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"Cherry Creek offers nice family communities and easy
commutes to downtown and Denver International
Airport," says Realtor Barbara Schutte-Kunkel.
"There
are many homes on the market right now especially in
certain price ranges. Homes are not selling as
quickly. Buyers have more choices and do not feel
rushed to buy."
"Colorado has cracked America's Top 10 in job growth
just a year after ranking near the bottom -- a
performance called 'a remarkable turnaround' by
federal bank regulators," says Realtor William R.
Roberts II. "The FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance
Corp.) tracks state and regional economies as it
monitors the health of banks whose deposits it
insures.
Colorado's year-over-year gain in employment
in 2004's fourth quarter was 2.1 percent, while jobs
nationally grew by 1.6 percent. Colorado ranked 10th,
while one year ago, it ranked 45th in job growth. The
state's gain represented about 44,000 more jobs than
in 2003. That's a big change from before, when
Colorado under performed the nation in job creation --
sometimes severely -- for 10 consecutive quarters from
late 2001 to early 2004. In nine of those quarters,
Colorado posted job losses, not gains. This belated
rebound is in line with many economists' views that
Colorado's recovery would trail that of the national
economy by six to twelve months.
Accelerating job
growth means the state might set an all-time record
for total employment by the end of this year according
to Alan Bush, a Dallas-based regional manager for the
FDIC."
Roberts continues, "Mortgage rates dropped to 5.91
percent for 30-year note. The average U.S. rate on a
30-year, fixed-rate mortgage fell for the second
straight week, dropping to 5.91 percent from 5.93
percent, Freddie Mac reported on April 14th. The
15-year fixed rate fell to 5.46 percent from 5.48
percent.
The one-year adjustable rate rose to 4.3
percent from 4.23 percent. Builders pulled 3,181
permits for homes, condos and apartments in the Denver
area in the first two months of the year, about 35
percent more than the 2,348 issued through February of
2004. This is the biggest percentage gain for the
two-month period in about a decade as reported in a
study released by the Home Builders Association of
Metro Denver. Roger Reinhardt, executive vice
president of the Denver home builders group, said the
increase in building permits is great news for the
economy.
The HBA, working with the Genesis Group,
tracks permits in Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder,
Broomfield, Denver, Douglas, Elbert and Jefferson
counties. He said the increase in construction
activity is consistent with the report from the
Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. that shows Colorado is
now one of the 10 fastest growing job markets in the
nation. He further added that the market remains
fairly robust because mortgage rates are still
relatively low, consumer confidence is returning and
there is job growth."
Explains Realtor Bud Herzog, "The capital of the Rocky
Mountain West, Denver was founded in 1859 by gold
prospectors at the confluence of the South Platte and
Cherry Creek. William Byers founded the Rocky Mountain
News, John Denver just liked the name "Denver." We
have over 300 days of sunshine, 12 months of golfing,
weather permitting, great sports teams like The
Avalanche and The Nuggets."
About the market Herzog says, "Don't let anyone out
there fool you, it is a Buyer's Market. I even heard a
builder on the radio today offering $40,000 in
incentives at zero down. What does that tell you?
Summer's here now ... prices are holding steady, rates
are at a 30-year-low, and everything looks better in
the summer. Now is a great time to buy a home. Rates
are low, but for how long is anybody's guess. If
you're thinking of upgrading, now's the time to have a
garage sale, clear out the clutter, ad some pizazz to
your palace, and get it ready for sale. Make sure you
look at the competition to see what they're doing."
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