Housing experts’ predictions for the new year tend to center around a market stabilizing before entering a gradual, albeit very slow, recovery. However, the tone is more upbeat than it has been in years for the housing market.

Here are a few of the signs that are showing the market moving in a more positive direction:

Home sales: Existing home sales are expected to increase 12 percent this year, following a 2 percent jump last year, Moody’s Analytics predicts. The signs are already showing: In November, pending home sales — a gauge for future home buying — reached its highest level in 19 months, the National Association of REALTORS® reported. (Read more.)

New-home market: Coming off of what could be considered the worst year for new-home building ever recorded, the sector is expected to bounce back this year. New-home sales and starts were already showing a rebound in the last few months of 2011. Moody’s is predicting that single-family housing starts will increase 37 percent this year, and new-home sales will soar 74 percent.

Housing stocks: Investors are starting to get optimistic about the possibility of a rebound too, and are turning to home builder stocks. These equities have recently outperformed the broader stock market and the S&P 1500 homebuilding index has increased 38 percent since mid-October, USA Today reports.

Consumer confidence: With mortgage rates at record lows and housing affordability high, about 71 percent of Americans say now is a good time to purchase a home. Also, more Americans are optimistic that home prices will rise over the next year — about 26 percent say prices will rise in 2012, an increase of 4 percent over the last survey, according to Fannie Mae’s December National Housing Survey

Source: “Housing Outlook Is More Upbeat,” USA Today (Jan. 15, 2012) and “Consumers More Confident, Survey Says,” Deseret News (Utah) (Jan. 16, 2012)

By Inman News

Editor’s note: This article is based on data compiled by Zillow, using the Zillow Home Value Index.

Metro areas off the beaten path like Tulsa and Oklahoma City, Okla., bucked national trends to win a place on a top 10 list of markets with the greatest year-over-year median home-value increases from October 2010 to October 2011, based on data compiled by Zillow. None of the top 20 U.S. metro areas by population size cracked the top 10.

The Tulsa metro area topped the chart at a 6.2 percent median home value increase to $101,000 — the lowest value of the top 10 — in that one-year timespan, followed by Oklahoma City’s metro area at a 3.1 percent bump. However, the rosy home value increase news fades by No. 10 on the list — the Green Bay metro area — where a place in the top 10 no longer represents an increase in median home value, but a sliver of a decline — 0.3 percent.

Metropolitan Pittsburgh, at No. 22 in U.S. metro population size with 2.35 million people in 2010, according to U.S. Census data, was the most populated metro area in this top 10 list, coming in at No. 8, with a slight median home-value increase of 0.4 percent, and, interestingly, the only metro area in the top 10 to experience a population dip from 2000 to 2010.

Metro areas in this top 10 averaged a 1.6 percent median home-value increase over the one-year timeframe, with six of the 10 having median home values hovering around $100,000. Honolulu, Boulder, Fort Collins and Madison stretched the upper end of the spectrum with median home values of $474,200, $304,000, $217,300, and $192,400, respectively.

Source: Daily Real Estate News

Fort Collins-Loveland might be falling victim to its own success.

A combination of the cities’ relatively healthy job market, diverse economy and positive national press is putting the squeeze on available apartments.

The vacancy rates in September plummeted to critically low levels, meaning rents are going up and will continue to do so until more apartments are built.

The combined Fort Collins-Loveland vacancy rate was 2.3 percent for the third quarter, according to a new report from the Colorado Division of Housing. The survey of 5,810 apartment managers, owners and property managers was conducted Sept. 10.

On that date, almost all of the region’s apartments were full.

A 5 percent vacancy rate is considered to be an even market.

“It’s been going on for years, and you’re seeing the cumulative effect. It’s not just the impressions of the region … you do have a better chance of getting a job there and wages will be better than many other regions as well,” said Ryan McMaken, spokesman for the state Division of Housing.

“It is clearly very tight,” McMaken said.

Meanwhile, in a simple supply-and-demand market, as

vacancies tighten, the median rent has soared from $856.53 a year ago to $932.58, a $76 jump. Just over the past six months – from the first quarter to third quarter – the median rent has gone up $53.

In Loveland, where developer McWhinney is building apartments by the hundreds, the vacancy rate is 3.4 percent. The median rent is the highest in the region, at $941.88.

McWhinney’s recently completed 303-unit Lake Vista project north of U.S. Highway 34 is about 75 percent leased, said Mike Hill, senior director of multifamily development and operations.

And on Friday, the company held an open house on its newest property, the 252-unit Greens at Van de Water, 2900 Mountain Lion Drive.

“Northern Colorado and Loveland have some of the lowest apartment vacancy rates in the state, and leasing at our Eagle Ridge and Lake Vista lifestyle communities has been strong, furthering the need for additional residential rental offerings in the region,” Hill said.

Rents at Van de Water range from $700 to $1,500 and at Lake Vista from $890 to $1,725.

Mike Easter, president of Rocky Mountain Property Management Inc. in Loveland, said the tight vacancy rates and increasing rents will foster investment in new rental units, which will benefit the overall market.

But for consumers trying to afford higher rents, the news is not as positive.

Stephanie Ludwigsen and her boyfriend signed a lease Thursday morning on a 1,500-square-foot condo in central Fort Collins.

They’re subletting the condo for $1,100 a month, about the same price they would pay for a much smaller unit at a large apartment complex, she said.

“I hadn’t had to look for a place for a couple years. We did notice the rents were higher than what we had seen, and I was surprised at the cost per square foot. It was higher than what I was used to seeing.”

Along with higher rents, Ludwigsen said there were fewer available units than what she expected.

“There was probably one-quarter of the availability” she’s seen at other times of year.

“We had far better luck looking at sublets this time of year,” she said.

If rents go too high, it will force some renters to look for cheaper apartments elsewhere in the market, but they’re not likely to find too much as rents are being pushed up across all types of rentals, Easter said.

Staying put

With one of the stronger job markets in the state, McMaken said workers are saying put.

“People are not only staying there because of the job situation, people are relocating there because it’s seen as such a strong market and a place people want to live,” he said.

“Fort Collins has benefited from a lot of magazine articles and general talk about what a fine community it is,” McMaken said.

That reputation also is helping fuel a decline in Greeley’s vacancy rate, which is the lowest in the state at 1.8 percent.

Although Greeley’s job market is improving, as well, McMaken said Greeley has become a more affordable bedroom community to Fort Collins. “I don’t think it’s improving enough to drive the vacancy rate down that much. It’s very much related to the Fort Collins market.

“West Greeley is seeing the impact of people looking for an affordable place to live where they can drive to jobs in Fort Collins,” he said.

Statewide, the vacancy rate fell to its lowest rate since 2001, according to the report conducted by Gordon Von Stroh and Ron Throupe of the University of Denver and Jennifer Von Stroh of Von Stroh Housing Surveys.

Source: Loveland Connection

That’s in a climate of growth of only 2 percent in the third quarter, lower than expected – but better than the first six months, which saw anemic growth of just .9 percent.

According to Forbes, the ranked states are the best places to do business – they factor in costs, labor supply, regulatory environment, current economic climate, growth prospects and quality of life.

CNBC also ranked Colorado fifth in the nation for business in June.

Virginia ranked number two, North Carolina came in third and North Dakota was fourth.

At the bottom: Mississippi, Michigan, Rhode Island and Hawaii. Maine ranked dead last in the study.

Source: Colorado Springs Business Journal

What can you say about the fickle economic forces that drive the home building industry? Markets that were among the healthiest six months ago have lost favor, due to weakness in the oil and gas sector of the economy. They’ve been replaced in some cases by unexpected markets that have worked through job losses and foreclosures to reach a much brighter place.

Twice annually, Builder works with Hanley Wood Market Intelligence to compile a list of the healthiest housing markets in the United States, based on forward projections for the metrics that drive housing production–jobs, price appreciation, population growth, and income growth. The projections come from Moody’s Economy.com.

Earlier this year, markets in Texas and the Carolinas dominated the list looking at 2011 market-level forecasts, thanks to growth in the oil economy in the case of Texas, and strong population growth in the case of the Carolinas. Both regions also had on their side a recovery in home prices as they worked through foreclosure issues.

Economic conditions in the oil patch aren’t quite as favorable today. And some bloom has come off the rose in the Carolinas, where home prices in some markets have double-dipped. As a result, our forward-looking view of the 20 healthiest markets is a little different today.

A lot has happened in the housing market since we last compiled this list in February. We had a double-dip in home prices. Only a small improvement in employment occurred on a national basis. And the long-vaunted housing recovery, which most housing economists pegged for late this year, hasn’t materialized.

Rising home prices, job gains, and improvement in median incomes will drive the healthiest markets over the next year and a half. Moody’s projects that permit activity may double in some of the very hottest of these markets, as the long-awaited housing recovery takes hold.

Markets that benefit from military spending, or major universities, once again crowd the top of our list. Some markets hit the trifecta with military bases, big universities, and strong private sector employment. But several of the state capitals that appeared on previous versions of the list have dropped to the bottom due to fiscal problems that resulted in layoffs.

Here, without further ado, are the 20 healthiest housing markets based on forecasts through 2012. Though permits weren’t used to produce the market health calculations, we’ve included forecasts for total housing permits in 2011 and 2012 to give you a sense of how big the market is and how much it’s expected to grow over the next 18 months. See the Rankings! 

Source: Builder Online

2: Fort Collins-Loveland, Colo.

Health Index: 89.4

2010 Population Forecast: 299,630

2011 Total Building Permit Forecast: 1,004

2012 Total Building Permit Forecast: 1,650

The word is out about Fort Collins, which is regularly ranked among the best places to live in the country. Moody’s projects that the number of households in Colorado’s fourth most populous metro region will grow a hefty 2.7% next year, the highest on our Top 20 list.

Many new residents will be drawn by the prospect of jobs. Employment is projected to grow 2.6% next year, lifting median incomes 3.3%. Colorado State University is the biggest employer here. Most of the new jobs in recent years have come from the education and health services sectors. But high-tech firms such as Hewlett Packard and Eastman Kodak also employ thousands of people.

Housing production will receive a boost from these strong demographic forces. Moody’s projects that permit levels will rise 50%.

Read the full article here!

1. Utah
Median home size: 2,305 square feet
Median lot size: 10,019
Median price: $219,900

2. Colorado
Median home size: 2,126 square feet
Median lot size: 10,202
Median price: $275,000

3. Wyoming
Median home size: 2,052
Median lot size: 21,780
Median price: $226,500

4. Montana
Median home size: 2,040
Median lot size: 73,616
Median price: $250,000

5. Texas
Median home size: 2,031
Median lot size: 9,583
Median price: $174,900

Source

Home prices have taken such a beating and demand for rental units has increased so much that it’s now cheaper to buy a two-bedroom home than to rent one in most major U.S. cities.

According to real estate web site Trulia, buying was cheaper than renting in 74% of the country’s 50 largest cities in July. In just 12% of the cities, including New York, Seattle and San Francisco, renting was cheaper. In the remaining 14% of cities, renting was less expensive but close to the cost of buying.

In addition to a continuing decline in home prices, rock-bottom interest rates have added a lot of weight to the buy side of the scale. The overnight average rate for a 30-year fixed was just 4.19% on Monday, according to Bankrate.com. A 15-year fixed averaged just 3.43%.

Add in the tax perks of home ownership and for those who can afford it (and who can actually qualify for a loan), it certainly is a buyer’s market.

“It’s a personal decision, of course. But if you have a steady job and you are planning to stay for seven years or more and have enough cash to put 20% down and enough left over for seven or eight months of expenses, you’re better off buying in most places,” said Daisy Kong, a spokeswoman for Trulia.

Source

By Tom Hacker

Under conditions that specify the former Agilent Technologies campus will house a tech-based manufacturing, research and product development center, Loveland city councilors late Tuesday approved its sale.

The $5 million agreement seems to pave the way for rapid development of the Aerospace Clean Energy Manufacturing and Innovation Park, or ACE, a project that brings NASA and a statewide manufacturing group together.

“Our goal is to move as fast as circumstances permit,” said Bill Murphree, senior vice president of Cumberland & Western Resources LLC, buyer of the property from the city.

“The sooner we get moving, the better,” he told councilors.

The deal came just three weeks after Kentucky-based Cumberland & Western emerged as the city’s pick to develop ACE at Agilent, in the 812,000 square feet of building space suitable for expansion on 130 acres. The city acquired the property from Agilent in June.

The closing on the sale is scheduled for “mid- to late December,” Murphree said.

Partners in the project, NASA and the Colorado Association for Manufacturing and Technology, project that as many as 7,000 jobs will result in Loveland and another 3,000 in the region.

Those jobs would be with manufacturing companies who would convert patents controlled by NASA, federal laboratories and universities into new technology products.

A key piece of the purchase and sale agreement is a deed of trust specifying the property will be used “for technology-related research, development, manufacturing” and that the emphasis would be on “aerospace, clean energy, bioscience … and similar sectors of existing, emerging and new high-technology.”

That component locks Cumberland & Western, for five years, into concentrating on the development of Agilent as a tech manufacturing center instead of some less-desirable use.

“Our vision is to rejuvenate good-paying jobs for our citizens,” Mayor Cecil Gutierrez said.

Murphree replied: “Aerospace and clean energy are very timely and very appropriate” uses for the campus.

The company’s decision to buy the Loveland site, at the northeast quadrant of Taft Avenue and Southwest 14th Street, was based as much on “intuition and gut feel” as a detailed analysis of the site and the project planned for it, Murphree said.

“We were looking for a place with an upward trend, not a downward one,” he said. “You’re going to be a significant beneficiary of the problems that other parts of the country are dealing with.”

Cumberland & Western, based in Bowling Green, Ky., has made commercial real estate purchases nationwide with similar technology uses in mind.

A 2.1 million-square-foot, modern manufacturing plant in Macon, Ga., abandoned by the Brown & Williamson tobacco company, is one example.

Murphree said Loveland city officials made such strong first impressions on him and fellow Cumberland & Western executive Buddy Steen that their decision was an easy one.

“We always ask, ‘Are the people we’re involved with people that we want to do business with?’” he said. “The answer was yes. … You continue to delight us.”