Tour touts regional development, an article from The Coloradoan, reports that the Northern Colorado chapter of Commercial Real Estate Women, or CREW, hosted a bus tour on Wednesday.  It gave approximately 80 people from outside the region the opportunity to see more than 15 up-and-coming projects, such as the Harmony Technology Park in Fort Collins and Boyd Lake Village in Loveland.  The tour was a "great showcase of the tremendous growth conditions Northern Colorado is experiencing," said Brady Welsh, an industrial broker with Bitzer Real Estate Partners in Denver.http://www.coloradoan.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081009/BUSINESS/810090322/1046   Deploy A Strategic Assault On Your Mortgage Application, an article from Realty Times, examines the approach home buyers need to take whe... 10/09/2008

I wanted to share a great real estate forum with everyone. Its been really helpful for me in my real estate career. Check it out... www.agentsonline.net. I'd say it is more directed to real estate agents but the unlicensed public can get some great information too. 10/08/2008

Hello everyone and welcome to my new blog! I'm looking forward to sharing my experiences and being available to others when it comes to quality real estate service. Check out my website... www.fortcollinspropertyfinder.com. It is a great resource for anyone's Northern Colorado real estate needs. 10/08/2008

Looked into destination club membership? You are part of a small, but growing, group. Thought about Corporate Memberships? Even smaller. Many destination clubs offer Corporate Membership options, and so far, the idea hasn't widely caught on yet. As opposed to more traditional "Individual or Family" plans offered by destination clubs, wherein you and your family must be in residence during your travels, Corporate Membership plans allow you to designate nearly anyone to use your membership. The membership deposit and annual dues of Corporate Memberships are typically higher than the other formats, partly to account for the increase in traveling members. For the most part, though, the benefits of corporate structures simply haven't been widely marketed. Those who have used their membership... 10/02/2008

  Below are the economic indicators for the week of the 21st, when you click on the link you can chart it out as well. September 21, 2008             Economic Indicators and Calendarby Realty Times Staff     New Home Sales        Chart An index developed by the Census Bureau, it shows new home sales; that is, new homes with one to four units that have gone to closing. Rising sales are generally seen as good, declining sales are a negative. Interest rate impact: Moderate. Sales of new one-family houses in June 2008 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 530,000. This is 0.6% below the revised May 2008 figure of 533,000. Source: U.S. Census Bureau Current: -0.6% Change Previous: -1.7% Change Released: July 25, 2008 Next release: August 26, 2008 Frequency: Monthly   Homeownership    ... 09/22/2008

One of the challenges of the destination club industry is that clubs are spending enormous amounts of money to market their firms, but seeing relatively low responses from those advertising campaigns.  We are aiming to help those firms reduce their expenses, while also providing an extremely valuable and hitherto unavailable service to our clients, by helping them sort through options. As we are building the reputation of our advising/brokerage firm, I'm curious for any feedback on developing a referral network for a new firm.  Realtors seem a perfect partner for us, as you are already working with clients on first and second home purchases, and it seems an opportune time to ask whether clients may have thought about luxury fractional ownership or destination club membership. What would... 09/17/2008

09/10/2008

Approximately 135 years ago Fort Collins was established along the banks of the Cache la Poudre River and this weekend the community will celebrate this birthday with Northern Colorado's largest festival, Bohemian Nights at the 20th Annual New West Fest.  Over 120,000 people will attend this celebration in Downtown Fort Collins.  Bohemian Nights at the 20th Annual New West Fest will be held August 15, 16 & 17, 2008 and is located in Historic Old Town Fort Collins. In its 20th year this FREE weekend showcases over 300 arts, crafts and food booths, Kids' World, a carnival for those young at heart, two beer gardens, and seven stages of continuous entertainment highlighting Northern Colorado's wonderfully talented artists.  The festival is always a great time of networking, shopping and enj... 08/15/2008

08/12/2008

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2008/top100/  I was recently shocked when i heard that my Home Town of Fort Collins Colorado did not win as the Number 1 place to live in the country.  Even more shocking was we had been beat by Plymouth MN.  Having spent a summer in MN i was pretty shocked to think a place where mosquito's are the size of bird and the Humidity is 120% (not to even bring into the equation where the heck are the MN mountains?) Fort Collins Colorado is the Number 1 place to live in the country.  Lets just look at a few stats to support my Re-count demand. "Of course, this being Minnesota, winter can be brutal: January's average low temperature is about 13°F. But when the mercury plummets, the locals get busy. In February the city hosts a Fire & Ice Festival t... 08/11/2008

If you can't see the newsletter, or would like to view it online, use this link If you have received this newsletter indirectly and would like to be added to our weekly distribution list, use this link     Provided to you Exclusively By Ryan Abrahamson& Anne Boward   Ryan Abrahamson & Anne Boward Mortgage Consultants Office: 970-224-7324 Fax: 866-802-0437 E-Mail: rabrahamson@ulc.com     For the week of Aug 04, 2008 --- Vol. 6, Issue 32   Last Week in Review "EVERY DAY YOU MAY MAKE PROGRESS." Winston Churchill. And after recent weeks of progressing in a worsening direction, Bonds and home loan rates finally managed to make some progress in the right direction last week, with home loan rates improving by .125% from where they began. The biggest newsmaker occurred when President Bush sign... 08/07/2008

How the New First-Time Buyer Tax Credit Works, an article from Realtor Magazine Online, reports that under the new housing bill, home buyers who have not owned a home in the last three years will be eligible for a tax credit equal to 10% of the property up to a maximum of $7,500.  The program is a loan, which home buyers must repay over 15 years at 0% interest beginning in the second year after they purchase the home.  For example, a home buyer who qualified for the whole credit would pay $500 for 15 years or about $41.67 per month.  The credit applies only to homes purchased on or after April 9, 2008, and before July 1, 2009.http://www.realtor.org/rmodaily.nsf/pages/News2008080402 08/05/2008

Eight tips for homeowners who can't wait until the market turns around So you say you're selling your house? Hey, it could be worse. You could be selling a Hummer or an Escalade.  If you've been waiting for a good offer to come through, this probably isn't exactly big news to you: This is the worst home-selling market since Herbert Hoover was president. In much of the country, prices are already way down and probably heading even further south. Houses are sitting on the market for months longer than sellers expected.     And don't think this is just a momentary lull, a short slowdown before the market recovers and then takes off again. What you see today is the market you have, for now and, quite possibly, for a long time to come.  This is a recession baby!!  September, October and Nove... 07/15/2008

  Annexation at Centerra to be taken up by Loveland City Council, an article from the Loveland Daily Reporter-Herald, reports that on Tuesday night the Loveland City Council will consider the annexation of 294 acres at Centerra.  The annexation, called the Grange Addition, consisting of five separate parcels, including the former Cloverleaf Dog Track and the property across from Marketplace, could be added to Loveland and to Centerra.  Greg George, director of development services for the city of Loveland said, "We don't really have any issues with the annexation.  The Millennium (General Development Plan) over the last 10 years has resulted in very high quality development over there."  According to documents in the application from McWhinney, the addition of these parcels of land will... 06/23/2008

We don't want to pick on anyplace, particularly when they are down, but we noticed that Merced, California is right at the bottom of the national ranking of 292 Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA) tracked by OFHEO for the lowest rate of house price appreciation in the first quarter of 2008 compared to the first quarter of 2007. The quarterly report by the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight was released May 22, 2008 and shows a national decline in home prices of 1.7% but Merced was #292 on the list with a decrease of 24.7%. And we don't even feel sorry for them.   Merced is a nice town of about 80,000 people right on Highway 99 in the Central Valley of California, a hundred miles southeast of the Bay Area. It has an annualized growth rate of 3.4% over the last nine years and... 06/20/2008

A review of the headlines over the couple of weeks would leave anyone confused as to the actual current state of the real estate business.   It started with the National Association of Realtors May 23, 2008 report on existing home sales for April. Their headline was "Existing Home Sales Ease Due to Mortgage Restrictions; Some Markets Rising". The explanation was that existing home sales slowed in April partly because restrictive lending practices hampered home buyers. Sales declined, on a seasonally adjusted annual rate, by 1% compared to the end of March but were 17.5% below the level reported at the end of April 2007. The national median existing home sales price was $202,300, 8.0% below a year ago. The good news, according to NAR President Richard Gaylord, is that mortgage restrictio... 06/20/2008

Before we get into all that negative stuff, let's see what we can find to write that is positive about the current local real estate market - at least for home owners and home sellers. How about home sales in May were up 19% compared to last month.  May was the biggest month of closed sales since August of last year. There were an additional twelve sales recorded for April so the decline improved from 16.8% to 12.2%. The average selling price showed a very modest drop of 1.2% compared to last year. Marketing times, at least for the homes that are sold, continue to improve. The homes that closed in May were on the market an average of 114 days and the year to date now stands at 118 days compared to 129 days at the same time last year. The inventory of homes for sale is staying low with 2... 06/20/2008

As we here all around the country of home prices dropping, the Fort Collins resale market is bucking the trend. With five months under our belt, the Fort Collinsre-sale market prices are in the positive territory. When compared to the same time last year, the median price for a resale home is up 2% at $229,000. The average home is up 1% at $267,247. Considering the number of home sold is down some 14%, any positive on prices is fantastic. Rob Proctor - Broker, At Home Realtors   http:\\www.at-home-realtors.com   06/17/2008

Looks like in some prices ranges the market is hot! Sales are much lower then last year at the same time.  (-22%) However inventory is also Down which is helpful and absorption in some price ranges is Smoking Hot!   06/03/2008

Fort Collins bucks trend in housing With stronger home prices, the city is surviving the market better than most. By Christian Toto Special to The Denver Post Article Last Updated: 05/10/2008 12:12:21 AM MDT Fort Collins consistently shows up on lists of the best places to live in the United States. (Brian Brainerd, The Denver Post ) Broker associate Marcus Valdez has a hard time drinking tap water when he travels across the country. The water in Fort Collins, where Valdez works and lives, has spoiled him to lesser streams, he said. To him, it's a small but telling reason why Fort Collins appeals to home shoppers. Combined with its scenic vistas and proximity to Colo... 05/12/2008