February 5th, 2016
Real estate news articles and information from around the web.
National News
The 20 Hottest U.S. Real Estate Markets in January 2016
(realtor.com, 2/1/16)
After a December that was unseasonably balmy for a large swath of the East Coast, January saw a return to winter norms: frigid temperatures and mountains of snow (even in the drought-parched West, thanks to El Niño). Read More
Homeownership finally rising after decade of decline
(HousingWire, 2/1/16)
Homeownership rates continue to rise for a second quarter in a row due to job growth and the ability to gain credit. Read More
Owners cautiously taking cash out of homes
(CNBC, 2/1/16)
Home values are rising and homeowners are taking advantage of that, finally tapping into that equity again in the form of cash-out mortgage refinances. They are doing so, however, by pulling the most conservative amounts in history. Read More
Black Knight: Will homebuying become unaffordable in two years?
(HousingWire, 2/1/16)
With the right economic conditions, in two years, home affordability could get close to the same level seen before the financial crisis, making it difficult for people to afford a home. Read More
Existing Home Sales Expected to Normalize
(MReport, 2/2/16)
Since the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure (TRID) rule was enacted, existing home sales have been on a series of highs and lows, but Ten-X.com (formerly Auction.com) predicts that things could begin to level out as more lenders adjust to the regulation. Read More
Housing market not yet hit by stock market turbulence
(Consumer Affairs, 2/2/16)
The stock market got off to a rocky start in 2016, but, as January enters the books, it doesn’t seem to have negatively affected the housing market. At least that’s realtor.com’s take. Read More
Why one economist says buying a home is overrated
(MarketWatch, 2/2/16)
Is buying a house instead of renting really the best financial decision? Read More
Features Most Likely to Show up in Typical Single-family Home in 2016
(NAHB, 2/2/16)
Successful businesses stay on top of what their competitors are doing. For home builders, this involves knowing what features other builders are putting in their new homes. In December 2015, a nationwide survey asked builders about the likelihood that a number of features would be included in the typical single-family home they will build in 2016. Read More
Freddie Mac: Don’t Count Refinancing out yet
(Mortgage News Daily, 2/2/16)
Freddie Mac’s economists are expressing concerns about what they see as economic headwinds revealed by some recently released indicators. In their current edition of Insight and Outlook the company downgraded its full year estimate for 2015 real GDP growth by a tenth of a point to 1.9 percent while calling the current expansion the weakest in postwar history. They project growth in 2016 and 2017 at 2.5 and 2.3 percent respectively making them the sixth and seventh years of sub-3 percent growth. Read More
Q4 2015 Breakeven Horizon: Buying A Home Pays Off For Most – But Not All – After Just Two Years
(Zillow, 2/3/16)
A persistent combination of healthy home value growth and low mortgage interest rates, combined with robust growth in rents, is helping to keep the buy vs. rent equation tilted heavily towards buying in most areas for those planning on staying in their homes for longer than just a few years. But local markets vary, and that equation is shifting – if even slightly – in some notable areas. Read More
As Stocks Swoon, Home Prices Accelerate Upward Again
(Forbes, 2/3/16)
The stock market woke up on the wrong side of bed this year, suffering a 10% correction. But home prices, another important asset for many families, look to be reaccelerating. Read More
How is Low Inventory Affecting the Housing Market?
(DSNews, 2/3/16)
Low inventory has been cited by many analysts as a concern for the housing market in 2016 as the market continues to heal from the foreclosure crisis which began nearly eight years ago. Read More
Student Loans May Affect Mortgage Eligibility
(U.S. News and World Report, 2/3/16)
Paying off your student loans is just one of the competing financial goals many consumers are required to juggle. Another is home ownership. Read More
New Industry Data Offers Ups, Downs, Optimism and Caution
(National Mortgage Professional Magazine, 2/4/16)
The latest industry data points to a continued decline in mortgage rates and cash sales, along with a mixed prediction of homeownership break-even timelines and a positive forecast for the commercial real estate world. Read More
Negative rates in US? Here’s why it could happen
(CNBC, 2/4/16)
Less than two months after the Fed enacted its first rate hike in more than nine years, market talk already has turned to whether the central bank’s future may not be more hikes, but rather negative rates. Read More
Here’s a Part of the Housing Market That’s Really Booming
(The Fiscal Times, 2/4/16)
The turmoil in the stock market hasn’t hurt homeowners’ plans to spend on their properties this year, according to a new Angie’s List survey. Read More
Local News
Developer pulls application for homes in RidgeGate
(Lone Tree Voice, 1/30/16)
Developer Century Communities withdrew its application to build more than 60 homes in the RidgeGate area of Lone Tree after a review of their application left city council with concerns at its meeting Jan. 19.
Read More
Rising vacancy rates signal a shift in metro Denver apartment market
(Denver Post, 1/31/16)
Like a flare in the night sky, metro Denver apartment vacancy rates unexpectedly soared in the fourth quarter, signaling that the region’s long-running multifamily construction boom might be in danger.
Read More
Market report: 2015 ends strong with $99 million in December sales
(Steamboat Today, 1/31/16)
Routt County’s real estate market finished strong for 2015, with $99 million in transactions in December rounding out $700 million in gross volume for the year. Read More
Denver’s ‘hottest’ 2016 neighborhood is probably not where you’d think
(Denver Business Journal, 2/1/16)
Late last week, online real estate company Redfin came out with its predictions of the nation’s hottest neighborhoods in 2016. Read More
Rents dip (just barely) as vacancy rates rise in Boulder, Longmont
(Times-Call, 2/1/16)
Renters in Boulder and Longmont got a little relief on rents at the end of 2015 — very little. Read More
Where’s the best affordable place to live in Colorado?
(Denver Business Journal, 2/2/16)
If you’re looking for Colorado’s most affordable city, in a location where you really want to live, look no further than Greeley. Read More
Where have Denver-area rents risen the most?
(Denver Business Journal, 2/2/16)
Rents in Colorado rose 6.2 percent in 2015 and in Denver, they rose 4.6 percent. Read More
Denver ranks as sixth-most popular destination for moving vans
(Denver Post, 2/3/16)
Metro Denver bumped Seattle to rank as the sixth most-popular destination for people who rent moving vans, according to Penske Truck Rental. Read More
Metro Denver home sales started off the year strong in 2016
(Denver Post, 2/3/16)
Sellers sent a wave of new listings onto the metro Denver market last month, and buyers were there waiting to snap them up, according to separate reports released Wednesday. Read More
Median Fort Collins rent nears $1,400 per month
(Coloradoan, 2/3/16)
Fort Collins rents increased faster than the national average over the past 12 months, with median monthly rents closing in on $1,400, according to a new report from Apartmentlist.com, which tracks rent prices across the country. Read More
Pace of Colorado Springs homebuilding off to a strong start in 2016
(Gazette, 2/3/16)
The local homebuilding industry is off to a good start in 2016. Read More
Denver-area home prices continue to climb; low-priced inventory scant
(Denver Business Journal, 2/3/16)
Prices climbed 13 percent year-over-year on average, while the number of active listings under $300,000 remained low. Read More
Greeley’s rental market gets looser, stays expensive
(The Tribune, 2/4/16)
Last year, one of Greeley’s planners watched residents pull up to a newly finished apartment complex with trucks full of furniture. Read More
New plans for Armory site in north Boulder offer housing, not arts uses
(Daily Camera, 2/4/16)
New plans for the Armory site in north Boulder submitted this week by developer Bruce Dierking show apartments, townhomes and a small amount of office space — but none of the arts uses that a previous plan included. Read More
Colorado Springs home prices continue to rise
(Colorado Springs Business Journal, 2/4/16)
CoreLogic, a property information, analytics and data-enabled services provider, released its Home Price Index and HPI Forecast data for December, showing home prices are up month-over-month, as well as year-over-year. Read More
Can Denver deny the downturn?
(Denver Business Journal, 2/5/16)
With crashing oil prices, nail biting over China and tumbling stocks, there’s a lot to worry about. How will Denver weather the storm? Read More
Weins to build 8 townhomes at 32nd/Eliot
(BusinessDen, 2/4/16)
Townhomes with a North High view are set to pop up in the Highlands. Read More
Massive sale in the heart of Cherry Creek
(BusinessDen, 2/5/16)
A new owner is in control of more than 180,000 square feet of prime Cherry Creek retail space and a major First Avenue redevelopment site. Read More
