Real Estate News From Around The Web     

    January 29th, 2016

National News

Is the Housing Market Transitioning to Stability?
(National Mortgage Professional Magazine, 1/22/16)
The latest wave of housing market data is pointing to an alignment of positive developments regarding home sales, loan closing times, rent spikes and foreclosure levels. It may be premature to chill the champagne, if only because a few potholes remain in the road to full recovery, but only the most acute pessimist would not be cognizant of the mostly encouraging statistics.  Read More
Housing Market Is On Solid Footing: Expert Ivy Zelman
(CNBC, 1/22/16)
Housing expert Ivy Zelman–famous for calling the housing peak in 2005 and bottom in 2012–joined the “Halftime Report” to discuss her outlook for the sector. This comes after a report released today showed existing home sales rose to 14.7% in December, which is a record monthly increase.  Read More
First-time buyers slowly returning to housing market, data show
(MarketWatch, 1/22/16)
First-time home-buying levels, in the doldrums since the 1980s, are slowly starting to improve.
Read More
Housing Market Set to Show Modest Future Growth
(Market Realist, 1/22/16)
According to the National Association of Home Builders, the housing market index (or HMI) has remained unchanged at a level of 60 in January 2016 compared to a downwardly revised December reading.  Read More
Existing-home sales surge in TRID aftermath
(HousingWire, 1/22/16)
The immediate impact of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosures rule in October is quickly coming to light as existing-home sales bounce back after November’s steep drop.  Read More
Zillow Rent Forecast – Data for 50 Large U.S. Markets
(Zillow, 1/22/16)
New in the December Zillow Real Estate Market Report, we introduced the Zillow Rent Forecast, our prediction of movement in the Zillow Rent Index over the coming year.  Read More
 
The Cities Where Rents Will Fall This Year
(Bloomberg, 1/22/16)
After a three-year period of rapid growth, rents are likely to flatten in 2016, according to a new report. By December, year-over-year rent increases will have slowed to 1.1 percent across the U.S., according to projections published on Friday by Zillow. That follows a three-year period during which rents grew more than 3 percent each year.  Read More
Is It Time to Refinance Your ARM to a Fixed-Rate Mortgage?
(nerdwallet, 1/25/16)
Adjustable-rate mortgages have been a favorite funding choice, especially for first-time homebuyers, but the prospect of rising interest rates is causing many borrowers to rethink their home loan strategy.
Read More
Zillow CEO on tips and trends in housing market
(CBSNews, 1/25/16)
The real estate market is soaring. Sales of existing homes in the United States reached their highest level since 2006 last year, according to the National Association of Realtors.  Read More
Where Mortgages Disappear the Fastest
(REALTOR®Mag, 1/25/16)
Debt-wary clients may want to keep their eyes on these cities, which offer some of the best potential for free-and-clear home ownership.  Read More
Move-Up Buyers Continue to Dominate the Housing Market
(Builder, 1/25/16)
The millennial generation is poised to make a significant impact on home design–but first, many young consumers have to move out of their parents’ homes and into a place of their own, according to NAHB researcher Rose Quint. In 2015, about 15 percent of adults ages 25-34 lived with a parent, translating into 1.3 million people who normally would be forming their own households, Quint said last week at a press conference during the 2016 International Builders’ Show in Las Vegas.  Read More
What’s Next for the Housing Market?
(Time, 1/26/16)
Economists are hopeful that housing market activity — and prices — will continue to perk up generally in 2016, due to a number of factors. The most important catalyst for housing is the improving economy and employment landscape. As Americans feel more confident about the economy and more secure in their jobs, they will be more willing to take the big step of home ownership.  Read More
America’s foreclosure crisis isn’t over
(CBSNews, 1/26/16)
With Goldman Sachs (GS) recently agreeing to pay $5.1 billion to settle claims related to its role in the 2008 mortgage scandal, the firm became the latest big Wall Street bank to reach a deal with the U.S. government. As part of the settlement, $1.8 billion is to be set aside for programs to help homeowners who are still trying to fend off foreclosure?  Read More
Home Prices Go Up, Up and Away
(National Mortgage Professional Magazine, 1/26/16)
Three different data-crunching organizations have examined the state of U.S. home prices and have come to the same conclusions: Home prices show no signs of falling.  Read More
Latest Data Affirms Strengthening Housing Market
(National Mortgage Professional Magazine, 1/27/16)
Two new data reports issued this morning appear to bolster the belief that the U.S. housing market is finally showing signs of a solid recovery.  Read More
Fed Abstains From Another Rate Hike
(National Mortgage Professional Magazine, 1/27/16)
One month after its historic rate hike, the Federal Reserve has resumed its policy of leaving things alone.
Read More
Freddie Mac: Housing market continues to improve
(Consumer Affairs, 1/27/16)
Things are looking up for the U.S. housing market as we enter the new year.  Read More
After 2015 Surge, Housing Market Faces Bumpy Road Ahead
(U.S. News & World Report, 1/27/16)
Warmer weather heated up housing activity at the end of 2015 to help make it the best year for sales of new single-family homes since 2007. But the overall sector’s potential for growth in the new year is clouded by the prospect of higher interest rates, underwhelming wage gains and rising real estate costs.
Read More
Can the Mortgage Process Really Be 100% Digital?
(Fox Business, 1/27/16)
Technology advances have reinvented mobile phones, music, TV, and many other industries in the past decade. And now technology is finally beginning to overhaul the mortgage process.  Read More
TRID: A Thorn In The Mortgage Industry’s Side
(Mortgageorb, 1/27/16)
It’s been almost four months since the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure (TRID) rules took effect on Oct. 3, and although it would be sensationalist to say that the complex set of rules has devastated the mortgage industry, as some predicted it would, there is solid evidence, at this point, that the rules are delaying closings, slowing originations and increasing the average cost per loan for mortgage lenders.  Read More
Declining Distressed Inventory Forces a Change in Strategy
(DSNews, 1/27/16)
Distressed home sales have been on a steady decline since hitting their peak seven years ago in January 2009 at the height of the housing crisis. For years, agents prospered while there was no shortage of REO properties available for them to put on the market. Now that the backlog of foreclosures and REO properties has been clearing for years, how is this affecting business?  Read More
Here are the 25 strongest and weakest housing markets for 2016
(HousingWire, 1/27/16)
With the new year, it’s still not too late to identify where the strongest and weakest U.S. housing markets will be in 2016.  Read More
CFPB’s Complaint Volume is Swelling
(DSNEWs, 1/28/16)
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) opened its doors in July 2011 and immediately began accepting consumer complaints about various financial products such as mortgages, credit cards, and bank accounts and services. Read More
‘Glimmer of Hope’ That Homeownership Rate Is on the Upswing
(Wall Street Journal, 1/28/16)
The homeownership rate ticked up slightly in the fourth quarter, bolstering economists’ hopes that it may finally be hitting bottom.  Read More
Housing Data: It’s Getting Better All the Time
(National Mortgage Professional Magazine, 1/28/16)
The latest round of industry data continues to provide evidence that the housing industry is gaining more strength–and while some challenges have yet to abate, there does not appear any sign of a slowdown, let alone a relapse.  Read More

Local News

Colorado outlook: Low prices slow growth, but overall forecast upbeat

(The Business Times, 1/22/16)
Economic growth is expected to slow in Colorado as low commodity prices hamper the energy and agriculture industries. But gains in other sectors coupled with an increasing population mean the state should continue to fare well overall in the coming year.  Read More

Denver-area seniors caught in housing crunch

(Northglenn- Thornton Sentinel, 1/25/16)
The senior population is expected to double in the next 20 years, but many may be out of luck when it comes to finding a place to live.  Read More

LIV Sotheby’s International Realty analyzes year-end micro markets, signs of continued growth in Colorado Real Estate

(Denver Post, 1/24/16)
On January 19, 2015, LIV Sotheby’s International Realty released a year-end micro market report (MMR), indicating that the Colorado real estate market demonstrated continued growth at the end point of 2015. The MMR compares 2015 year-end statistics, to those of 2014, for single family homes and condos.  Read More
Historic Colorado Springs property being remodeled into apartments
(ColoradoSprings.com, 1/24/16)
One of Colorado Springs’ oldest and most recognizable Victorian properties is about to be reborn – again.   Read More
Northern Colorado real estate market: Hot and hotter
(Reporter-Herald, 1/25/16)
The news about Northern Colorado’s home market in 2016 will sound a bit redundant to anyone who has been around the past few years: higher prices and tighter supplies.  Read More
Metro Denver apartment vacancies are up; how about rents?
(Denver Business Journal, 1/26/16)
Average apartment rental rates increased by 10 percent on average in the Denver metro area year-over-year in the fourth quarter, according to the latest data from the Apartment Association of Metro Denver. Read More
A social network for real-estate investors
(9News, 1/26/16)
his week, Gregg Moss and Scott Yates sat down for the regular Tech Tuesday segment to discuss a Colorado-based social network aiming to help real estate investors make better decisions.  Read More
Denver 3rd in nation for one-year home-price growth, says Case-Shiller report
(Denver Business Journal, 1/26/16)
Denver saw average home-resale price growth of 10.9 percent in the year ending in November, trailing only San Francisco and Portland.  Read More
Oil under $30 a barrel carries dangers for Colorado economy
(Denver Post, 1/26/16)
The collapse this month in oil prices can’t help but unleash some primal fears for anyone who was in Colorado during the mid-1980s.  Read More
Slated for apartments, RiNo brewery lot sells for $13M
(BusinessDen, 1/27/16)
Just months after the last pint poured at a Blake Street brewery, a developer with big apartment plans has closed an eight-figure land deal.  Read More
Want an affordable home near great schools and amenities? Denver has 2 such neighborhoods
(Denver Business Journal, 1/27/16)
Do you want to buy an affordable home within walking distance of great schools and other amenities?
Read More
Headwinds, tailwinds for Northern Colorado economy
(BizWest, 1/27/16)
Northern Colorado’s economy will experience strong growth in 2016, but two key sectors — agriculture and natural resources — will struggle due to low commodity prices, including energy, cattle and crops.
Read More
Renewed effort taking shape to redevelop southwest downtown in Colorado Springs
(Gazette, 1/28/16)
The effort to redevelop downtown Colorado Springs’ southwest side, which flopped despite city officials declaring the area an urban renewal site 15 years ago, might get a new life. Read More
 
Boulder Planning Board OKs Rêve development — with reduction in parking
(Daily Camera, 1/28/16)
After grappling with affordable housing and haggling over parking, the Boulder Planning Board approved the proposed 6-acre mixed-use development at Pearl Parkway and 30th Street by a 5-1 vote late Thursday night.  Read More
More improvement forecast for Colorado Springs real estate in 2016
(Gazette, 1/28/16)
Colorado Springs’ residential and commercial real estate markets continue to rebound from the recession, although some market segments are improving at a faster clip than others. Read More
Good news still the story for Colorado, Denver housing markets
(Denver Business Journal, 1/28/16)
The state of Colorado and the Denver metro area continue to be strong, improving housing markets.
Read More
Denver urban home values appreciating more than suburban home values
(Denver Business Journal, 1/29/16)
In a trend that’s repeating itself around the country, homes in Denver’s urban area are appreciating at a greater rate than homes in Denver suburbs.  Read More
Grove apartment project in Littleton is limited to those 55 and older
(Denver Post, 1/28/16)
The big hole where an office building used to be at the southwest corner of South Bemis Street and Littleton Boulevard is expected eventually to house the foundation for a 160-unit luxury apartment complex for people 55 and older.  Read More