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Denver lands close to 30% of $1 million-plus home sales

Feb 8

Posted by John Rebchook in News

This home at 3220 Zuni St. in Highland is priced at just over $1 million. It is listed by Dee Chirafisi of Kentwood City Properties.

This home at 3220 Zuni St. in Highland is priced at just over $1 million. It is listed by Dee Chirafisi of Kentwood City Properties.

Almost one out of every four homes sold and closed in the metro area in 2009 took place in Denver. And almost 30 percent of the homes sold above $1 million were in Denver.

An analysis of Metrolist data by independent broker Gary Bauer shows that 10,010 homes closed in the Denver area last year, accounting for 23.8 percent of the 42,027 home sales in the metro area last year. Arapahoe County was No. 2, with 8,230 single-family homes and condo closings last year. Read the rest of this entry »

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Rebchook on Channel 9

Feb 7

Posted by John Rebchook in News

I was on Channel 9 news this morning to talk about the story I wrote earlier that only about 1,000 people in Colorado have so far received permanent loan modifications. To check out the video, please visit this link. To read the original story, please visit this link.

Contact John Rebchook at JRCHOOK@gmail.com or 303-945-6865.

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Pinnacle tops $100 million in sales

Feb 5

Posted by John Rebchook in News

Buyers paid more than $33 million last year for 53 units at the Pinnacle.

Buyers paid more than $33 million last year for 53 units at the Pinnacle.

The Pinnacle at City Park South last year bucked the trend of super-slow condo sales in the Denver area.

In 2009, buyers paid more than $33 million for units in the Pinnacle, arguably making it the best-selling condo project in the Denver area last year. (Peloton in Boulder actually sold more units, according to an analysis by Hanley Wood Market Intelligence. But the Boulder market is not a direct competitor with the Denver market.)

Since 2007, when sales started at the only high-rise condo project along City Park, buyers have paid about $101 million for 174 units for the two-building community in east Denver.
Read the rest of this entry »

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Colorado foreclosures: Hopeful signs, but crisis isn’t over

Feb 4

Posted by John Rebchook in News

Foreclosure Sales Per QuarterEarlier today I blogged about a state report that shows foreclosure filings in Colorado in 2009 set a record, but foreclosure sales declined from 2008 and 2007 levels.

Later, experts said that without the Colorado Foreclosure Hotline, 1-877-601-HOPE, which has received more than 60,000 phone calls, has played a big role in stemming the tide of people losing their homes.

“We’re making good progress,” said Ryan McMaken, who released the report that showed a record 46,394 foreclosure filings last year, an 18 percent increase  from 2008, but only 20,437 foreclosure sales – a 4 percent drop from 2008. Read the rest of this entry »

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Colorado foreclosures both rise and fall

Feb 4

Posted by John Rebchook in News

Completed ForeclosuresBy one measure, foreclosure activity in Colorado is declining. By another, foreclosures are still going through the roof.

The good news is that completed foreclosure sales in Colorado during 2009 fell 4 percent from 2008’s totals, and have fallen 18 percent since 2007, shows a state report released today. However, foreclosure filings were up 18 percent in 2009 from 2008, rising to a record 46,394. Read the rest of this entry »

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Judges chosen for Rocky Mountain Real Estate Challenge

Feb 3

Posted by John Rebchook in News

The Denver Coliseum is the subject of this year's Real Estate Challenge between CU and DU.

The Denver Coliseum is the subject of this year's Rocky Mountain Real Estate Challenge between CU and DU.

A Who’s Who of local architects, developers, bankers, consultants and other real experts have been chosen as judges for this year’s Rocky Mountain Real Estate Challenge.

The challenge, in which about 50 graduate real estate students from the University of Colorado and the University of Denver compete against each other, were chosen by NAIOP Colorado.

This year, the students will determine the highest and best use for the redevelopment of the Denver Coliseum. It marks the 8th challenge.

“These professionals represent the best and brightest in our industry, and we are pleased to announce their involvement in this year’s challenge” said Al Colussy, principal with the architectural firm klipp, and chair of this year’s Rocky Mountain Real Estate Challenge Committee. Read the rest of this entry »

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Only 1,072 permanent loan modifications in Colorado

Feb 1

Posted by John Rebchook in News

Only 1,072 permanent loan modifications have been made to homeowners in Colorado facing foreclosure, according to the latest government data.

“That is the proverbial drop in the ocean,” said Byron Koste, director of the Colorado Real Estate Center at the University of Colorado in Boulder. “That will have no impact at all. The only impact it has is that 1,000 families are better off.” Read the rest of this entry »

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Rick Garcia tapped as HUD director

Jan 29

Posted by John Rebchook in News

Rick Garcia today was named HUD Region VIII executive director, according to sources.

Rick Garcia today was named HUD Region VIII executive director, according to sources.

Denver City Councilman Rick Garcia has been  named as HUD regional director for Colorado and five other states.

U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan  announced that President Barack Obama’s selected Garcia as the HUD director for Region VIII that also includes Montana, both Dakotas,  Wyoming and Utah.

InsideRealEstateNews.com was the first publication to report that Garcia was likely to be named as the HUD regional director. (For the previous blog, please go to this link.)

Garcia’s City Council term would have expired in 2011. A spokeswoman from his office said a special election will be held within 60 days after his resignation. Garcia, who was first elected in District 1, which covers portions of northwest Denver in 2003, has not yet announced his resignation date.

Garcia will serve as HUD’s liaison to mayors, city managers, elected representatives, state and local officials, congressional delegations, stakeholders and customers and will be responsible for overseeing the delivery of HUD programs and services to communities, and evaluate their efficiency and effectiveness.

“This Administration is focused on addressing housing, transportation, education and energy together, when we look to improve communities,” said  Donovan. “Rick Garcia understands and embraces the sustainable community concept. When you combine that with his extensive work on the affordable housing front and foreclosures, he became the ideal candidate for this position.”

“I am honored to have been selected and appointed by President Obama to serve as HUD’s regional director during this important time of economic challenge and opportunity in our nation’s history,” Garcia said. “My understanding of western cultures, land use, transportation, housing and community economic development allows me to hit the ground running and lead the Rocky Mountain region in achieving HUD’s national objectives.”

David Zucker, owner of Zocalo Development, one of the greenest infill developers in Denver, said Garcia was a great choice. Read the rest of this entry »

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Boulder builder hammers sleazy lawyers in novel

Jan 29

Posted by John Rebchook in News

Conflicts of InterestT. R. Morgan and his son, Ryan, built a nice house in the Bay area.

When the owners discover a problem with a leaky window, the Morgans  are more than willing to fix it.

Much to their surprise, chagrin and dismay, a lawyer named Steve Sanderson – enemy No. 1 for honest home builders – sinks his claws into the homeowners,  convincing them that fixing the problem is not the goal – taking the builder and its insurance companies for everything it can, is far more lucrative . The insurance companies are no better than Sanderson, and the Morgans fear they may throw them under the bus at anytime by the companies, if they think it will contain costs and reduce their risk of treble damages under RICO statutes.

While the story may seem all too real to builders who have faced losing everything over a minor construction problem, this is the plot that frames a first-time novel by long-time Boulder home builder Michael Ruddy. Read the rest of this entry »

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Denver No. 46 in foreclosures

Jan 28

Posted by John Rebchook in News

The Denver-Aurora metropolitan statistical area ranked No. 46 out of 203 markets – big and small – tracked by RealtyTrac, the Irvine, Calif.-based company that collects foreclosure data, nationwide.

One out of every 36 households in the Denver area received some kind of foreclosure notice last year, according to RealtyTrac’s Year-End 2009 Metropolitan Foreclosure Market Report released today. That compares to one out of 45 households nationally.

While foreclosures across the U.S. were up 21.2 percent from, they were down about 12 percent in the Denver area, according to RealyTrac.

The Greeley area was ranked No. 29, with one out of 24 households receiving a foreclosure notice, up 6.5 percent from 2008. Colorado Springs was No. 50, with one of 39 households in foreclosure, an 11 percent increase from 2008. Fort Collins-Loveland was No. 70, with one out of 50 households in foreclosure, 19.7% higher than in 2008, and Boulder was ranked 115th, with one out 77 households in foreclosure, a 28 percent jump  from 2008.

Ryan McMaken, of the Colorado Division of Housing, who plans to release his own statewide-foreclosure report next Thursday, today said the RealtyTrac numbers seem to capture what is happening in Colorado. However, he said because of RealtyTrac’s methodology of combining all foreclosure actions and treating them as one number, its data will differ for his. Read the rest of this entry »

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