Jude's Real Estate Rumblings

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

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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/

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

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

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

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," said Kendall, who does economic modeling with the Center for Business & Economic Forecasting in Denver.

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

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

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 - 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

What's Your Home Worth?

Jude's Website