Peter

Positive news on home sales, coupled with improved prospects for job growth, sent stocks higher on Wall Street on December 29th, according an Associated Press article published in the Denver Post on December 30th.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 136 points from the day before. In addition, Standard & Poor’s 500 edged back into the black for 2011 at year’s end.

The number of Americans who signed contracts to buy homes in November rose more than seven percent More...

gretchen

The Census Bureau reported recently that many states that posted big population gains in the 2010 census are now seeing the decade-long growth slowing due primarily to the prolonged economic slump that is stretching into larger portions of the south and west.

As a whole, the U.S. population grew by 2.8 million, reaching 311.6 million people. That growth of 0.92 percent was the lowest since the mid-1940s, hurt by fewer births and less immigration following the recent recession. The More...

Dee

Homeowners whose mortgage payments were changed under a program aimed at reducing foreclosures redefaulted at a slower rate after lenders gave more generous modifications, according to the U.S. Comptroller of the Currency.

In an article penned by John Gittelsohn on Businessweek.com, about 18 percent of modified loans were at least 90 days delinquent within a year in the third quarter, compared with 20 percent in the previous three months, according to the Comptroller’s Mortgage More...

gretchen

The Bureau of Economic Analysis reported that its advance estimate place economic growth at a 2.5 percent annual rate during the third quarter, more than three times the pace of the first half of the year. The most important contribution to Gross Domestic Product was domestic aggregate demand, which rose 3.6 percent annualized, the second biggest quarterly gain in five years.

Some positive news also came from the latest retail sales report, which showed the fifth straight monthly More...

Peter

Bloomberg.com recently reported that the number of Americans filling applications for unemployment benefits fell to the lowest level in seven months. Viewed as a sign of economic recovery by some, jobless claims fell by 10,000 to 390,000 in the week ended November 5th, according to the Labor Department.

The number of people on unemployment benefit rolls decreased, while those getting extended payments rose. According to Bloomberg, waning dismissals pave the way for bigger gains in More...

Judy

As the winter soltice approaches, afternoon dusk will play the early visitor. Daylight is officially shortened. Adjusting to the dark? The brilliance of less daylight, is discovering what we can do with darkness…light it up!

A quick drive around the micro neighborhoods of this late autumn/ early winter wonderland will lighten any life. Larimer Square is dazzling in a canopy of white lights that stretch the entire city block. Cherry Creek North is wired in tiny white lights along More...

Peter

The Labor Department’s latest job report showed hiring in an industry battered by job losses has gained some ground. According to USAToday, construction firms added 26,000 jobs nationally in September, trailing only health care, professional and business services.

Contractors added 53,000 jobs this year after losing about 150,000 last year and 2 million in the recession. Some construction industry observers said the latest gains could herald at lease a moderate turnaround next More...

Peter

Metro Denver’s average home prices rose 2.2 percent in July, according to the Denver Post. The average single-family home sold in July for $298,654, which was up from $292,230 in June. Average condo prices, on the other hand, fell in July to $153,058 from $158,463 in June.

Properties placed under contract fell from 4,761 in June to 4,250 in July. One year ago, July sales volume was 3,808. The report noted that the number of unsold homes on the market is going down. Unsold More...

Lance

Metro Denver Housing Market Poised for Rebound in 2011

What goes around comes around.  Projections for metro Denver’s housing market in 2011 are reminiscent of the market in 1989.  Twenty-two years ago, the Denver housing market was still reeling from the collapse of the energy markets and overbuilding as a result of oil prices hitting $65 a barrel.  When oil prices collapsed to around $12, the housing market collapsed as well. 

The Denver area was More...

Lance

Denver Area Commercial Real Estate Investing on the Rise

The Denver Post reported on December 26th that investment in commercial real estate in metro Denver more than doubled in 2010 over last year.  In a report by Margaret Jackson, investors have spent $1.01 billion on 54 office, retail and industrial properties versus $448 million on 30 transactions in 2009. 

Denver has consistently been in the top 10 markets for preferred investment, according to one More...