Job growth tends to be a leading indicator of housing market strength, and job loss tends to predict housing weakness. Here are some interesting facts. Unemployment in Colorado is currently running at about 8.0%, versus 8.6% nationally. According to Governor Hickenlooper’s office on January 23, 2012, 1500 jobs have been created in Colorado in the last 60 days. On January 15, the Denver Post reported that net in-migration from other states is growing. Best of all for housing, among 25- to 44- year-olds, Colorado is the most popular state in the nation for relocation. Finally, interest rates continue to stay at record low levels, while Denver’s inventory of resale homes in 2011 was only about 2/3 of that in 2010. If you are considering listing your home, the market’s low inventory levels may provide you with a real opportunity. Please call me if you would like a free, no-obligation analysis of the price at which your home might reasonably sell in our spring market.

Great national news story–great exposure for Denver, and good for home values: http://ping.fm/meQUL

As Denver “greens up”, more homes are coming on the market–but we are also selling homes at a remarkable pace. More positive feel in the market than 2010.

Open house at 960 S. HIgh–3 couples relocating to Denver, all professionals, from NC, DC and NYC. Encouraging re hiring!

Just tenting out ping.fm–this service could be a real time-saver!

According to the National Association of Realtors, the number of existing home sales in the West increased 5.6% in the third quarter.  The Denver-Aurora area’s price increase (1.8%, according to NAR) was the second highest in the region–outdone only by Yakima, Washington (2.7%).  Is this because Yakima has slightly better wine?

The Denver Business Journal reports that the Standard & Poor’s Case-Schiller Home Prices Index showed that home prices in Denver rose in August for the sixth straight month, although the August data show that prices are still off approximately 1.9% from a year ago.   So the answer to the question is a yes/no–we are certainly crawling our way out of the trough, but haven’t quite reached the lip yet.  Certain areas of our market are doing very well (homes under about $300,000), but other sectors (especially homes over the $2MM mark) are still struggling.  On balance, though, this is a good sign.  When homes at the lower end of the market sell, their previous owners tend to “move up”–do this enough times, and you actually have a recovery!  We just hope the positive news continues, and that Congress extends the first-time homebuyer tax credit, thus priming the pump for a recovery throughout all price-points.