The Landscape: Rich Laden's real estate blog : Colorado Springs Gazette, CO

El Paso County better than some counties, worse than others, when it comes to foreclosures

November 20th, 2009, 11:00 am by Rich Laden

Foreclosure filings in El Paso County, which includes Colorado Springs, already broke last year’s record of 4,602 and are on their way to exceeding 5,000, Public Trustee Tom Mowle has said. However, a Colorado Division of Housing report Thursday at least shows that El Paso County is doing OK when it comes to comparison to other counties. Third-quarter foreclosure filings in El Paso County were up 64 percent when compared with the same period last year. But in Douglas County, filings more than doubled, while Denver and Arapahoe counties increased 67 percent and 76 percent, respectively, in the third quarter. Foreclosure filings are the start of the state’s foreclosure process; property owners who receive a foreclosure notice have a few months to try and resolve the problem. Foreclosure sales in El Paso County — properties that went through the foreclosure process and there were sold by the Public Trustee at auction — rose 3 percent in the third quarter over the same period a year earlier. Foreclosure sales in Boulder County rose 4 percent and were up 5 percent in Weld County. Foreclosure sales tripled in Mesa County, where Grand Junction’s economy has fallen on hard times. Here’s a Housing Division table on foreclosure filings and sales:

	2008	2009	Percent change year-over-year	2008	2009	Percent change year-over-year
	3rd Q Filings	3rd Q Filings		3rd Q Sales	3rd Q Sales



Adams	1,069	1,456	36	1013	790	-22
Alamosa	9	16	78	9	7	-22
Arapahoe	963	1,699	76	1003	743	-26
Archuleta	29	52	79	17	29	71
Baca	0	2	n/a	0	1	n/a
Bent	2	13	550	0	2	n/a
Boulder	201	447	122	137	142	4
Broomfield	58	78	34	33	35	6
Chaffee	10	22	120	3	24	700
Cheyenne	6	0	-100	3	0	-100
Clear Creek	14	28	100	20	13	-35
Conejos	8	4	-50	2	0	-100
Costilla	1	5	400	1	0	-100
Crowley	5	7	40	3	1	-67
Custer	9	4	-56	0	0	n/a
Delta	33	60	82	15	23	53
Denver	979	1,637	67	1359	808	-41
Dolores	1	6	500	0	0	n/a
Douglas	340	1,637	381	287	260	-9
Eagle	41	142	246	21	47	124
Elbert	50	86	72	35	41	17
El Paso	869	1,427	64	675	698	3
Fremont	61	96	57	49	59	20
Garfield	25	121	384	2	20	900
Gilpin	10	22	120	7	9	29
Grand	41	65	59	26	22	-15
Gunnison	13	64	392	13	30	131
Hinsdale	3	0	-100	0	1	n/a
Huerfano	15	9	-40	3	1	-67
Jackson	1	1	0	0	0	n/a
Jefferson	713	1,050	47	563	441	-22
Kiowa	0	0	n/a	0	0	n/a
Kit Carson	5	10	100	4	4	0
La Plata	30	75	150	8	27	238
Lake	10	12	20	2	4	100
Larimer	346	555	60	242	225	-7
Las Animas	17	31	82	6	13	117
Lincoln	2	12	500	3	5	67
Logan	16	21	31	9	17	89
Mesa	116	373	222	32	100	213
Mineral	1	2	100	0	0	n/a
Moffat	0	28	n/a	1	22	2100
Montezuma	21	32	52	2	15	650
Montrose	43	81	88	10	35	250
Morgan	34	63	85	20	33	65
Otero	24	21	-13	20	16	-20
Ouray	1	18	1700	2	10	400
Park	55	87	58	42	50	19
Philips	3	0	-100	2	1	-50
Pitkin	3	42	1300	4	10	150
Prowers	6	10	67	6	9	50
Pueblo	258	420	63	210	208	-1
RioBlanco	2	11	450	0	1	n/a
Rio Grande	19	25	32	6	14	133
Routt	10	58	480	2	16	700
Saguache	11	5	-55	4	5	25
San Juan	1	1	0	1	2	100
San Miguel	5	21	320	2	7	250
Sedgwick	2	3	50	1	0	-100
Summit	48	93	94	32	6	-81
Teller	46	82	78	46	50	9
Washington	4	10	150	3	4	33
Weld	560	905	62	436	459	5
Yuma	7	3	-57	4	3	-25
Totals	7,285	13,366	83	6461	5,618	-13

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Web site gives a peek into commercial properties for sale

November 12th, 2009, 5:11 pm by Rich Laden

colorado-springs-downtown-image2 Think there are a lot of single-family houses on the market? There also are hundreds of commercial properties available in the Colorado Springs area. One great source of information to see what’s listed: http://www.coloradospringscommercialproperties.com/. Once on the site, click on the “search properties” button, and then fill in various search criteria such as the type of property (office, industrial and retail) and whether you want to look at properties for sale or lease. Most of the properties that pop up show the sale or lease price, address and photos of the property. And the headers at the top of each column allow you to sort the information by price or location. You’d be surprised at what’s for sale. One of the priciest commercial properties on the market? The Checks Unlimited campus at 8145 N. Union Blvd. in northern Colorado Springs. The price is $19 million for the nearly 50-acre property, which includes a 230,300-square-foot office and manufacturing building.

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Home values up in Colorado Springs, Zillow says

November 12th, 2009, 4:23 pm by Rich Laden

Zillow.com, the on-line home value service, isn’t the last word on home values. But it’s one snapshot of information on what homes might be worth. For the third quarter, a new Zillow report shows that 24 of 156 metropolitan areas saw an increase in home values during the third quarter compared with the same period last year, and Colorado Springs was one of them. Colorado Springs home values increased 2 percent to $201,100 in the third quarter, according to Zillow. That’’s for single-family homes only, and just in the Springs metro area. Values differed in unincorporated and outlying areas. The full report, which includes all of El Paso County, can be found at this link: http://www.zillow.com/local-info/. Click on Colorado Springs. Zillow qualifies its reports by saying that it uses various sources of information to determine home values, which it says are different than home prices.

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Re/Max Properties receives national recognition

November 10th, 2009, 4:34 pm by Rich Laden

Joe Clement (front row, far right) and members of Re/Max Properties

Re/Max Properties in Colorado Springs was one of three Re/Max franchises recently recognized as among the nation’s best for quality service and customer satisfaction, according to real estate industry organizations Quality Service Certification Inc. and Leading Research Corporation. “I am proud of our agents for earning this honor for the second year in a row,” Joe Clement, broker/owner of Re/Max Properties, said in a statement “It’s very gratifying for us, because it shows that our commitment to delivering great service is a success.” According to a news release, the recognition was based on feedback from 200,000 customer surveys of more than 500 participating companies and 25,000 real estate agents. “

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It’s an especially good time to buy a house, economist says

November 2nd, 2009, 10:15 am by Rich Laden

Eugenio Alemán

You could call him self serving, but that doesn’t mean he’s wrong. At the close of his keynote address Friday to the Southern Colorado Economic Forum in Colorado Springs, Eugenio Alemán, senior economist for Wells Fargo Economics Group in Minneapolis, told several hundred people in attendance that there simply won’t be a better time to buy a house. Sure, real estate agents are forever saying the same thing, but it’s especially true now, he said. And it’s not just the $8,000 tax credit being offered by the federal government through Nov. 30, Alemán said. Mortgage rates for a 30-year, fixed-rate loan averaged 5.03 percent last week after having dipped below 5 percent during much of October, according to mortgage giant Freddie Mac. In addition, Alemán said, home prices have fallen significantly. Those three factors have combined to create a perfect storm of favorable incentives for home buyers, he said.

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Colorado Springs’ foreclosure problem ranks 56th worst in nation

October 28th, 2009, 10:01 am by Rich Laden

A third-quarter 2009 report by RealtyTrac, the Irvine, Calif.-based on-line research firm that tracks foreclosures around the country, lists Colorado Springs as the 56th worst market in the country in terms of foreclosure problems. That puts the Springs in the upper one-fourth of the 203 metropolitan areas in the report. The Springs had one property in some form of foreclosure for every 133 households in the third quarter, according to RealtyTrac. Denver/Aurora was slightly worse than the Springs; it had one foreclosure for every 113 households. Las Vegas had one foreclosure for every 20 households, giving it the dubious distinction of the worst ranking in the RealtyTrac report. Utica-Rome, in upstate New York, had the best ranking: one foreclosure for every 5,441 households. Colorado officials aren’t keen on RealtyTrac’s numbers; they say Colorado counts its foreclosure differently than other states and therefore RealtyTrac’s numbers amount to an apples and orange comparison.

U.S. Metro Foreclosure Market Data – Q3 2009

Rate Rank	Metro Name	Properties with FC Filings	%Housing Units	1/every X HU	%Δ from Q2 2009	%Δ from Q3 2008
–	U.S. Total	937,840	0.73	136	5.40	22.50
1	Las Vegas-Paradise, NV Total	40,408	5.13	20	8.82	53.62
2	Merced, CA Total	3,092	3.72	27	-13.32	-11.12
3	Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL Total	13,206	3.67	27	-5.19	-2.19
4	Stockton, CA Total	8,000	3.53	28	1.63	-3.05
5	Modesto, CA Total	5,883	3.39	30	-3.03	-0.12
6	Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA Total	48,416	3.37	30	-7.91	11.83
7	Bakersfield, CA Total	7,753	2.88	35	-7.64	14.25
8	Vallejo-Fairfield, CA Total	4,266	2.85	35	-3.83	-3.37
9	Reno-Sparks, NV Total	4,787	2.67	37	14.17	80.44
10	Port St. Lucie, FL Total	5,434	2.63	38	28.19	40.05
11	Orlando-Kissimmee, FL Total	22,700	2.57	39	5.07	41.92
12	Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ Total	40,566	2.43	41	4.72	18.56
13	Sacramento–Arden-Arcade–Roseville, CA Total	19,068	2.25	44	1.89	19.10
14	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL Total	53,710	2.23	45	-5.20	34.67
15	Fresno, CA Total	5,860	1.93	52	-7.75	16.48
16	Salinas, CA Total	2,537	1.82	55	-8.38	-20.89
17	Visalia-Porterville, CA Total	2,439	1.80	56	-9.16	26.24
18	Lakeland, FL Total	4,907	1.77	57	11.32	41.49
19	Boise City-Nampa, ID Total	4,157	1.76	57	22.16	141.55*
20	San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA Total	18,519	1.63	61	-5.09	7.21
21	Provo-Orem, UT Total	2,316	1.63	61	10.87	119.94
22	Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA Total	4,434	1.63	61	0.50	17.15
23	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, CA Total	69,403	1.58	63	2.07	32.38
24	Naples-Marco Island, FL Total	2,997	1.56	64	-15.65	-4.49
25	Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL Total	3,697	1.50	67	-6.81	27.70
26	Jacksonville, FL Total	8,654	1.48	68	1.80	63.50
27	Ocala, FL Total	2,342	1.47	68	-10.85	31.06
28	Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA Total	2,898	1.47	68	2.04	19.51
29	Prescott, AZ Total	1,508	1.44	69	3.86	76.58
30	Sarasota-Bradenton-Venice, FL Total	5,528	1.42	71	-0.11	-6.59
31	Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL Total	3,709	1.40	71	11.62	10.32
32	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA Total	22,876	1.35	74	6.56	22.06
33	Greeley, CO Total	1,234	1.33	75	9.01	23.52
34	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL Total	17,012	1.29	77	-6.13	-4.99
35	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA Total	8,185	1.29	77	2.68	28.76
36	Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR-MO Total	2,250	1.23	82	4.65	53.27*
37	Chico, CA Total	1,156	1.22	82	33.80	97.61
38	Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-Goleta, CA Total	1,790	1.18	85	11.39	5.85
39	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA Total	24,787	1.17	85	4.88	13.90
40	Detroit-Warren-Livonia, MI Total**	21,978	1.16	86	7.35	1.89
41	Salt Lake City, UT Total	4,231	1.08	93	28.52	105.19
42	Tucson, AZ Total	4,430	1.04	96	1.12	53.13
43	San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA Total	1,155	1.00	100	1.76	53.18
44	Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA Total	1,015	0.99	101	-11.51	12.40
45	Flint, MI Total**	1,787	0.91	110	5.61	25.93
46	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Total	19,318	0.91	110	22.22	9.25
47	Denver-Aurora, CO Total	9,235	0.89	113	5.48	-1.58
48	Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, IL-IN-WI Total	33,065	0.88	113	6.79	28.46
49	Rockford, IL Total	1,224	0.85	117	24.14	63.86
50	Lansing-East Lansing, MI Total**	1,653	0.84	119	4.95	40.92
51	Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent, FL Total	1,637	0.83	120	13.05	23.27
52	Fort Collins-Loveland, CO Total	1,027	0.81	124	64.58	63.28
53	Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor, OH Total	7,309	0.77	129	11.30	-1.04
54	Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI Total**	2,415	0.76	132	8.93	25.52
55	Memphis, TN-MS-AR Total	4,125	0.75	133	-4.11	-19.90
56	Colorado Springs, CO Total	1,926	0.75	133	1.21	15.95
57	Ogden-Clearfield, UT Total	1,317	0.74	134	-17.17	50.34
58	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI Total	9,767	0.74	136	13.54	98.68
59	Holland-Grand Haven, MI Total**	718	0.72	140	25.09	124.38
60	Atlantic City, NJ Total	885	0.70	143	33.28	9.26
61	Tulsa, OK Total	2,764	0.70	144	63.84	54.33*
62	Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, OR-WA Total	6,123	0.69	145	4.88	78.36
63	Indianapolis-Carmel, IN Total	5,074	0.68	147	-15.26	-15.84
64	Canton-Massillon, OH Total	1,193	0.67	149	-10.70	-8.16
65	Toledo, OH Total	1,922	0.64	156	-5.69	-3.27
66	Worcester, MA Total	1,990	0.63	159	23.83	21.42
67	Salem, OR Total	913	0.62	160	4.58	77.97
68	Cincinnati-Middletown, OH-KY-IN Total	5,461	0.60	167	8.55	0.53
69	Charleston-North Charleston, SC Total	1,693	0.60	167	-0.06	11.16
70	Ann Arbor, MI Total**	880	0.60	167	20.05	-12.70
71	Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord, NC-SC Total	4,231	0.60	167	46.30	33.81
72	Savannah, GA Total	850	0.59	169	10.25	77.45
73	Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI Total	3,833	0.58	171	2.73	24.61
74	Kansas City, MO-KS Total	4,960	0.58	174	26.92	15.43†
75	Gainesville, FL Total	654	0.57	176	9.73	64.74
76	Green Bay, WI Total	758	0.56	177	8.75	149.34*
77	Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR Total	1,605	0.55	183	44.46	35.79*
78	Macon, GA Total	558	0.54	184	-14.02	6.08
79	Trenton-Ewing, NJ Total	760	0.54	185	46.15	-20.83
80	Jackson, MS Total	1,189	0.54	185	63.10	599.41*
81	Akron, OH Total	1,637	0.53	188	-4.77	-46.69
82	Columbus, OH Total	4,102	0.53	188	-28.83	-33.19
83	Birmingham-Hoover, AL Total	2,622	0.53	190	-1.35	336.27*
84	Greenville-Mauldin-Easley, SC Total	1,412	0.53	190	16.41	176.86*
85	Tallahassee, FL Total	832	0.52	191	1.96	47.52
86	Dayton, OH Total	1,931	0.51	197	-24.36	-20.86
87	Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, OH-PA Total	1,316	0.50	199	4.94	25.69
88	Saginaw-Saginaw Township North, MI Total**	433	0.49	205	0.46	9.34
89	Bremerton-Silverdale, WA Total	488	0.48	207	11.93	40.63
90	Baltimore-Towson, MD Total	5,330	0.48	208	109.84	95.74
91	Kalamazoo-Portage, MI Total**	684	0.47	211	-7.07	31.29
92	Fort Wayne, IN Total	825	0.46	216	-14.06	-35.34
93	Springfield, MA Total	1,312	0.46	216	34.29	94.08
94	St. Louis, MO-IL Total	5,701	0.46	216	25.43	-12.63†
95	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA Total	6,495	0.46	217	-11.21	37.75
96	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX Total	10,700	0.45	221	4.85	7.86
97	Columbia, SC Total	1,401	0.45	222	9.11	77.34
98	Boulder, CO Total	551	0.45	224	34.39	45.77
99	Mobile, AL Total	791	0.44	226	-10.01	82.68*
100	Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH Total	7,962	0.44	229	9.96	19.46
101	Richmond, VA Total	2,215	0.43	230	24.37	89.97
102	Reading, PA Total	690	0.43	232	10.40	16.16
103	Brownsville-Harlingen, TX Total	613	0.43	235	29.05	-1.61
104	Chattanooga, TN-GA Total	971	0.43	235	4.41	12.38††
105	Barnstable Town, MA Total	661	0.42	235	43.07	119.60
106	Eugene-Springfield, OR Total	632	0.42	236	3.44	62.05
107	Greensboro-High Point, NC Total	1,310	0.42	238	19.31	18.44
108	Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC Total	2,850	0.42	239	-0.07	35.39†
109	Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC Total	703	0.42	239	-6.89	166.29*
110	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD Total	9,912	0.42	241	28.23	10.95
111	Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA Total	976	0.41	241	49.24	84.15*
112	Austin-Round Rock, TX Total	2,641	0.41	242	59.10	74.78
113	Albuquerque, NM Total	1,447	0.41	244	9.70	73.09*
114	Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV Total	460	0.41	245	39.39	109.09
115	New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, LA Total	1,797	0.41	246	8.25	46.93
116	Appleton, WI Total	367	0.41	246	58.87	149.66*
117	Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN Total	2,217	0.41	246	10.46	7.26
118	South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI Total	562	0.40	248	-1.40	-25.37
119	Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN Total	2,572	0.40	249	17.60	3.21††
120	New Haven-Milford, CT Total	1,396	0.40	250	62.70	0.50
121	McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX Total	986	0.40	251	1,197.37	101.22
122	Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT Total	1,394	0.40	251	78.72	6.66
123	Providence-New Bedford-Fall River, RI-MA Total	2,679	0.40	252	2.68	20.95
124	Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX Total	8,482	0.39	256	1.48	-8.12
125	Winston-Salem, NC Total	804	0.39	257	15.52	-23.28
126	Anchorage, AK Total	543	0.39	258	39.95	29.90
127	Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC Total	832	0.37	272	18.01	20.23
128	San Antonio, TX Total	2,764	0.37	274	4.50	20.23
129	Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ Total	1,209	0.36	276	15.25	93.13*
130	York-Hanover, PA Total	627	0.36	278	-23.07	24.90
131	Sioux Falls, SD Total	329	0.36	278	116.45	196.40
132	Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood, TX Total	521	0.36	279	6.33	68.61
133	Honolulu, HI Total	1,186	0.35	282	24.84	85.89
134	Columbus, GA-AL Total	453	0.35	283	24.79	24.45
135	Manchester-Nashua, NH Total	558	0.34	290	-16.72	-15.96
136	Springfield, MO Total	623	0.34	294	0.00	0.48†
137	Raleigh-Cary, NC Total	1,428	0.34	298	17.63	11.65
138	New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-PA Total	24,715	0.33	299	29.43	14.69
139	Olympia, WA Total	332	0.33	302	-19.22	17.31
140	Wichita, KS Total	851	0.33	303	13.92	51.69
141	Madison, WI Total	803	0.33	307	5.66	130.09*
142	Norwich-New London, CT Total	368	0.32	317	102.20	21.45
143	Oklahoma City, OK Total	1,639	0.31	318	79.13	-12.17
144	Montgomery, AL Total	486	0.31	322	-26.92	115.04*
145	Knoxville, TN Total	950	0.31	325	9.70	0.53††
146	Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL Total	500	0.30	330	25.00	33.69
147	Topeka, KS Total	307	0.30	336	42.13	60.73
148	Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT Total	1,450	0.29	339	56.76	12.93
149	Shreveport-Bossier City, LA Total	498	0.29	346	54.66	277.27*

The Landscape: Rich Laden's real estate blog

All things residential and commercial real estate

El Paso County better than some counties, worse than others, when it comes to foreclosures

Web site gives a peek into commercial properties for sale

Home values up in Colorado Springs, Zillow says

Re/Max Properties receives national recognition

It’s an especially good time to buy a house, economist says

Colorado Springs’ foreclosure problem ranks 56th worst in nation