New data from the Colorado Division of Housing shows dramatic drops in both foreclosure filings and foreclosure sales for first-quarter 2013.

In Larimer County, foreclosure filings fell by 40.5 percent from 306 to 182 from first-quarter 2012 to the same period in 2013. Foreclosure sales also dropped, by 27.2 percent from 169 to 123.

Weld County’s foreclosure filings decreased by 36.7 percent from 412 to 261, while sales fell 35 percent from 260 to 169 year-over-year in the first quarter.

As a result, Larimer and Weld’s foreclosure rates dropped to 0.1 percent and 0.18, respectively.

The Division of Housing attributes the declines to the rapid increases in home prices that have been seen in many parts of Colorado, including Northern Colorado.

Price increases helped to bring many underwater borrowers out of negative equity situations while making it easier for delinquent borrowers to sell their homes, avoiding final foreclosure, according to the division.

Statewide, foreclosure filings were down 41.3 percent and foreclosure sales were down 30.5 percent. No county in Colorado showed a foreclosure rate higher than 0.5 percent during the first quarter.

Source: Northern Colorado Business Report

In Greeley over the same period, the vacancy rate dropped to 1.4 percent from 5.8 percent.

Rents continued to rise, however, with the Fort Collins-Loveland area registering the highest average rent statewide, at $1,036 per month. Greeley rents remained lower at $704 per month. And for the first time in the past year, the area surpassed Denver metro in average rent prices, according to Ryan McMaken, an economist with the Colorado Division of Housing.

“It’s become one of the state’s high-rent areas,” McMaken said.

The Boulder-Broomfield area is pricey as well, with an average monthly rent of $1,150, but those numbers are included in the metro Denver aggregated rent figure, giving the Fort Collins-Loveland area the lead in the state.

The situation in northern Colorado continues to evolve, with the oil boom pushing vacancy rates down overall, McMaken said.

“Oil and gas growth has pushed the vacancy rate down to very low levels in Greeley, while the Fort Collins and Loveland areas continue to see low vacancies,” McMaken said in a statement. “Rates in Larimer County are only as high as they are because the county has seen a fair amount of new multifamily development in recent years.”

Colorado Springs also showed a declining vacancy rate with a first-quarter rate of 5.6 percent, which was the lowest vacancy rate reported in that region since 2001. The metro Denver vacancy rate, measured last month in a separate survey, fell year-over-year from 4.9 percent to 4.6 percent.

Vacancy rates varied considerably in different metros of the state, however, with Northern Colorado and metro Denver showing some of the state’s lowest rates, while vacancy rates increased in southern Colorado and western Colorado.

A vacancy rate of 5 percent or below suggests a tight market. The statewide composite vacancy rate and average rent includes metro Denver.

Source: Northern Colorado Business Report

1. Don’t hide what isn’t working: If an appliance isn’t working, leave a note that indicates what isn’t working and how you’re getting it fixed. Don’t try to conceal defects because it can make the inspector start to view you as dishonest and wonder what else you’re hiding.

2. Make things accessible: Ensure the location of the attic and crawlspace are identified and easy to access. Don’t make a home inspector move your belongings in order to gain access.

3. Check the lightbulbs: If a lightbulb isn’t working, the inspector will need to determine if the fixture is inoperable. Save them time by making sure all the lightbulbs in the home operate, including those in the crawlspace, attic, and furnace rooms.

4. Note septic systems: If you have a septic system in the yard, be sure to leave a sketch that includes the location of it. It’ll avoid home inspectors, buyers, and real estate professionals having to conduct prolonged searches for it, Leopold says.

5. Keep appliances clear: Don’t leave dirty laundry in the washing machine or dryer because the inspector will need to test the appliances, and he doesn’t want to have to pull out dirty clothes in front of everybody, Leopold says. “Also, make sure your oven and stovetop are clear and clean, so we can easily test them without setting off the smoke alarm,” he adds.

Source: “Ask the Experts: What Should Home Sellers Do to Prepare for a Home Inspection?”

Two Urban Renewal Areas in Fort Collins have so far seen a combined total of $124 million in private investment directed at redeveloping somewhat dilapidated parts of town.

Also for the two areas combined, $19 million in tax increment financing has been dedicated to approved projects within the URAs, and $34 million in tax increment has been generated by URA projects.

Most of money in these numbers comes from the North College URA, established well before the Midtown URA in 2011, though the figures generated by the North College area could be indicative of what may be ahead for Midtown.

The revitalization of Midtown Fort Collins has been identified as one of the key priorities for the city, and projects like the Mason Corridor and the rehabilitation of the Foothills Mall are big steps toward meeting goals for the area.

Right now, the city is working on creating a Midtown Plan, which will provide the “urban design vision” to guide redevelopment in the future. One of the biggest goals is to transform Midtown from an “autocentric” corridor, where most people travel by car, to a transit-oriented corridor that encourages walking, cycling and the use of the MAX Bus Rapid Transit system.

Plans are also pending for a vastly redeveloped Foothills Mall. The mall’s new owners are hoping to spend $100 million making over the run-down retail center.

These projects alone, though, won’t bring Midtown back to life. The Midtown Urban Renewal Area, which stretches along College Avenue between Prospect Road and just a couple of blocks south of Harmony Road, needs more than just a new mall and a handy bus service, although these projects are considered catalysts by many.

The creation of the Urban Renewal Area by the city was part of the attempt to encourage redevelopment. Projects located within the area are eligible for tax increment financing, one of the most widely used and successful economic development tools available, according to Megan Bolin, redevelopment specialist with the city’s Economic Health Office.

The idea behind a TIF is that redeveloped properties will eventually mean higher property values that, in turn, mean higher property taxes flowing into city coffers.

A URA can be broken down into districts that can be activated separately to take advantage of the 25-year time limit imposed on URAs by state law. Once activated, any tax revenue collected because of improvements made to the property goes to the TIF authority — the City of Fort Collins in this case — and is used to pay project costs associated with the redevelopment.

The base tax revenue level, stemming from that tax that was collected before the TIF district was activated, is still collected by various taxing entities, including schools and counties.

Once the 25-year period is up, the new tax revenue from the improved property is distributed to all taxing entities.

Developers can also borrow against the amount of money their project is anticipated to bring to the city. One example of this is the Summit student housing project, formerly called The Commons, under construction now.

Summit, the first project in the newly created Urban Renewal Area in Midtown Fort Collins, is expected to generate $8 million in tax increment financing over the next 25 years, according to the city’s estimates.

To help finance its project, developer Capstone Development Corp. received a $5 million loan from the URA Board against the $8 million in anticipated TIF dollars.

Summit is located with the South Prospect TIF district, the first district to be activated. The district surrounding the Foothills Mall at the intersection of Foothills Parkway and College Avenue is the next district set to be activated.

Also within the South Prospect TIF district is a building that formerly housed Chuck-E-Cheese and is owned by Fort Collins real estate developer Les Kaplan. Kaplan has made parking lot and façade improvements to that property, Bolin said. Kaplan has also been working on the redevelopment of a former Maytag building at 1801 S. College.

Elsewhere in the URA, small improvements are being made. Several car dealerships have undergone renovations, Bolin said, and a shopping center known as Thunderbird Plaza saw façade improvement with the location of JoAnn Fabric, a new anchor for the center.

Another high-profile property located within Midtown is the former Toys R Us building, at Bockman Drive and College. There is a multi-property covenant on the building that restricts it use to retail, unless other property owners, such as JC Penney, agree to a different use, Bolin said.

This restriction makes it difficult to find another user for the 45,500-square-foot building, Bolin said. In 2010, Ice Energy Systems of Windsor was considering the location for an expansion of its operations, but would have required the property to be converted from retail to light-industrial use.

In addition to the URA, the Midtown area is seen as “ideal” for the creation of a Business Improvement District, Bolin said, something that city staff will likely pursue in the coming year.

BIDs are special district financing tools that establish a defined area within which property owners pay an additional tax or special assessment in order to fund enhanced services and improvements within the district’s boundaries.

The funding generated by a BID is intended to enhance, not replace, existing municipal services, Bolin said.

Legislation is necessary for the creation of BIDs, but some community support has already surfaced, Bolin said. The South Fort Collins Business Association has expressed interest in pursuing such a district.

“It could be a great mechanism to supplement public and private investment to improve and maintain Midtown in the long term,” Bolin said.

Source: Northern Colorado Business Report

Buyers all across the nation are making their dreams come true. They’re signing on the dotted line and grabbing hold of the keys to a family home.

Despite record low interest rates and enticing pricing, many potential buyers are delaying the decision to buy.

What’s keeping you on the sidelines?

Let’s take a look at the top reasons to own a home.

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