Here is Part II of The Bibeau Group's summary of recent Denver Real Estate headlines.  The following are excerpts, but you are able to read the complete stories by clicking on the links.  Please let us know if you have any questions about the articles or what they might mean for your personal situation.

Denver tops on 'Today' show list of cities poised for real-estate rebound

Denver was named America's No. 1 city on the verge of recovery from the real-estate slump in a segment Tuesday on NBC's "Today" show. Real estate expert Barbara Corcoran, a regular guest on the show, said Denver more than any other U.S. city is "clearly on a rebound." "It's really the perfect real estate success story," she said. "It had one of the highest foreclosure rates in the nation for years running, and now they've cut that foreclousure rate in half and they've turned the corner." Rounding out Corcoran's list of cities poised for a real-estate rebound: * 2. Raleigh, N.C. * 3. Austin, Texas * 4. Seattle * 5. San Francisco

Denver offers free building permits for home improvements

The city of Denver will offer free building permits through the first half of June for home-improvement projects as a way to encourage economy-boosting renovation work. The free permits are for common improvement projects involving single-family homes and duplexes. They will be available June 1-15 and are valid for 180 days, the city announced Friday. Permits will be issued on the spot to homeowners or their contractors. Building-permit fees normally range from $20 to several thousand dollars, depending on the value of the project.

Recession Is Over According to Financial Experts
Improving Housing Market, Leading Economic Indicators Makes Experts Optimistic

There is a growing belief among financial experts that the recession is over. New housing inventory data seem to show improvement in the housing market. Barry Knapp, a strategist at Barclays Capital, wrote recently that the economy appears "to be in the sweet spot of a recovery" and that the recession may have ended last month, according to Bloomberg News. Sonders warned that unemployment is a lagging indicator and, historically, employment figures don't begin to recover until six months after the end of a recession. That means that this time around, unemployment likely won't peak until the end of this year.

Locals dispute Zillow stats for "underwater" homes

Declining home values mean 32 percent of Denver-area homeowners owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth, according to a recent report by Zillow.com, a statistic local experts dispute. Home values dropped 7.7 percent in the first quarter of 2009 compared with the same quarter a year ago, the report says. But many local industry experts are skeptical of Zillow's numbers, which are based on sales data gathered from public records that can be out of date.  Lou Barnes, owner of Boulder West Financial Services, said a number of other organizations provide data on the housing market that are much more reliable than what Zillow released.

Banks hold back seized homes
The slower pacing is helping to drive up REO bidding. 

Bidding wars arise frequently in the REO market, especially for homes priced below $200,000, Denver brokers say. Many REO-listing agents report having seen low-priced properties attract 20 or more offers. More than in past down cycles, lenders are easing their repossessed foreclosures back onto the market rather than loosing a flood, according to Michael Clarkson of Mile High Home Hunter Realty.

The second part of the strategy is to "price them low and dirty to get people to come in and bid," he said. The holdback strategy seems to be working for lenders, said Ed Cluff, an investor.... "I've seen a lot of price escalation, particularly in north Aurora, Thornton and Montbello." For properties priced below $200,000, the average time on market is 2.6 months, according to MetroList. That's half of what it was just 13 months ago and less than half the time on market for homes priced between $200,000 and $400,000.

But many say the uptrend is temporary, driven mostly by banks holding their REO properties rather than selling them and holding off on new foreclosures. When those effects wear off, REO prices will fall, according to Craig Hindes, a broker with Coldwell Banker in Westminster. "A lot of inexperienced people will be stuck with properties they paid too much for."

Weighing in on property valuations
Property assessments are in the mail, so here's how the system works 

Although sophisticated computer models are used to value properties, not everyone will be pleased. Below are a few things property owners need to know.Valuation notices detail how property owners can file a protest by the June 1 deadline.  It's easy to challenge factual errors such as a property's square footage, the number of rooms, or a supposedly finished basement that isn't. More challenging is contesting the value assessors have placed on a home, especially in a volatile real estate market. One of the most common mistakes people make in disputing valuations is to compare recent sales or appraisals with their property, Groff said. Assessors review sales over an 18-month period that ended June 30, 2008. Information after that can't be in the appeal.

Read Part I of this article

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