Foreclosure filings are the initial filing that begins the foreclosure process, and foreclosure sales totals are the total number of foreclosures that have been sold at public trustee auction at the end of the foreclosure process. In many cases, the bank holding the loan wins the bid and the home becomes known as a REO, or Real Estate Owned property.

Ryan McMaken, spokesman for the housing division, and the author of the report, is not alarmed by the spike in foreclosure sales, which had been declining at the end of 2009, compared to a year earlier.

“What happened is that we had all of those moratoria in the fall of 2008 through January of 2009, which led to lower foreclosure activity,” McMaken said. “I think the big fear was that we would see a big jump in foreclosure activity after they ended, although for the most part that did not happen. We did see a fairly significant jump between June and July of last year, but it was fairly short-lived

“Recent movements in foreclosure sales and filings reflect recent overall trends, as monthly sales totals have moved upward and monthly filings totals have moved downward,” according to the report.The report goes on to say that the “movements in foreclosure sales reflect movement in foreclosure filings, but lag by six to eight months. (If the)  current relationship between filings and sales continues, foreclosure sales will begin to fall again during spring 2010.”

Foreclosures vary hugely by county

Foreclosure activity varied by county. The counties with the largest decreases from January 2009 to January 2010 in filings activity were Douglas County and Denver County, where filings decreased by 26 percent and 17 percent, respectively. The largest increase was in Mesa County where filings increased 159 percent year-over-year.

Foreclosure sales activity increased in all metropolitan counties during January of this year compared to January of 2009. The smallest increase was in Denver County where sales increased 19 percent. The largest increase was found in Mesa County where foreclosure filings increased 337 percent from January 2009 to January 2010. However, measuring changes in foreclosure sales activity since 2008, all counties reported falling foreclosure sales except Boulder and Mesa Counties.

The county with the highest rate of foreclosure sales was Weld County with a rate of 532 households per foreclosure sale. Adams County was a close second with 535 households per foreclosure sale. The lowest rate was found in Boulder County where there were 1,779 households per foreclosure sale. The largest increase in foreclosure rates since 2009 was found in Mesa County where the foreclosure rate more than tripled year-over-year.

Not out of the wood yet

McMaken, however, said there may be more foreclosures in the pipeline. The Mortgage Bankers Association reports that the number of mortgages in Colorado that were “seriously delinquent” at the end of 2009 rose to 5.87 percent from 3.96 percent during the same period in 2008, more than a 48 percent increase. Seriously delinquent loans are at least 90 days overdue and typically in the early stages of a foreclosure. In 2005, only 1.97 percent of the loans were seriously delinquent, and the percentages have risen every year since them.

“Basically, they went from 4 percent at the end of 2008 to 6 percent at the end of 2009, if you round off the numbers,” McMaken said. “That is a pretty significant one-year increase.” He said he expects that foreclosure sales by public trustees “will slowly ebb downward through the spring. But as far as filings, who knows?”

The housing division’s  monthly foreclosure report surveys foreclosure activity in the twelve largest counties of Colorado. The report is a supplement to the Division’s quarterly foreclosure report that includes all counties in Colorado.

The full report is available on the Division of Housing this link.

[table id=76 /

Source: Colorado Division of Housing

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

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Video Link: FHA Commissioner David Stevens Hopeful on Housing Recovery

David Stevens, Commissioner of the  Federal Housing Administration and Assistant Secretary for HUD, told about 200 lenders and other housing officials in Denver that the current  real estate environment is very similar to what it was like in 1934,  when the FHA was born to help Americans get home loans during the Great Depression.

Stevens, a University of Colorado graduate, who is considered the first FHA commissioner with real-life mortgage lending experience, noted that “private capital has evaporated today,” just like it did during the Great Depression.

“It’s A Wonderful Life” is not so wonderful,” Stevens said, alluding to the 1946 Jimmy Stewart movie about a local mortgage lender, whose community depended on him for their home loans.

“You may not like everything I do,” he told the crowd at one point during the Town Hall-style meeting, largely underwritten by American Southwest Mortgage Corp. The meeting also included industry panels, where a number of people called for loosening tight underwriting limits, saying that things such as stated-income loans are not inherently evil, and must be returned to the market to allow qualified, higher-income people to get loans for homes.

Hard data key

But Stevens assured the group that everything he does is not based on whimsy, but is the product of the analysis of thousands of  points of data. He noted he has hired five Phd’s to analyze economic and housing data and run computer-simulation models on various scenarios. He said steps he is taking, as well as those by the Obama Administration, are helping to get the housing market back on track.

For example, he announced last month that new borrowers would need a minimum FICO score of 580 to qualify for FHA’s 3.5 percent down payment program. Those with lower scores need to pony up  at least 10 percent. But before settling on 580, he ran the impact of raising it to 620, but he said that would have knocked too many people out of the market. And he said some industry executives wanted him to raise the down payment to 5 percent or even 10 percent, but he rejected those changes as too severe.

Core FHA market not the rich

“But the purpose of FHA is not so some business executive can buy a $729,000 home in Vail with only 3 percent down,” he said. “Our primary job is to help the under-served buyer in Atlanta, Georgia, or Detroit, Michigan, or New Orleans, Louisiana,” and other communities nationwide.

During this crisis, he said, the government has become too big of a player in the mortgage markets, which has been necessary until the private market returns. Indeed, he received his biggest applause when he said that not everyone should be a homeowner.

“It is a sick system,” Stevens said. “There is no private-market demand. It’s all being picked up by the government…There is no demand for mortgage money on the private side.  Private capital is opportunistic -it goes where it can make money.” He predicted that will change. He said several initiatives by the Obama administration to make the housing market healthy and vibrant again, are showing signs of momentum.

Stevens also announced last month that the FHA is raising  the mortgage insurance premium to 2.25 percent from 1.75 percent, to shore up FHA’s reserves, but first considered other alternatives, but decided that 50 basis point was enough to boost FHA’s reserves. Some feared that would knock too many people out of the market, while others thought it should be raised more. But he said the agency’s comprehensive analysis assured them that was the optimal number and it will assure that FHA will meets its statutory required reserve numbers.

Shadow inventory may be myth

What may surprise some observers, is that following his keynote presentation, he said the data does not support the widely held notion that there is a huge “shadow inventory” of homes of foreclosed home being held by banks that it has not yet been put on the market. “We have heard that, too, but we have found no evidence that it the case,” after reviewing data from the FHA and Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae loan portfolios.

Instead, he said there is more demand for REOs (real estate owned) properties held by banks than the supply of foreclosed homes is growing. Indeed, he said one concern in some markets is that owner-occupants are being crowded out of the market by investors armed with letters of credits. He said he would rather encourage owner-occupant buyers than investors looking to flip properties.

He did say that there are concerns that homeowners who are delinquent on their mortgage payments may become part of the “shadow inventory” of foreclosed homes yet to hit the market. And in some areas, especially Florida, where it can take a year or more to work is way through the foreclousre process, there may be many more foreclosed homes ready to hit the market.

Mortgage brokers not “whipping boys”

During his talk, one audience member asked Stevens if mortgage brokers have become the “whipping boy,” for the nation’s housing crisis.

Stevens assured him that the head of every imaginable real estate organization, including banks, mortgage bankers, appraisers, Realtors, new home builders and appraisers, all have complained to him that they are the “whipping boys” that have been unfairly singled out.

But he said that following the years of things such as no-doc loans, improper underwriting, and other things that led to the housing bubble’s collapse, “you guys are perceived to be the centerpiece of the collapse.” Not that there isn’t plenty of blame to go around. He said he recently met with a group of Chinese bankers, and “they don’t know if they can trust us. They have no faith in us. And guess who they blame? They blame all of us.”

Steven has been heralded of having more real-life experience in the mortgage industry than any other FHA Commissioner, said he and the Obama Administration are making headway in dealing with a wide variety of problems, from record foreclosures to issues of trust. For example, he said there more than a million people nationally, who are in the process of receiving permanent loan modifications. So far, in Colorado, fewer than 2,000 people have received permanent loan modifications. (Please go to this link for a separate blog on permanent loan modifications.)

Stevens bought first home in Denver with a FHA loan

Stevens, who bought his first home in Denver almost 25 years ago with a FHA-insured loan, said he would not have been able to do so at the time, despite having a good job and great credit history, without the FHA, because it only required a 3 percent down payment, and he did not have the money for a larger down payment.

Today, he is re-making the industry and is taking heat from all sides. Before being named FHA Commissioner,  he was  president and COO of the Long & Foster Companies, which includes Long & Foster Real Estate and its affiliated businesses, including mortgage, title, insurance and home service connections. “If you don’t know Long & Foster, it is a monstrous-sized company,” DU’s Levine said.

When Stevens was first approached by the Obama administration, he assumed they wanted to pick his brain about what he saw with as the shortcomings in the system. He noted that he has always been a Democrat in a largely Republican industry, but wasn’t happy with what was happening on the housing front.

“It was like there were no grown-ups in the room,” during the days of easy credit, he said. “People were buying homes with no skin the game with Option ARMS and slapping on a HELOC (lined of credit) on it. People were betting on homes as an investment, vs a place for shelter.”

Stevens background is vast

Stevens’ background also includes serving as Executive Vice President, National Wholesale Manager at Wells Fargo Home Mortgage’s wholesale channel; Vice President of single family business at Freddie Mac; and, a 16-year tenure at the World Savings Bank, where he began his career. He is also the founding executive sponsor of the Women’s’ Mortgage Industry Network and while at Freddie Mac, he coordinated the first Latino joint venture initiative with Freddie Mac and Latino mortgage industry leaders.

Veteran mortgage official Michael Rosser said that Stevens hit all the right notes during his wide-ranging speech.

“He was right on the money,” said Rosser, who served on a state foreclosure task force and is managing director of Aurora-based  Mortgage Investment Co.

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

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Today, some experts said that the record low, although bad news for those who make their living building homes and apartments and the overall economy, is good news for anyone trying to sell their own home, and for landlords of apartments who won’t face competition from new communities anytime soon.

“It is so important that we are getting control of the supply,” said Byron Koste, director of the Colorado Real Estate Center at the University of Colorado in Boulder. “It is very good news for the Denver area and the whole region that we are getting the excess out of the supply.”

That said, anytime an industry takes it on the chin, especially one with the huge multiplier effect of the construction industry, it hurts.

“The industry does not like it,” Koste said. “We like to go out and build things. That is what the industry is designed to do. Developers and builders look at what is happening, and say “What is good about it?’

Housing slump hits economy

As far the toll on the entire economy, much is not good about it. The economic fall-out far exceeds those directly involved in construction, because building touches so many other parts of the economy. As Tom Clark, executive vice president of the Metro Denver Economic Development Corp. said earlier, some person working in a factory making dishwashers may be laid off because of a slump in home building. It also means that out-of-work framers, plumbers and electricians are not frequenting the area 7-11 store to buy a Slurpee. The list goes on and on.

Still, building beyond demand makes no sense, Koste said.

“Continuing to build things that we don’t need, yes, would  help job- creation for a short while, and jobs are very important,” Koste said. “But it  is more important to come down on the side of getting rid of the excess supply. It is time to come down on the side of balance.”

There were only 2,378 permits pulled in the Denver area last year for single-family homes, the lowest on record. That is a 35 percent drop from the 3,686 permits issued in 2008, the second lowest on record. Permits signal future home starts.

That is good news for people who already are homeowners, as they do not have to compete with many new homes on the market.  That, combined with the $8,000 tax credits for first-time home buyers and the $6,500 tax credit for qualified existing home buyers, should help the home sales market this year. Buyers must put the home under contract by April 30 and close by the end of June to take advantage of the credits.

“That should help the market,” Koste said. “But I don’t want people to read this and think, “Wow, the market is really going to soar now and prices will dramatically improve,” because that ain’t going to happen. We still have all this crap on the market that we need to burn off. That is what created the problem in the first place.”

Tougher to get loans

In addition, it is more difficult to qualify for loans than it was in the past, so not as many people will be able to take advantage of the confluence of super-low interest rates, tax credits and home prices that are at a much lower level than in recent years. Only lower-end home values have been rising from their lows in the Denver area.

Apartment hit hard

The biggest drop in permit activity was for apartments. Permits were only issued for 438 apartment units last year, a 90 percent drop from the 4,413 issued in 2008. That was the lowest number of apartment permits issued since 1991, when developers only pulled 208 permits for apartment unit.

Steve Rahe, an apartment broker with Grubb & Ellis, was glad only 438 permits were pulled last year.

“I like that number,” Rahe said. “I think that is fantastic!”

Rahe said that the drop in permits is a sign of what happened in the economy last year.

“I think that it shows just how bad off the economy was in 2009,” Rahe said. “We just had to many apartments on the market. The excesses in supply had to be dealt with and I think it is great that so few units were added to the supply. What that will mean is that today’s apartment vacancy rate in the 7.9 or 8 percent range will come down to 5 percent or 6 percent in the coming years. If you believe in supply and demand, it will mean that building owners will finally be able to raise rental rates.”

He said that the Torto Wheaton Research Group recently predicted that Denver’s apartment market will likely be one of the five top performers during the next three years, along with Boston, Austin, Atlanta and Minneapolis.

“I have to think a lot of that is because the number of our permits are so low that we are not increasing the supply,” Rahe said.

If “organic” growth such as people graduating high school and pent-up demand from people living with their parents who are eager to strike out on their own occurs and there appears to be a looming shortage of apartments to rent, Rahe “I suspect the development community will look at the demographics and will address that. I think we could see some people looking at building something at the end of 2010 or in 2111. Time will tell.”

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

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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.

According to the  report released  by the Department of Local Affairs’ Division of Housing, there were 20,437 completed foreclosures in the state during 2009, falling from 2008’s total of 21,306. In 2007, completed foreclosures reached 25,056.

While completed foreclosures fell, new foreclosure filings, which begin the foreclosure process for borrowers, rose from 39,333 in 2008.

However, since 2007, in spite of increasing totals in new foreclosure filings, the total proportion of filings that ended in a solution other than foreclosure increased by 51 percent. In 2007, 37 percent of foreclosure filings ended in a result other than foreclosure such as short sale, loan modification, refinance or other solution. By 2009, this total had increased to 56 percent. The result has been fewer completed foreclosures even as new foreclosure filings have increased.

The falling totals in completed foreclosures were driven by significant declines in foreclosure activity in the Denver metro area. In Denver County, foreclosures fell 28 percent, and they fell 20 percent and 16 percent in Adams and Arapahoe Counties respectively. The only county in the Denver area to report increases in completed foreclosures during 2009 was Boulder County where they increased 6 percent.

“We’re cautiously optimistic that we won’t be seeing the sorts of increases in foreclosures that we saw during 2006 and 2007,” said Pat Coyle, a spokesperson with the Colorado Division of Housing. “Colorado’s Foreclosure Hotline and its network of housing counseling agencies have helped over 16,000 households avoid foreclosure since 2006, and we see that reflected in these numbers.”

As completed foreclosures fell quickly in the Denver area, foreclosure activity in other areas of the state increased. Completed foreclosures increased 11 percent in El Paso County and 4 percent in Weld County. Among metropolitan counties, Mesa County reported the largest increase with completed foreclosures growing 223 percent year-over-year to a total of 359.

Totals reported are county-wide totals, and individual neighborhoods may still be experiencing increases and decreases in foreclosure activity that are quite different from what is seen at the county level.

The report noted that while foreclosures were limited to Colorado’s Front Range in earlier years, Colorado’s smaller and more rural counties have become increasingly affected by foreclosures. Teller County, Park County, Morgan County, and Fremont County all reported increases of 30 percent or more in completed foreclosures. On the Western Slope, completed foreclosure totals in Mesa County and nearby counties such as Delta, Montrose, Moffat and Rio Blanco Counties have all increased since 2008.

“These changes in the geography of foreclosures shows that the problem has moved beyond overbuilding and adjustable rate mortgages, said Stephanie Riggi, manager of the Colorado Foreclosure Hotline call center. “We’re seeing unemployment and falling wages as much more of a driving factor behind foreclosures, and it’s not just the Front Range that’s affected.”

Completed foreclosures are opened foreclosures that have proceeded to foreclosure sale at auction. Filings denote the beginning of the foreclosure process, and once a foreclosure is filed, the borrower has approximately four months to work with the lender to avoid a completed foreclosure. It is during this period that borrowers work with lenders and housing counselors to work out loan modifications, short sales, or other ways of curing the foreclosure. According to the report, since the second quarter of 2009, the number of foreclosures cured in Colorado has increased 50 percent.

The full report is available on the Division of Housing at this link.

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

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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. McMaken tracks  initial filings and public trustee sales, separately, for example, while RealtyTrac combines them, along with REOs, which are homes taken back by banks.

“In much of  Colorado – especially in the Denver area – foreclosure activity peaked a couple of years ago, while now other parts of the country foreclosure rates are growing,” McMaken said. “The general trend of their report seems accurate. Of course, our reports will differ as far as actual numbers.”

Nationwide, the report shows that cities in four Sun Belt states accounted for all top 20 foreclosure rates in 2009 among metro areas with a population of 200,000 or more, but foreclosure activity showed signs of spreading into previously insulated areas asunemployment became more of a driving factor.

California accounted for nine of the top 20 metro foreclosure rates, followed by Florida with eight, Nevada with two and Arizona with one. The highest-ranked metro area outside of those four states was in Boise City-Nampa, Idaho, which ranked No. 24 with 4.66 percent of its housing units receiving at least one foreclosure notice in 2009.

“While it was expected that cities from states with the highest levels of foreclosure activity would top the charts, there is evidence that we’re entering a new wave of foreclosures, driven more by unemployment and economic hardship than what we’ve seen over the past few years,” said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. “Areas like Provo, Utah,Fayetteville, Ark., Portland, Ore., and Rockford, Ill., all posted foreclosure rates above the U.S. average in 2009. And markets like Honolulu, Minneapolis and Seattle saw foreclosure activity increase at more than twice the national pace over the past 12 months — although all three of those markets still had 2009 foreclosure rates that were at or below the U.S. average.”

Las Vegas posted the nation’s highest metro foreclosure rate for the year, with more than 12 percent of its housing units receiving a foreclosure notice in 2009 — more than five times the national average. Las Vegas reported a quarter-over-quarter decline in foreclosure activity in the fourth quarter — as did all the other metro areas with foreclosure rates ranking among the top 10 for 2009.

With 11.87 percent of its housing units receiving a foreclosure notice in 2009, Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Fla., documented the second highest metro foreclosure rate. Other Florida cities in the top 10 were Orlando-Kissimmee at No. 7 (8.17 percent), Port St. Lucie at No. 9 (7.58percent), and Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach at No. 10 (7.16 percent).Merced, Calif., registered the nation’s third highest metro foreclosure rate, with more than 10 percent of its housing units receiving a foreclosure notice in 2009. Other California cities in the top 10 were Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario at No. 4 (8.80 percent), Stockton at No. 5 (8.62 percent), and Modesto at No. 6 (8.53 percent).

The Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale metro area in Arizona documented the nation’s eighth highest metro foreclosure rate in 2009, with more than 8 percent of its housing units receiving a foreclosure notice during the year.

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

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“We continue to sell franchises in this economy, because RE/MAX offers the best value in the marketplace,” said Vinnie Tracey, President, RE/MAX International Inc. “By joining RE/MAX, our new franchisees and our former competitors know they’re getting the power of a world-class brand, and all the cutting edge technology and training that comes with it.”

A closer look at RE/MAX international franchise sales in 2009 shows explosive growth in several regions –  southwest Germany increased 200%, Portugal grew 100%, and Israel was up 45%. With the addition of eight new countries, including the Bahamas, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Jamaica, Morocco, Peru, and Uruguay, RE/MAX continues to have an international presence greater than any of its competitors.

RE/MAX experienced additional success in the U.S., selling 21 new franchises in California, a state with one of the most challenging real estate markets. There was also impressive growth in other regions. The number of new offices in New England and southeast Michigan increased by 100%, in Georgia by 80%, and in the Mountains States region, franchise sales were up 40%.

“Achieving this type of growth despite a recession is the true test of any company,” said Tracey. “And the fact that RE/MAX continues to exceed expectations and surpass the competition is the reason we’re still going strong, after 37 years.”

Conversions from competing real estate companies to RE/MAX are also increasing. A conversion in Denver allowed Prestige Real Estate Group, a major independent brokerage with 250 agents, to merge with RE/MAX Professionals, creating the third-largest real estate firm in Colorado.

With significant economic and real estate improvements in 2010, RE/MAX said it is looking forward to another successful year of franchise sales around the globe.

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

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Developer Ray Pittman is the new chair of the Aurora Economic Development Council

Ray Pittman, founder and president of Denver-based Pittman Development Group, Inc., a  commercial development and investment company , has been named chair of the board of the Aurora Economic Development Council.

“In his tenure, Ray Pittman has been in the middle of some of Colorado’s most notable and prestigious developments and mixed-use projects,” said Wendy Mitchell, president and CEO of the Aurora Economic Development Council. “Ray’s first-hand development expertise makes him an excellent selection to lead the Aurora Economic Development Council in 2010 as chair of the board.”

He succeeds Jay Gershen, D.D.S., Ph.D., former vice chancellor for external affairs of the University of Colorado Denver and currently president of Northeastern Ohio Universities Colleges of Medicine and Pharmacy, who served as chair for 2009. Pittman will direct the board for a one-year term. This will be Pittman’s ninth year serving on the Aurora Economic Development Council board of directors.

Pittman’s background includes more than 24 years of experience in commercial real estate brokerage, services, acquisition and development. During this time he has managed some of Colorado’s largest and most prominent commercial and mixed-use projects.

From 2002 through 2006, Pittman was instrumental in creating the vision for High Point, a 1,800-acre mixed-use community near Denver International Airport located in both the city of Aurora and Denver. He oversaw all aspects of the project’s land assemblage, planning, zoning and initial development prior to its sale to LNR Property Corp in 2006.

Most recently, Pittman lead the formation of the new Pittman Pathfinder Colorado Opportunity Fund I, an equity fund targeting the acquisition of distressed real estate assets throughout Colorado. The fund completed its first acquisition of eight distressed residential real estate projects in December of 2009.

Other current projects include: Development of the three-building, 91,000-square-foot High Point OmniCenter project in Denver; acquisition of the two-building Parker Plaza South project; and a long-term development consulting assignment with International Speedway Corp. of Daytona Beach, Fla. to develop a new NASCAR speedway and stadium and related commercial development near Denver International Airport

Prior to founding Pittman Development Group, Pittman served as Colorado’s senior vice president and regional manager for Catellus Development Corp. in Colorado. In this role, Pittman  was responsible for overseeing all aspects of the development business, including acquisitions and dispositions, marketing, sales and leasing, project design, construction management, project financing and community and government relations.

Pittman graduated with high honors from the University of California, Santa Barbara and has completed additional course work in real estate and finance at the University of California, Los Angeles and Stanford University.

A partnership between business and government for more than three decades, the Aurora Economic Development Council champions Colorado’s most promising growth industries including aerospace and defense, bioscience, transportation logistics and energy, positioning Aurora and Colorado to win new jobs in an intensely competitive market.

The council creates new primary jobs through innovative deal creation, strategic partnerships, and by advocating for economically sustainable public policy. A-List, one Colorado’s premier business event, and Accelerate Colorado, the only statewide advocacy group that conducts an annual business mission to Washington, D.C., are produced by the Aurora Economic Development Council for the benefit of the state’s leading industries and Colorado’s economic development.

The Aurora Economic Development Council board of directors consists of CEO-level developers, general contractors, bankers, attorneys, consultants, home builders, engineers, architects and representatives of the aerospace and bioscience industries and educational and hospital institutions. Political leadership from the city of Aurora, Adams County and Arapahoe County also serve on the board. Board membership is limited to 100 leaders that are strategically recruited to mutually benefit the Aurora Economic Development Council and its board members.

The organization’s strategic initiatives for 2010 include objectives in economic development and infrastructure, public policy, and marketing and branding.

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

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Luckily, Kenny Be of Westword  - with a nod to Bob Dylan - has laid out the salient points of the  code, in a way that only Kenny Be could.

Go to this link to see it. You won’t regret it.

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

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Margaret Kelly, CEO of RE/MAX International, has been named to the board of the Denver branch of the Federal Reserve.

Margaret Kelly, Chief Executive Officer for Denver-based RE/MAX International, Inc., has been named to the Board of Directors, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City-Denver Branch. She is joining six other board members in working with the reserve Bank, lending her insight and expertise on the regional economic front.

“It’s a great honor and privilege to serve on the Denver Board,” Kelly said after attending her first board meeting. “I’m very impressed with the dedication and careful consideration all the board members bring to their position, and I’m looking forward to being a contributor in the future.”

Kelly was chosen for her  knowledge and experience in real estate, and her “on-the-ground” skills. She will bring her familiarity of housing issues and challenges to the board, as well as her reputation as a well-respected industry leader. As a member of the board, she will provide real time housing information and advise the bank on economic policies.

Kelly has also just been recognized by Inman News as one of the Top 100 Most Influential Real Estate Leaders in 2009, and was named one of Real Estate’s 25 Most Influential Thought Leaders by REALTOR magazine. Kelly is a popular source of insight on real estate trends, and speaks before industry groups around the United States and is frequently interviewed by the media.

Kelly became Chief Executive Officer of RE/MAX International in October 2005, capping a series of leadership positions she has held since joining the organization as a Financial Analyst in 1987.   Kelly rose rapidly through the ranks of the Membership Services and Regional Services departments, being named vice president in 1992 and president in 2002. Today, she oversees the worldwide operations of RE/MAX International.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City is the 10th of 12 districts in the Federal Reserve System, and provides services to financial institutions and the public. The Denver Branch is one of three branches of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, and covers the states of Colorado, Wyoming and northern New Mexico.

Each branch has its own board, and has seven members, four of whom are appointed by the Kansas City Board of Directors, the remaining three by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in Washington, D.C.

Kelly was appointed to serve the remainder of a three year term that expires in December of 2010. Each member of the board is allowed to complete two three year terms. She joins  directors as: Bruce K. Alexander, president and CEO of Vectra Bank, Colorado, Charles J. Brown III, president of C.H. Brown Company, and Anne Haines-Yatskowitz, president and CEO of ACCION.

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

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