Mortgage Rates Flat This Week - 01/30/10 11:50 AM
Mortgage Rates Flat This Week - The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.98% with an average 0.6 point for the week ending January 28, 2010, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey.  Last week, it averaged 4.99%, and a year ago it averaged 5.10%.  "Mortgage rates held steady this week ahead of the Federal Reserve's (Fed) policy committee meetings," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist.  "The Fed announced on January 27th that economic activity has continued to strengthen.  It also noted that with substantial resource slack continuing to restrain cost pressures and with longer-term inflation expectations stable, inflation … (0 comments)

High-speed rail for Colo.? - 01/30/10 11:49 AM
High-speed rail for Colo.? - Colorado has been awarded $1.4 million in stimulus money to study high-speed inter-city rail as it might relate to FasTracks, Obama administration officials announced yesterday.  The money will be used to create a “sophisticated” plan for connecting rail transit systems in Colorado.  Colorado was awarded a $1 million grant to conduct a connectivity study.  The Colorado Department of Transportation will match the grant to conduct a $2 million study that will examine how high-speed rail systems outside the Denver metro area might mesh with the Regional Transportation District’s FasTracks system.  A second grant of $400,000 was … (1 comments)

Houses Shrink, But Some 'Must Haves' Remain - 01/27/10 02:34 PM
Houses Shrink, But Some 'Must Haves' Remain - Houses are getting smaller, according to data released last week by the National Association of Home Builders.  The association said that the average size of a new home in 2009 was 2,480 square feet, down from 2,520 square feet in 2008.  Some features are still expected in new houses, including:  1) Walk-in closets in the master bedroom; 2) Laundry rooms; 3) Insulated front doors; 4) Great rooms; and 5) Energy-efficient windows.  See the full article for more items.http://www.realtor.org/rmodaily.nsf/pages/News2010012504
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Home prices soar 14% - 01/27/10 02:32 PM
Home prices soar 14% - In Denver, the median price of a single-family home that closed in December jumped by 14.1 % from December 2008, according to data from the National Association of Realtors released today to InsideRealEstateNew.com.  The median, or middle, price of a home jumped to $224.800 last month from $197,800 in December 2008.  http://insiderealestatenews.com/2010/01/exclusive-home-prices-soar-14/
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Denver ranked No. 3 by Case-Shiller - 01/27/10 02:30 PM
Denver ranked No. 3 by Case-Shiller - The Denver-area housing market ranked No. 3 of the 20 cities tracked in the closely watched S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices report released today.  The Denver housing market showed a 0.5% gain in the year ending in November, bested only by Dallas and San Francisco, which showed a 1.4% and a 1.0% gain, respectively. http://insiderealestatenews.com/2010/01/denver-ranked-no-3-by-case-shiller/
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Ten Inexpensive Ways to Wow Buyers - 01/27/10 02:23 PM
Ten Inexpensive Ways to Wow Buyers - Now is the time for home owners contemplating a spring sale to spruce up their properties in anticipation of what Mike Larson of Weiss Research calls a potentially vibrant home-selling season.  Here are a few cheap ways to make a property more attractive to shoppers: 1) Improve first impressions.  Touch up the paint on the front door and other areas that buyers see first.  2) Clean up the landscaping.  Trim the hedges and trees and plant some annuals in the flowerbeds.  And 3) Paint the interior.  A coat of light yellow or cream with … (0 comments)

Denver again led metro area in home resales in 2009, but sales declined - 01/27/10 02:22 PM
Denver again led metro area in home resales in 2009, but sales declined - Denver County continued to have more sales than other metro-area counties of existing single-family homes in 2009.  The county had 7,482 closed sales of such homes last year, down from 9,399 the prior year.  The largest number of homes sold in Denver County — 2,581 — were in the $100,000-$200,000 price range, followed by 1,580 home sold in the $200,000-$300,000 “move-up” range.  “First-time homebuyer closings, via tax-credit assistance, took over the market for the majority of the year,” said Metrolist analyst Gary Bauer in his report.  “First-time … (0 comments)

How's The Housing Market In Your Neighborhood? - 01/25/10 11:10 AM
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Big Test Ahead for Mortgage Market - 01/25/10 11:05 AM
Big Test Ahead for Mortgage Market The cessation of the government program to buy mortgage-backed securities, set to end in a couple of months, will show whether the White House and Federal Reserve have effectively stimulated the lending market to the point that it is now on solid footing. If the sector slumps again, home owners could face a new period of distress.
http://www.realtor.org/RMODaily.nsf/pages/News2010012502?OpenDocument
What's the housing market like in your neighborhood? Click here to find out.
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IPhone app offers 4 million listings for house hunters - 01/25/10 10:58 AM
IPhone app offers 4 million listings for house hunters
Meet the latest entrant to smartphone house-hunting: Realtor.com. The official website of the National Association of Realtors just unveiled a free application for the iPhone.
The online demo, shown to reporters during a teleconference, revealed a couple of cool features, not least of which is access to about 4 million listings that are supposed to be updated every 15 minutes.
Read more: http://www.denverpost.com/businessheadlines/ci_14252625#ixzz0de00vAai … (1 comments)

4 Tips for Taking Better Real Estate Photos - 01/25/10 09:58 AM
4 Tips for Taking Better Real Estate Photos - Here are a few tips for shooting the best real estate photos: 1) Get the best photo you can of the exterior - it's what will persuade potential buyers to look at the rest of the photos; 2) Emphasize the home’s best points, include a photo of the area the sellers think is its most attractive feature; 3) Shoot the exterior shot a half hour before or after sunset with all the interior lights turned on; and 4) Use a tripod.http://www.realtor.org/RMODaily.nsf/pages/News2010012206
What's the housing market like in your neighborhood? Click here to find out.
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10 Cities Where It's Smarter to Buy - 01/25/10 09:56 AM
10 Cities Where It's Smarter to Buy - For people who want to own a home, the premium to buy — the spread between what they’d spend to rent and what they’d pay for a mortgage — is much lower than the 15-year average in many cities.  Forbes magazine computed the premium and also identified locales where economists predict home prices will go up the most over the next five years.  The Denver-Aurora-Broomfield area ranked #4 on the list! http://www.realtor.org/RMODaily.nsf/pages/News2010012201
How's the housing market in your neighborhood? Click here to find out.
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Top 9 Reverse Mortgage Myths – Separating Fact from Fiction - 01/23/10 05:18 PM
Top 9 Reverse Mortgage Myths – Separating Fact from Fiction RISMEDIA, January 20, 2010—Recent headlines pointing to the detriments of reverse mortgages aren’t getting the story straight. One of the nation’s leading reverse mortgage lenders, Generation Mortgage Company, wants to separate fact from fiction.
http://rismedia.com/2010-01-19/top-9-reverse-mortgage-myths-separating-fact-from-fiction/
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Mortgage Applications Up as Rates Slip - 01/21/10 01:24 PM
Mortgage Applications Up as Rates Slip
Mortgage application volume increased 9.1 percent last week compared to the previous week on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. On an unadjusted basis, the index rose 10.4 percent, but was down 52.3 percent compared with the same week a year ago. Much of the decline compared to the previous year pertained to refinances. The unadjusted purchases index increased 9.8 percent compared to the previous week and was down 19.1 percent from a year ago.
http://www.realtor.org/rmodaily.nsf/pages/News2010012002
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RealSource.net Executives Discuss 2010 and the Distressed Asset Marketplace - 01/21/10 01:23 PM
RealSource.net Executives Discuss 2010 and the Distressed Asset Marketplace
Mosca: Gentlemen there are positives and negatives to all aspects of our professional and personal lives. With about 37 or so hours left in 2009 most in the real estate industry are grateful it's coming to an end. Defined by many as the worst year in history, the hurt was deep, widespread, and palpable. Mike, how do you feel about the pending demise of 2009?
http://realtytimes.com/rtpages/20100121_realsource.htm
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Going Green Trims Taxes - 01/21/10 01:21 PM
Going Green Trims Taxes
Installing energy-efficient home improvements like windows and doors in your principal residence will qualify you for a tax credit. The credit equals 30 percent of the cost, capped at a maximum of $1,500. There's another credit of 30 percent of the cost of installing renewable-energy improvements like solar water heaters and solar panels. This credit isn't capped, and the residence doesn't have to be your principal residence. For detailed information on the laundry list of items that qualify for the two credits, go to www.energytaxincentives.org.
http://realtytimes.com/rtpages/20100121_green.htm
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Economist sees modest gains for Colorado in 2010 - 01/21/10 01:20 PM
Economist sees modest gains for Colorado in 2010
Colorado will see job growth, improving incomes and rising retail sales this year, predicted Bill Kendall, one of the state's top economists.
But those gains will be modest at best, he cautioned.
"It is not going to feel like a healthy economy," Kendall told a lunch gathering of the Denver Association of Business Economists on Wednesday.
Economists are trying to figure out why Colorado's economy fell so hard after Lehman Brothers collapsed in mid-September 2008, despite the state having avoided the run-up in home prices seen elsewhere.
"The economy fell off a cliff," … (0 comments)

Most Colorado contractors expect no construction growth until 2011 or beyond - 01/21/10 01:18 PM
Most Colorado contractors expect no construction growth until 2011 or beyond
About 85 percent of Colorado contractors believe the construction market will not recover in 2010, and no growth is expected until 2011 or beyond, according to survey results released Wednesday that were compiled by the national Associated General Contractors of America (AGC).
“We face a tough market for the next two years. The numbers are pretty sobering,” said Michael Gifford, executive director of AGC’s Colorado chapter.
http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2010/01/18/daily46.html?s=industry&i=commercial_real_estate
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Re/Max CEO Kelly named a regional Fed director - 01/21/10 01:12 PM
Re/Max CEO Kelly named a regional Fed director
Margaret Kelly, CEO of Re/Max International Inc., has been named a director of the Denver branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.
Kelly is one of six members of the bank’s board of directors for the Denver branch.
Based in Denver, Re/Max International oversees a network of residential real estate brokerage franchises in more than 70 countries.
http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2010/01/18/daily47.html?s=industry&i=commercial_real_estate
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Impact of tighter FHA mortgage rules on home loans debated - 01/21/10 12:55 PM
Impact of tighter FHA mortgage rules on home loans debated - Tighter lending requirements for loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration may leave some borrowers unable to get mortgages, but economists are divided on the impact they could have on housing's recovery.  The changes, aimed at strengthening the FHA's reserves in the face of rising foreclosures, shouldn't hurt too many borrowers, officials say.  "We don't expect this to have a significant impact on the housing market," says FHA Commissioner David Stevens, adding that "the moves are designed to get the reserves back up."http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/housing/2010-01-20-fha-home-mortgage-loans_N.htm
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Denver-area rents dip in Q4, but occupancies rise - 01/21/10 12:53 PM
Denver-area rents dip in Q4, but occupancies rise - Apartment rents in the Denver-Aurora area decreased in the fourth quarter of 2009 from the third period, but occupancies rose slightly, according to a RealFacts report released Thursday.  Average apartment rent for the metro area dipped 6.1% to $819 in last year’s final period, from $872 in the third quarter.  However, Denver-Aurora apartment occupancies increased 0.7% to 92.4%.  Boulder had average fourth-quarter rent of $966 per month and average occupancy of 93.7%.  The Fort Collins-Loveland area reported average rent of $834 and average occupancy of 93.6% for the same period.http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2010/01/18/daily52.html?s=industry&i=resi_real_estate
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FHA raises fees, tightens loan standards - 01/20/10 10:23 AM
FHA raises fees, tightens loan standards - The Federal Housing Administration is raising fees and tightening lending standards to shore up its strapped finances and avoid a taxpayer bailout.  A healthy FHA is vital for the housing market because it insures roughly 30% of new loans, and is the largest backer of mortgages to first-time buyers.  Under the changes, homebuyers will: 
* Pay an upfront mortgage insurance premium of 2.25% of the total loan amount, up from the current level of 1.75%.  Borrowers will still be able to wrap these fees into the total amount borrowed. * Need a credit … (0 comments)

Springtime house hunters out early thanks to tax credit - 01/20/10 10:21 AM
Springtime house hunters out early thanks to tax credit - The springtime spurt in home buying may hit before the snow melts this year as buyers scramble to meet an April 30 tax credit deadline.  The spring buying season typically takes off in March and runs through May.  "I expect the buying season will be moved up," says Jim Gillespie, CEO of Coldwell Banker. Sales "are going to take off in February and March and really take off in April. ... My concern is that the move-up buyer hasn't thought what they need to do.  Their window is really short.  They … (1 comments)

Fixed-Rates Down Slightly While ARMs Are Mixed - 01/15/10 01:11 PM
Fixed-Rates Down Slightly While ARMs Are Mixed - The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 5.06% with an average 0.7 point for the week ending January 14, 2010, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey.  Last week, it averaged 5.09%, and a year ago it averaged 4.96%.  "Interest rates for fixed-rate mortgages eased a little further this week, while ARM rates were mixed," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist.  "With fixed mortgage rates staying near a record low, many homeowners are taking the opportunity to refinance.  For instance, over the past three-and-a-half months, on average more than 75% of … (0 comments)

Metro Denver EDC releases 2010 economic forecast - 01/15/10 01:09 PM
Metro Denver EDC releases 2010 economic forecast - Chief Economist Patty Silverstein discussed key economic activity in 2009 and gave her outlook on the economy for the coming year.  Positive rankings throughout 2009 suggest Metro Denver has maintained the solid fundamentals necessary to support growth once the nation's economy recovers including: Denver ranks 1st among the nation's most desirable places to live, according to a 2008 poll by the Pew Research Center A 2009 poll by Harris Interactive showed Denver tied for second place with San Francisco on a list of the nation's favorite places to live Forbes called Metro Denver one of 10 "Best … (0 comments)

 
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Jude Sandvall, 720-255-1021

Aurora, CO

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