one-year adjustable-rate loan fell to 3.14% from 3.15%. That marked the lowest level for the rate on the 1-year ARM in the last year.
The rates do not include add-on fees, known as points. One point is equal to 1% of the total loan amount. The average fee for the 30-year fixed loan and 15-year fixed loan in Freddie Mac's survey was 0.7 point. The average fee for the five-year ARM and the 1-year ARM was 0.6 point.
Friday, May 6, 2011
Property values plummet in Colorado ski resort communities
By Jason Blevins
The Denver Post
Posted: 05/06/2011\
After nearly two decades of steadily climbing — and often skyrocketing — real-estate prices, property owners in Colorado's resort communities are seeing values plummet.
In such ski-resort counties as Pitkin, Eagle, Summit, Routt and San Miguel, homeowners recently fielded local assessor reports that pushed their home values down by more than 20 percent.
"Some people have come in and complained that their value is too low, which is a new angle for us," said Mark Chapin, assessor for Eagle County, which saw a countywide average decrease of about 30 percent for home, commercial properties and vacant land.
Eagle's 30 percent decline in residential property is more than triple the average decline for homes in all 64 of the state's counties.
It wasn't the richest areas that saw the deepest drops. While the multimillion-dollar homes in Beaver Creek's Bachelor Gulch and downtown Aspen's tony West End did see 20-percent-plus declines, it was the affordable, working-class condo complexes and communities down valley from the ski areas that endured the steepest drops in value.
Nicole Miller's Steamboat Springs-area condo dropped 30 percent in value. She paid $235,000 for the one-bedroom in 2008, and the most recent sale of a one-bedroom in her complex two months ago was for $78,000.
She calls herself lucky because she has work and can afford her mortgage. She plans to "wait it out," she said.
"It could be five years or more before I break even, and who knows if I'll ever make a profit," she said. "The only thing that's unfortunate for me is that this was my first home, and it's supposed to serve as a steppingstone for me financially and in the real-estate market. Right now, it doesn't look like it's going to be either of those things."
In Basalt, where two years ago average home prices surged above $1 million, some condos and homes saw 50-percent-plus declines in value.
"This has just hit us sideways," said Joanie Haggerty, a 25-year broker and part owner of Basalt Realty.
For a couple of years, Basalt home prices were climbing 2 percent every month, peaking in 2007 and 2008. Last week, Haggerty sold a bank-owned Basalt condo for $240,000. In 2007, the same condo sold for $626,000.
"No one thought it would take this long to recover. We are at the bottom of our market," said Haggerty, who hopes the suddenly affordable Basalt will encourage a more diverse population of residents.
The resort communities experiencing the steep price declines for 2011 saw spectacular spikes in value in the 2009 assessment, with values growing by at least 10 percent every two years. The 2011 declines in assessment value mirror the increases from the 2009 assessment, when assessors gauged values using comparable sales from 2007 and early 2008, before the recession settled into the state's mountain communities.
The resort-area assessors said the residential declines are the first since the late 1980s, when the oil market crashed and savings and loans collapsed, triggering a real-estate bust in Colorado.
"I don't even think the total drops in assessed values were as great back then just because we didn't have these high property values to begin with," said Routt County Assessor Gary Peterson.
The value for vacant land in areas such as Stagecoach in south Routt County dropped as much as 75 percent. Lots in that once-promising and still- undeveloped lakeside community cost $12,000 in 2005, surged to $75,000 in 2008 and recently were assessed for half the original price, Peterson said. In fact, last month Peterson recorded three sales of Stagecoach lots for $1,000, $2,000 and $3,000.
The somnolent real-estate market in Colorado's mountain communities challenged local assessors and appraisers who use comparable sales to establish values. With sales volume down by as much as two- thirds of what it was a few years ago, the 2011 reappraisals relied on limited data.
"This is one of the more difficult I've ever been involved with in my 35 years," said Eagle County's Chapin, who in 2009 used 5,000 sales to assess values but had only 1,600 sales for the 2011 assessment.
Eagle County's downvalley, resident-rich communities in Eagle and Gypsum — such as Basalt and El Jebel — also saw the county's steepest declines in values.
Ben Zeeb's home in Eagle Ranch dropped 30 percent in value. But after seeing the market founder in the formerly hot community for the past two years, he thinks the recent valuation is "fairly accurate."
"It's unfortunate for those who are trying to sell," Zeeb said. "My concern is what the next move will be from the county's perspective. Real-estate tax is a significant portion of funding for the county, and that's a big hit for them to take."
Declining property-tax revenues are a statewide woe. State funds are required to cover lost property contributions for education, piling another $140 million onto the state's $1 billion budget deficit. For resort counties, which rely heavily on property-tax revenue, leaders have spent the past year preparing for the decline in next year's property taxes.
"They have been anticipating this and have been preparing," said Pam Caskie, executive director of the Northwest Colorado Council of Governments. "Capacities will definitely be stretched, and I think it's really pinching education the most."
The Denver Post
Posted: 05/06/2011\
After nearly two decades of steadily climbing — and often skyrocketing — real-estate prices, property owners in Colorado's resort communities are seeing values plummet.
In such ski-resort counties as Pitkin, Eagle, Summit, Routt and San Miguel, homeowners recently fielded local assessor reports that pushed their home values down by more than 20 percent.
"Some people have come in and complained that their value is too low, which is a new angle for us," said Mark Chapin, assessor for Eagle County, which saw a countywide average decrease of about 30 percent for home, commercial properties and vacant land.
Eagle's 30 percent decline in residential property is more than triple the average decline for homes in all 64 of the state's counties.
It wasn't the richest areas that saw the deepest drops. While the multimillion-dollar homes in Beaver Creek's Bachelor Gulch and downtown Aspen's tony West End did see 20-percent-plus declines, it was the affordable, working-class condo complexes and communities down valley from the ski areas that endured the steepest drops in value.
Nicole Miller's Steamboat Springs-area condo dropped 30 percent in value. She paid $235,000 for the one-bedroom in 2008, and the most recent sale of a one-bedroom in her complex two months ago was for $78,000.
She calls herself lucky because she has work and can afford her mortgage. She plans to "wait it out," she said.
"It could be five years or more before I break even, and who knows if I'll ever make a profit," she said. "The only thing that's unfortunate for me is that this was my first home, and it's supposed to serve as a steppingstone for me financially and in the real-estate market. Right now, it doesn't look like it's going to be either of those things."
In Basalt, where two years ago average home prices surged above $1 million, some condos and homes saw 50-percent-plus declines in value.
"This has just hit us sideways," said Joanie Haggerty, a 25-year broker and part owner of Basalt Realty.
For a couple of years, Basalt home prices were climbing 2 percent every month, peaking in 2007 and 2008. Last week, Haggerty sold a bank-owned Basalt condo for $240,000. In 2007, the same condo sold for $626,000.
"No one thought it would take this long to recover. We are at the bottom of our market," said Haggerty, who hopes the suddenly affordable Basalt will encourage a more diverse population of residents.
The resort communities experiencing the steep price declines for 2011 saw spectacular spikes in value in the 2009 assessment, with values growing by at least 10 percent every two years. The 2011 declines in assessment value mirror the increases from the 2009 assessment, when assessors gauged values using comparable sales from 2007 and early 2008, before the recession settled into the state's mountain communities.
The resort-area assessors said the residential declines are the first since the late 1980s, when the oil market crashed and savings and loans collapsed, triggering a real-estate bust in Colorado.
"I don't even think the total drops in assessed values were as great back then just because we didn't have these high property values to begin with," said Routt County Assessor Gary Peterson.
The value for vacant land in areas such as Stagecoach in south Routt County dropped as much as 75 percent. Lots in that once-promising and still- undeveloped lakeside community cost $12,000 in 2005, surged to $75,000 in 2008 and recently were assessed for half the original price, Peterson said. In fact, last month Peterson recorded three sales of Stagecoach lots for $1,000, $2,000 and $3,000.
The somnolent real-estate market in Colorado's mountain communities challenged local assessors and appraisers who use comparable sales to establish values. With sales volume down by as much as two- thirds of what it was a few years ago, the 2011 reappraisals relied on limited data.
"This is one of the more difficult I've ever been involved with in my 35 years," said Eagle County's Chapin, who in 2009 used 5,000 sales to assess values but had only 1,600 sales for the 2011 assessment.
Eagle County's downvalley, resident-rich communities in Eagle and Gypsum — such as Basalt and El Jebel — also saw the county's steepest declines in values.
Ben Zeeb's home in Eagle Ranch dropped 30 percent in value. But after seeing the market founder in the formerly hot community for the past two years, he thinks the recent valuation is "fairly accurate."
"It's unfortunate for those who are trying to sell," Zeeb said. "My concern is what the next move will be from the county's perspective. Real-estate tax is a significant portion of funding for the county, and that's a big hit for them to take."
Declining property-tax revenues are a statewide woe. State funds are required to cover lost property contributions for education, piling another $140 million onto the state's $1 billion budget deficit. For resort counties, which rely heavily on property-tax revenue, leaders have spent the past year preparing for the decline in next year's property taxes.
"They have been anticipating this and have been preparing," said Pam Caskie, executive director of the Northwest Colorado Council of Governments. "Capacities will definitely be stretched, and I think it's really pinching education the most."
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Foreclosures in Colorado hit lowest level in more than two years
Foreclosures in Colorado have fallen to their lowest levels since the third quarter of 2008 and have fallen nearly 35 percent below 2009's third-quarter total when filings peaked at more than 12,000, the state of Colorado Division of Housing said today.
New foreclosure filings fell to 8,115 in Colorado during 2011's first quarter, falling 27 percent from 2010's first-quarter total of 11,136.
According to the report released Thursday by the division, foreclosure sales at auction, the event that completes the foreclosure process, also dropped during the first quarter, falling 16 percent from 6,686 to 5,606, year-over-year, for the first quarter.
"Mortgage services and lenders continue to process foreclosures at an unusually slow rate, and although we expected foreclosure activity to drop in the first quarter, it fell more than expected," said Ryan McMaken, Division of Housing spokesman. "That gives us hope for the future, but right now, foreclosure sales at auction aren't going away."
McMaken said that while several Colorado regions saw improvement during the first quarter, some parts of the state continued to see foreclosure growth.
All 12 of the state's metropolitan counties reported drops in foreclosure filings during the first quarter of 2011.
But the story was different for some Western Slope and mountain counties where a rise in foreclosures was experienced.
From the first quarter of 2010 to the same period this year, filings in Garfield County rose 26 percent. They also rose 37 percent in Alamosa County and 29 percent in Delta County.
"The Western Slope and the mountains in Colorado are still growth areas for foreclosures," McMaken said. "Mesa County finally saw some relief this past quarter with a drop in foreclosure filings, but places like Eagle, Garfield and Montrose (counties), we're seeing both increasing numbers, and some of the higher foreclosure rates overall."
Along the Front Range, Adams County filings fell 31 percent and Denver County fell 41 percent.
New foreclosure filings fell to 8,115 in Colorado during 2011's first quarter, falling 27 percent from 2010's first-quarter total of 11,136.
According to the report released Thursday by the division, foreclosure sales at auction, the event that completes the foreclosure process, also dropped during the first quarter, falling 16 percent from 6,686 to 5,606, year-over-year, for the first quarter.
"Mortgage services and lenders continue to process foreclosures at an unusually slow rate, and although we expected foreclosure activity to drop in the first quarter, it fell more than expected," said Ryan McMaken, Division of Housing spokesman. "That gives us hope for the future, but right now, foreclosure sales at auction aren't going away."
McMaken said that while several Colorado regions saw improvement during the first quarter, some parts of the state continued to see foreclosure growth.
All 12 of the state's metropolitan counties reported drops in foreclosure filings during the first quarter of 2011.
But the story was different for some Western Slope and mountain counties where a rise in foreclosures was experienced.
From the first quarter of 2010 to the same period this year, filings in Garfield County rose 26 percent. They also rose 37 percent in Alamosa County and 29 percent in Delta County.
"The Western Slope and the mountains in Colorado are still growth areas for foreclosures," McMaken said. "Mesa County finally saw some relief this past quarter with a drop in foreclosure filings, but places like Eagle, Garfield and Montrose (counties), we're seeing both increasing numbers, and some of the higher foreclosure rates overall."
Along the Front Range, Adams County filings fell 31 percent and Denver County fell 41 percent.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Westminster Mall to be Razed for a new Downtown
Denver Post
The city of Westminster plans to demolish the blighted Westminster Mall to develop a downtown for the 100-year-old community.
At a special meeting Monday, the City Council unanimously approved a deal to pay $22 million to Westminster Mall Co., a partnership between Kansas City, Mo.-based Dreiseszun & Morgan and Dillard's. It expects to close on the property May 11 and demolish the buildings this year.
City officials are talking with developers about creating a dense downtown area for Westminster. They envision increasing the mall's 1.2 million square feet of retail space with up to 5 million square feet of offices, residences, restaurants and shops.
Over the past few years, Westminster has been positioning the area at West 92nd Avenue and Sheridan Boulevard for redevelopment. It acquired the vacant Macy's department store and Trail Dust Steak House in 2009. At the end of last year, it acquired Mervyn's. The entire site is 108 acres.
"Now we have a great new piece that's going to give us the feel of a little bit of downtown that we don't have," said Mayor Nancy McNally.
The acquisition includes all but the Sears store, the Brunswick Zone and a small office building, all of which will remain open. The city also plans to keep the J.C. Penney store open.
Westminster issued a request for proposals from developers nationwide more than a year ago and has since added more to the mix. City officials expect to select a developer and negotiate a deal this summer.
"The plan is for a developer to eventually own the site," City Manager Brent McFall said. "We don't want to own the property. Our function here was to consolidate the site."
Locating in the high-traffic U.S. 36 corridor at Sheridan, Westminster Mall opened in 1977 with 30 stores. Within 10 years, it became among the most popular malls in metro Denver, adding May D&F and Mervyn's in 1986, followed by J.C. Penney a year later.
At its peak, the mall had about 300 stores, a far cry from the 15 that remain open today.
The city and the current owner invested $10 million to renovate the mall in 2000-01.
Westminster is following the nationwide trend of "demalling" America. In the Denver area, the 1.5 million-square-foot Villa Italia mall was razed to make way for Belmar, a pedestrian-friendly shopping, office and retail development that bills itself as Lakewood's downtown. The old Southglenn Mall was transformed into the Streets at SouthGlenn, a 70-acre outdoor shopping, entertainment and residential area.
The city of Westminster plans to demolish the blighted Westminster Mall to develop a downtown for the 100-year-old community.
At a special meeting Monday, the City Council unanimously approved a deal to pay $22 million to Westminster Mall Co., a partnership between Kansas City, Mo.-based Dreiseszun & Morgan and Dillard's. It expects to close on the property May 11 and demolish the buildings this year.
City officials are talking with developers about creating a dense downtown area for Westminster. They envision increasing the mall's 1.2 million square feet of retail space with up to 5 million square feet of offices, residences, restaurants and shops.
Over the past few years, Westminster has been positioning the area at West 92nd Avenue and Sheridan Boulevard for redevelopment. It acquired the vacant Macy's department store and Trail Dust Steak House in 2009. At the end of last year, it acquired Mervyn's. The entire site is 108 acres.
"Now we have a great new piece that's going to give us the feel of a little bit of downtown that we don't have," said Mayor Nancy McNally.
The acquisition includes all but the Sears store, the Brunswick Zone and a small office building, all of which will remain open. The city also plans to keep the J.C. Penney store open.
Westminster issued a request for proposals from developers nationwide more than a year ago and has since added more to the mix. City officials expect to select a developer and negotiate a deal this summer.
"The plan is for a developer to eventually own the site," City Manager Brent McFall said. "We don't want to own the property. Our function here was to consolidate the site."
Locating in the high-traffic U.S. 36 corridor at Sheridan, Westminster Mall opened in 1977 with 30 stores. Within 10 years, it became among the most popular malls in metro Denver, adding May D&F and Mervyn's in 1986, followed by J.C. Penney a year later.
At its peak, the mall had about 300 stores, a far cry from the 15 that remain open today.
The city and the current owner invested $10 million to renovate the mall in 2000-01.
Westminster is following the nationwide trend of "demalling" America. In the Denver area, the 1.5 million-square-foot Villa Italia mall was razed to make way for Belmar, a pedestrian-friendly shopping, office and retail development that bills itself as Lakewood's downtown. The old Southglenn Mall was transformed into the Streets at SouthGlenn, a 70-acre outdoor shopping, entertainment and residential area.
Monday, May 2, 2011
10 Best and Worst States to Make a Living
by Kathy Kristof
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
The job market is finally picking up some steam, providing hope to long-suffering job seekers everywhere. But if you're among the applying masses, you probably want to do more than just get a job.
If you want to make a living -- in other words, make enough after tax and fixed expenses to prosper -- your chances of getting a job that pays enough to live in comfort varies dramatically based on the state where you live and work. MoneyRates.com pulled unemployment rates, average wages, tax rates and cost of living from all 50 states and found that the best places to find a job were not necessarily the best places to make a living.
The unemployment rate is only 3.7% in North Dakota versus 11% in Michigan, for example. But Michigan is a much better place to make a living, with "adjusted average income" of $37,427 versus $35,365 in North Dakota, according to MoneyRates. MoneyRates rankings are based on their analysis of what you have left to spend, after adjusting for paying your state taxes and dealing with the comparative cost of buying groceries and keeping a roof over your head, among other things.
Based on that analysis, where are the best and worst places to make a living?
The best, according to MoneyRates, is ...
1. Illinois: The adjusted average income is $41,987, thanks to reasonably high average wages, relatively low state income taxes and a reasonable cost of living.
2. Washington (state): The cost of living is higher than average, but so is the average wage and the state imposes no income tax. Adjusted average income: $41,456.
3. Texas: Also benefits from no state income tax. Adjusted average income: $41,427
4. Virginia: $41,120
5. Delaware: $39,105
6. Massachusetts: $38,665
7. Georgia: $38,228
8. Tennessee: $38,038
9. Colorado: $38,020
10. Minnesota: $37,721
Where are the worst states to make a living?
1. Hawaii: $22,108
2. Maine: $29,159
3. Montana: $29,496
4. California: $29,772
5. Vermont: $29,986
6. Oregon: $30,343
7. Rhode Island: $30,612
8. Mississippi: $30,953
9. West Virginia: 31,357
10. South Carolina: $31,636
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
The job market is finally picking up some steam, providing hope to long-suffering job seekers everywhere. But if you're among the applying masses, you probably want to do more than just get a job.
If you want to make a living -- in other words, make enough after tax and fixed expenses to prosper -- your chances of getting a job that pays enough to live in comfort varies dramatically based on the state where you live and work. MoneyRates.com pulled unemployment rates, average wages, tax rates and cost of living from all 50 states and found that the best places to find a job were not necessarily the best places to make a living.
The unemployment rate is only 3.7% in North Dakota versus 11% in Michigan, for example. But Michigan is a much better place to make a living, with "adjusted average income" of $37,427 versus $35,365 in North Dakota, according to MoneyRates. MoneyRates rankings are based on their analysis of what you have left to spend, after adjusting for paying your state taxes and dealing with the comparative cost of buying groceries and keeping a roof over your head, among other things.
Based on that analysis, where are the best and worst places to make a living?
The best, according to MoneyRates, is ...
1. Illinois: The adjusted average income is $41,987, thanks to reasonably high average wages, relatively low state income taxes and a reasonable cost of living.
2. Washington (state): The cost of living is higher than average, but so is the average wage and the state imposes no income tax. Adjusted average income: $41,456.
3. Texas: Also benefits from no state income tax. Adjusted average income: $41,427
4. Virginia: $41,120
5. Delaware: $39,105
6. Massachusetts: $38,665
7. Georgia: $38,228
8. Tennessee: $38,038
9. Colorado: $38,020
10. Minnesota: $37,721
Where are the worst states to make a living?
1. Hawaii: $22,108
2. Maine: $29,159
3. Montana: $29,496
4. California: $29,772
5. Vermont: $29,986
6. Oregon: $30,343
7. Rhode Island: $30,612
8. Mississippi: $30,953
9. West Virginia: 31,357
10. South Carolina: $31,636
Housing still best investment despite downturn: study
By Tim Gaynor
PHOENIX | Tue Apr 12, 2011 12:16pm EDT
PHOENIX (Reuters) - Even as a five-year slump in house prices drags on, eight-out-of-10 Americans say bricks and mortar remain the best long-term investment, according to a study released on Tuesday.
The survey by the Pew Research Center's Social and Demographic Trends project found that 81 percent of respondents see housing as the best investment a person can make, despite a slump in prices that has knocked nearly a third off home values since 2006.
"The resilience of the American public's belief in the investment value of home ownership is pretty impressive," Paul Taylor, the project's director and a co-author of the report, told Reuters.
"In modern economic history we've never had a five-year period where home values have fallen as long or as far as they have now," he added.
U.S. home prices were down by around 32 percent at the start of this year from their pre-recession peak in July 2006, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices released late last month.
After a pause last year, prices fell again in the first quarter of this year, the Pew Research Center said.
The telephone survey was conducted among a nationally representative sample of 2,142 adults, between March 15 and March 29 this year.
It found that while the American public continued to believe in housing as an investment, there had been some falloff in the intensity of their faith.
It found that 37 percent "strongly" agreed that a home is the best long-term investment a person can make, while 44 percent "somewhat" agreed that homeownership is the best investment a person can make.
When the same questions were put to respondents in a CBS News/New York Times survey two decades ago, 49 percent "strongly agreed" that homes were the best investment, and 35 percent "somewhat agreed," the study noted.
Nearly half of all homeowners said that their home was worth less now than before the recession began in late 2007, the survey found.
Of that group, the overwhelming majority said it would take at least three years for values to recover, while nearly half said it would take at least six years to recover.
Among those whose homes have lost value, Westerners and Midwesterners were more pessimistic about a speedy recovery than those living in the South and East.
Nearly a quarter -- 23 percent -- of all homeowners said that if they had it to do all over again, they would not buy their current home.
(Reporting by Tim Gaynor; Editing by Jerry Norton)
PHOENIX | Tue Apr 12, 2011 12:16pm EDT
PHOENIX (Reuters) - Even as a five-year slump in house prices drags on, eight-out-of-10 Americans say bricks and mortar remain the best long-term investment, according to a study released on Tuesday.
The survey by the Pew Research Center's Social and Demographic Trends project found that 81 percent of respondents see housing as the best investment a person can make, despite a slump in prices that has knocked nearly a third off home values since 2006.
"The resilience of the American public's belief in the investment value of home ownership is pretty impressive," Paul Taylor, the project's director and a co-author of the report, told Reuters.
"In modern economic history we've never had a five-year period where home values have fallen as long or as far as they have now," he added.
U.S. home prices were down by around 32 percent at the start of this year from their pre-recession peak in July 2006, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices released late last month.
After a pause last year, prices fell again in the first quarter of this year, the Pew Research Center said.
The telephone survey was conducted among a nationally representative sample of 2,142 adults, between March 15 and March 29 this year.
It found that while the American public continued to believe in housing as an investment, there had been some falloff in the intensity of their faith.
It found that 37 percent "strongly" agreed that a home is the best long-term investment a person can make, while 44 percent "somewhat" agreed that homeownership is the best investment a person can make.
When the same questions were put to respondents in a CBS News/New York Times survey two decades ago, 49 percent "strongly agreed" that homes were the best investment, and 35 percent "somewhat agreed," the study noted.
Nearly half of all homeowners said that their home was worth less now than before the recession began in late 2007, the survey found.
Of that group, the overwhelming majority said it would take at least three years for values to recover, while nearly half said it would take at least six years to recover.
Among those whose homes have lost value, Westerners and Midwesterners were more pessimistic about a speedy recovery than those living in the South and East.
Nearly a quarter -- 23 percent -- of all homeowners said that if they had it to do all over again, they would not buy their current home.
(Reporting by Tim Gaynor; Editing by Jerry Norton)
11 Cities Where Homes Sell the Fastest
Daily Real Estate News | April 27, 2011
California boasted the highest number of cities where homes tended to spend the shortest amount of time on the market last month, based on March housing data from Realtor.com.
In Oakland, Calif., the average days on the market for listings was 50 in March--the least amount of days for median days on the market for the 146 markets reviewed.
Nationally, the median for homes for days on the market was 160 in March, which is an increase of 40 percent in a year.
Here is a list of the cities with the fewest median days on the market from March:
Oakland, Calif.
Median days on the market: 50
Median list price: $319,000
San Francisco
Median days on the market: 63
Median list price: $639,000
Denver
Median days on the market: 66
Median list price: $259,900
Iowa City, Iowa
Median days on the market: 66
Median list price: $187,500
Los Angeles-Long Beach, Calif.
Median days on the market: 70
Median list price: $345,000
Stockton-Lodi, Calif.
Median days on the market: 70
Median list price: $175,000
Bakersfield, Calif.
Median days on the market: 70
Median list price: $141,500
San Jose, Calif.
Median days on the market: 71
Median list price: $470,000
Anchorage, Alaska
Median days on the market: 71
Median list price: $279,975
Fresno, Calif.
Median days on the market: 71
Median list price: $170,000
Tulsa, Okla.
Median days on the market: 71
Median list price: $147,900
Source: REALTOR® Magazine online (April 27, 2011
California boasted the highest number of cities where homes tended to spend the shortest amount of time on the market last month, based on March housing data from Realtor.com.
In Oakland, Calif., the average days on the market for listings was 50 in March--the least amount of days for median days on the market for the 146 markets reviewed.
Nationally, the median for homes for days on the market was 160 in March, which is an increase of 40 percent in a year.
Here is a list of the cities with the fewest median days on the market from March:
Oakland, Calif.
Median days on the market: 50
Median list price: $319,000
San Francisco
Median days on the market: 63
Median list price: $639,000
Denver
Median days on the market: 66
Median list price: $259,900
Iowa City, Iowa
Median days on the market: 66
Median list price: $187,500
Los Angeles-Long Beach, Calif.
Median days on the market: 70
Median list price: $345,000
Stockton-Lodi, Calif.
Median days on the market: 70
Median list price: $175,000
Bakersfield, Calif.
Median days on the market: 70
Median list price: $141,500
San Jose, Calif.
Median days on the market: 71
Median list price: $470,000
Anchorage, Alaska
Median days on the market: 71
Median list price: $279,975
Fresno, Calif.
Median days on the market: 71
Median list price: $170,000
Tulsa, Okla.
Median days on the market: 71
Median list price: $147,900
Source: REALTOR® Magazine online (April 27, 2011
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Colorado's urban areas fare better than some on keeping up with house payments
In Miami and Las Vegas, nearly one out of four borrowers were behind on their house payments by three months or more at the end of 2010, according to a new report from Foreclosure-Response.org.
Borrowers in Colorado's urban areas are doing a much better job of keeping up, although a significant share remain behind the eight ball.
Serious delinquency rates range from 8.1 percent of mortgage borrowers in Greeley to 3.5 percent in Boulder, with metro Denver at 6.8 percent. Foreclosure rates range from 4.4 percent of all mortgages in Greeley and Pueblo to 1.9 percent in Boulder, with metro Denver at 3.8 percent.
The good news is that borrowers in Colorado's metro areas are doing better at staying current than many parts of the country. The bad news: Delinquencies are still way too high for a healthy housing market, said Ryan McMaken, author of a quarterly state report on foreclosures from the Colorado Division of Housing.
"Generally speaking, Colorado isn't particularly notable for its foreclosure rates," he notes.
Florida is home to 15 of the 17 metro areas with the highest serious delinquency rates, defined as mortgages where a borrower is 90 days or more behind on payments.
Ninety days is considered a deep enough hole that borrowers can't dig out easily and get current. It is also the point where many mortgage servicers would start a foreclosure, although that threshold appears to be getting pushed further out.
"There are people who are a year delinquent and who are not in foreclosure," said Leah Hendey of The Urban Institute in Washington, D.C., which sponsored the study along with the Center for Housing Policy and the Local Initiatives Support Corp.
The rate of serious delinquencies nationally remains high at 9.7 percent, down from 10.4 percent in 2009.
"We don't have the escalation that we had in 2009," Hendey said. At the same time, more people appear stuck in limbo, way behind but not facing imminent eviction.
And there are pockets of strength, like Bismarck, N.D., where only one out of 50 households are seriously behind on their home loans.
The study's data, provided by LPS Applied Analytics, comes from mortgage servicers who handle about 70 percent of all mortgages in the country, Hendey said.
The report shows many subprime loans are still going into foreclosure, even though lenders stopped making those type of loans years ago.
One out of five subprime mortgages was in foreclosure in Grand Junction, while the rates for other Colorado metro areas ranged from 12.6 percent to 17.2 percent.
Grand Junction had the highest increase in serious delinquencies in Colorado and ranks 80th out of 366 metro areas for its growth in serious delinquencies from 2009 to 2010.
"The people in trouble are the ones who bought or refinanced anywhere from 2005 to 2007, and then had a job issue, marriage issue, health issue that caused them stress or loss of income," said David Durham, a broker associate at Bray and Co. in Grand Junction who specializes in reselling bank-owned properties.
But rising energy prices, which kept the region's housing market strong well into 2007, could cause drilling activity to pick up and boost demand.
The survey didn't cover rural areas, where about 12 percent of the country's foreclosures are located.
A March report from the Housing Assistance Council suggests that Colorado's rural counties may be faring worse on the foreclosure front.
Rural counties in Utah, Nevada, Georgia, Florida, Hawaii and Colorado had some of the highest foreclosure activity in 2010, the study found.
Aldo Svaldi: 303-954-1410 or asvaldi@denverpost.com
Borrowers in Colorado's urban areas are doing a much better job of keeping up, although a significant share remain behind the eight ball.
Serious delinquency rates range from 8.1 percent of mortgage borrowers in Greeley to 3.5 percent in Boulder, with metro Denver at 6.8 percent. Foreclosure rates range from 4.4 percent of all mortgages in Greeley and Pueblo to 1.9 percent in Boulder, with metro Denver at 3.8 percent.
The good news is that borrowers in Colorado's metro areas are doing better at staying current than many parts of the country. The bad news: Delinquencies are still way too high for a healthy housing market, said Ryan McMaken, author of a quarterly state report on foreclosures from the Colorado Division of Housing.
"Generally speaking, Colorado isn't particularly notable for its foreclosure rates," he notes.
Florida is home to 15 of the 17 metro areas with the highest serious delinquency rates, defined as mortgages where a borrower is 90 days or more behind on payments.
Ninety days is considered a deep enough hole that borrowers can't dig out easily and get current. It is also the point where many mortgage servicers would start a foreclosure, although that threshold appears to be getting pushed further out.
"There are people who are a year delinquent and who are not in foreclosure," said Leah Hendey of The Urban Institute in Washington, D.C., which sponsored the study along with the Center for Housing Policy and the Local Initiatives Support Corp.
The rate of serious delinquencies nationally remains high at 9.7 percent, down from 10.4 percent in 2009.
"We don't have the escalation that we had in 2009," Hendey said. At the same time, more people appear stuck in limbo, way behind but not facing imminent eviction.
And there are pockets of strength, like Bismarck, N.D., where only one out of 50 households are seriously behind on their home loans.
The study's data, provided by LPS Applied Analytics, comes from mortgage servicers who handle about 70 percent of all mortgages in the country, Hendey said.
The report shows many subprime loans are still going into foreclosure, even though lenders stopped making those type of loans years ago.
One out of five subprime mortgages was in foreclosure in Grand Junction, while the rates for other Colorado metro areas ranged from 12.6 percent to 17.2 percent.
Grand Junction had the highest increase in serious delinquencies in Colorado and ranks 80th out of 366 metro areas for its growth in serious delinquencies from 2009 to 2010.
"The people in trouble are the ones who bought or refinanced anywhere from 2005 to 2007, and then had a job issue, marriage issue, health issue that caused them stress or loss of income," said David Durham, a broker associate at Bray and Co. in Grand Junction who specializes in reselling bank-owned properties.
But rising energy prices, which kept the region's housing market strong well into 2007, could cause drilling activity to pick up and boost demand.
The survey didn't cover rural areas, where about 12 percent of the country's foreclosures are located.
A March report from the Housing Assistance Council suggests that Colorado's rural counties may be faring worse on the foreclosure front.
Rural counties in Utah, Nevada, Georgia, Florida, Hawaii and Colorado had some of the highest foreclosure activity in 2010, the study found.
Aldo Svaldi: 303-954-1410 or asvaldi@denverpost.com
Cheaper to Buy Than Rent in 78% of Major Cities
By Inman News, Thursday, April 28, 2011.
Inman News™
It is cheaper to buy a home than to rent one in 39 of the nation’s 50 largest cities, according to a quarterly report released today by real estate search and marketing site Trulia.
Trulia’s rent vs. buy index compared the median list price with the median rent on two-bedroom apartments, condominiums and townhomes listed on Trulia.com as of April 1, 2011, in the 50 most populous cities in the U.S. While 72 percent of the cities favored buying in the previous quarter’s report, 78 percent favored buying in this latest report.
“With home prices nearing a double dip and more foreclosures expected to flood the housing market over the next two years, the decision between renting and buying a home across most of the country has clearly moved in favor of buying,” said Ken Shuman, Trulia’s spokesperson, in a statement.
“As we head into the summer buying season, those looking to buy a home should be encouraged by improvements in the market and feel optimistic about their chances of finding an affordable home — much more so than in previous years.”
A price-to-rent ratio of 1 to 15 means that it’s much cheaper to buy than to rent in a particular city. A ratio between 16 and 20 means that it’s more expensive to rent than to buy, but, depending on the family’s situation, buying could “make financial sense,” the site said. Any ratio above 20 indicates that owning is much more costly than renting in a city.
Top 10 cities to buy vs. rent:
Rank City State Price-to-rent ratio
1 Las Vegas Nev. 6
2 Phoenix Ariz. 7
3 Arlington Texas 7
4 Fresno Calif. 8
5 Miami Fla. 8
6 Mesa Ariz. 8
7 Jacksonville Fla. 9
8 Sacramento Calif. 9
9 Detroit Mich. 10
10 Omaha Neb. 10
Source: Trulia
Most of the cities considered saw their price-to-rent ratios fall quarter-to-quarter. Fresno, Calif.; Omaha, Neb.; San Jose, Calif.; Seattle; Cleveland; and Detroit saw the biggest drops.
Rank City State Q2 2011 Q1 2011 % change
1 Fresno CA 8 11 -30%
2 Omaha NE 10 13 -25%
3 San Jose CA 12 15 -21%
4 Seattle WA 19 24 -20%
5 Cleveland OH 14 17 -15%
6 Detroit MI 10 12 -15%
Source: Trulia
Coastal cities dominated among those where renting is cheaper than buying, but consumers will have to decide if buying makes financial sense.
Rank City State Price-to-rent ratio
40 Oakland Calif. 16
41 Oklahoma City Okla. 16
42 Portland Ore. 18
43 San Francisco Calif. 19
44 Boston Mass. 19
45 Seattle Wash. 19
46 Memphis Tenn. 20
47 Los Angeles Calif. 20
Source: Trulia
The index considers the total cost of homeownership compared to the total cost of renting. Calculations for the total cost of homeownership include mortgage principal and interest, property taxes, hazard insurance, closing costs at time of purchase, homeowners association dues, and private mortgage insurance. The homeownership cost calculation also includes tax advantages from mortgage interest, property tax and closing-cost deductions.
Calculations for total rental cost include rent and renters insurance.
The total cost of homeownership was highest, compared to the cost to rent, in New York; Fort Worth, Texas; and Kansas City, Mo.
Top 10 cities to rent vs. buy:
Rank City State Price-to-rent Ratio
50 New York N.Y. 39
49 Fort Worth Texas 30
48 Kansas City Mo. 22
46 Memphis Tenn. 20
47 Los Angeles Calif. 20
43 San Francisco Calif. 19
44 Boston Mass. 19
45 Seattle Wash. 19
42 Portland Ore. 18
41 Oklahoma City Okla. 16
Source: Trulia
.
Inman News™
It is cheaper to buy a home than to rent one in 39 of the nation’s 50 largest cities, according to a quarterly report released today by real estate search and marketing site Trulia.
Trulia’s rent vs. buy index compared the median list price with the median rent on two-bedroom apartments, condominiums and townhomes listed on Trulia.com as of April 1, 2011, in the 50 most populous cities in the U.S. While 72 percent of the cities favored buying in the previous quarter’s report, 78 percent favored buying in this latest report.
“With home prices nearing a double dip and more foreclosures expected to flood the housing market over the next two years, the decision between renting and buying a home across most of the country has clearly moved in favor of buying,” said Ken Shuman, Trulia’s spokesperson, in a statement.
“As we head into the summer buying season, those looking to buy a home should be encouraged by improvements in the market and feel optimistic about their chances of finding an affordable home — much more so than in previous years.”
A price-to-rent ratio of 1 to 15 means that it’s much cheaper to buy than to rent in a particular city. A ratio between 16 and 20 means that it’s more expensive to rent than to buy, but, depending on the family’s situation, buying could “make financial sense,” the site said. Any ratio above 20 indicates that owning is much more costly than renting in a city.
Top 10 cities to buy vs. rent:
Rank City State Price-to-rent ratio
1 Las Vegas Nev. 6
2 Phoenix Ariz. 7
3 Arlington Texas 7
4 Fresno Calif. 8
5 Miami Fla. 8
6 Mesa Ariz. 8
7 Jacksonville Fla. 9
8 Sacramento Calif. 9
9 Detroit Mich. 10
10 Omaha Neb. 10
Source: Trulia
Most of the cities considered saw their price-to-rent ratios fall quarter-to-quarter. Fresno, Calif.; Omaha, Neb.; San Jose, Calif.; Seattle; Cleveland; and Detroit saw the biggest drops.
Rank City State Q2 2011 Q1 2011 % change
1 Fresno CA 8 11 -30%
2 Omaha NE 10 13 -25%
3 San Jose CA 12 15 -21%
4 Seattle WA 19 24 -20%
5 Cleveland OH 14 17 -15%
6 Detroit MI 10 12 -15%
Source: Trulia
Coastal cities dominated among those where renting is cheaper than buying, but consumers will have to decide if buying makes financial sense.
Rank City State Price-to-rent ratio
40 Oakland Calif. 16
41 Oklahoma City Okla. 16
42 Portland Ore. 18
43 San Francisco Calif. 19
44 Boston Mass. 19
45 Seattle Wash. 19
46 Memphis Tenn. 20
47 Los Angeles Calif. 20
Source: Trulia
The index considers the total cost of homeownership compared to the total cost of renting. Calculations for the total cost of homeownership include mortgage principal and interest, property taxes, hazard insurance, closing costs at time of purchase, homeowners association dues, and private mortgage insurance. The homeownership cost calculation also includes tax advantages from mortgage interest, property tax and closing-cost deductions.
Calculations for total rental cost include rent and renters insurance.
The total cost of homeownership was highest, compared to the cost to rent, in New York; Fort Worth, Texas; and Kansas City, Mo.
Top 10 cities to rent vs. buy:
Rank City State Price-to-rent Ratio
50 New York N.Y. 39
49 Fort Worth Texas 30
48 Kansas City Mo. 22
46 Memphis Tenn. 20
47 Los Angeles Calif. 20
43 San Francisco Calif. 19
44 Boston Mass. 19
45 Seattle Wash. 19
42 Portland Ore. 18
41 Oklahoma City Okla. 16
Source: Trulia
.
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