A Daily Shot of News

Despite the economic troubles the entire nation is currently facing, Colorado Springs has recently show much optimism in relation to the city’s real estate market. Over the past months the city has endured a slow real estate market, but many believe that the market has finally hit bottom and is ready to rebound better than ever. It seems that the Colorado Springs real estate is starting to improve, with an increase in construction permits increasing and an increase in the number of Colorado Springs area homes for sale.

According to the Colorado Springs Business Journal, there has definitely been an increase in the Colorado Springs area real estate activity. With about 48 new homes starting construction in May of 2009, which was still less than that of the previous year during the same time, it is still an increase from the previous month. The journal also reported that consumer views of the condition of the Colorado Springs area real estate have been positive, with the number of people claiming that conditions are “bad” decreased from 51% to 45.7% in April. Consumers rating the business real estate in the Colorado Springs area to be “good” increased from 6.9% to 7.6%. Consumers also felt that the unemployment outlook was considerably less pessimistic.

Colorado Springs’s newspaper, The Gazette, also reports on the commercial real estate in Colorado Springs area. The city recently suffered a tough loss with the closure of the Intel Corp. Computer chip manufacturing plant, but talks seem to show that a deal is near for the purchase of the building by IRG LLC, which is a Los Angeles based company that specializes in redeveloping corporate real estate. The Markets at Mesa Ridge shopping center are also opening opportunity for more commercial real estate development with the expansion of the current shopping complex. The Gazette also reports that although commercial vacancies continue to slowly creep up, the average rents of office space have also increased, primarily due to the leasing of office space developments that carry higher rents.

Located in the Bay Area of California, the city of Cupertino continues to suffer along with the rest of the Bay Area real estate.  Although the real estate in the Bay Area has already been having problems prior to the 2008 recession that we are still in, the real estate market still seems to be hitting bottom with hope for recovery in the coming months.  There are mixed views as to wether the Bay Area real estate is improving or just experiencing fluctuations due to other economic concerns, including job security and the current economic troubles the state of California is facing.

According to DQNews.com, Cupertino and other cities throughout the Bay Area have experienced a rather steep decline in the number of Bay Area homes for sale.  In the month of August, approximately 7,518 new and resale homes and condos were sold in the Bay Area, which was a 14.3 percent drop from the previous month of July, in which about 8,771 homes were sold.  However, the current conditions of the real estate in the Bay Area are still improved compared to 2008.  The main reason for this sharp decline in the number of homes sold is that the number of foreclosed homes in the Bay Area have dropped by about 15.2 percent between the months of July and August.  Although it is expected for the number of foreclosed homes to increase in the near future, many of the foreclosed homes on the market have already been bought.  The lack of foreclosed homes on the market has resulted in less “bargain” homes, causing many home-buyers looking for affordable housing options to become frustrated and often hold off on making any investments in the current Cupertino real estate market.  Nevertheless, DQNews.com has also reported an slight decline in the median price paid for new and resale homes and condos by 8.9 percent between the months of July and August.  However, the primary cause for this is that many home-buyers are moving to the low-end, inland areas in search of those less expensive housing options.

However, abc7news in San Francisco has drawn a different opinion on the current real estate market in the Bay Area.  They have reported that home prices are beginning to increase.  However, this is evident primarily in the high end home districts including Cupertino.  Although many feel this gives hope that the real estate in the Bay Area is beginning to improve, many still believe that full recovery will not begin within the coming months.  People in the region are still struggling to make mortgage payments, and with concerns about job security, many people can’t risk buying a house, no matter what kind of loan they can get.

Much of the California area real estate was already experiencing its own problems prior to the recession we are currently in and still recovering from the recession of 2001.  Today, it would seem that much of the real estate in the California area has hit bottom, yet many experts say that the real estate market will most likely continue to slide downwards slightly in the next few months before the market will hopefully begin to make a full recovery.

DQNews.com reported a dip in the number of home sales in the Southern California cities, including Los Angeles, Riverside, Sand Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino, and Orange counties.  Due primarily to the reduced number of foreclosed homes for sale, the number of home sales dropped by 10.8 percent from 24,104 in July to 21,502 in August.  However, the number of home sales is still better than it was during August of 2008 by 11.0 percent.  August marked the 14th month in a row with a year over year sales increase, despite the decline in home sales from July.  With the number of foreclosed homes for sale decreasing, many home-buyers aren’t finding the “bargain” prices that they’re looking for, especially with job security a major concern in the region.  This is discouraging many home-buyers from making any investments in the current real estate in San Diego.  DQNews.com also reported an increase in the median sale price for new and resale homes and condos for the fourth month in a row by 2.6 percent.

Despite the slight raise in median home prices for San Diego area real estate over the past few months, prices are still considered to be a bargain compared to last year by The Arizona Republic.  The Arizona Republic has reported many beachfront properties being sold at bargain prices in San Diego.  Due to the current recession, much of San Diego real estate has suffered greatly, especially in the downtown condo market, outlying suburbs, and now the city’s beach communities.  Although beachfront properties have not dropped the 50 percent in value that some downtown condos have, many of these beach homes have dropped in price by as much as 30 percent, with properties in the half-a-million and under range being pretty common.  Now is definitely a good time to buy, and some experts say it may be the only time to buy, since many real-estate experts say that there are signs that the San Diego area real estate has hit bottom and could start to make its rebound in the coming months.

Like the rest of the nation, Capitola, located in the Bay Area of California, continues to suffer economically due to the current economic recession.  Although the Bay Area real estate is more successful compared to that of 2008, the number of Bay Area homes for sale continues to rise and fall, without showing signs of consistent improvement.

According to DQNews.com, the real estate in the Bay Area continues to be unstable, with home sales falling significantly in August from July.  However, the rate of home sales in Capitola is still higher than a year ago for the 12th consecutive month.  DQNews.com has also reported a decline in the median home prices over the previous month.  Approximately 7,158 new and resale homes and condos were sold in August, which was down 14.3 percent from July, but up 4.0 percent from August 2008.  The reason for the drastic drop in Bay Area home sales is due primarily to the rapidly declining number of low-end and foreclosed homes, which offer many home-buyers the “bargain” prices that many are looking for.  The number of foreclosed properties that were sold in August fell 15.2 percent from July.  Many home-buyers are becoming frustrated at the lack of the affordable housing that they are searching for, especially with job security and future foreclosures being major concerns in the region.  On another note, median home prices for the Bay Area real estate dropped 8.9 percent from $395,000 in July to $360,000 in August.  The current median home prices are also down 19.5 percent from August of 2008.  The main reason for the decline in the median price of all new and resale home prices is primarily due to people buying homes in more low-end inland regions.

According to the San Francisco Business Times, they expect the Bay Area real estate to continue to suffer for the months to come.  With unemployment numbers continuing to rise and the current economic troubles the state of California is facing, it seems that the economy in the region will still continue to suffer.  Home prices in all areas except the South Bay are reported to have bottomed out, and although there will probably still be a slight decline in the next few months, people are optimistic that after that the real estate in the Bay Area will begin to make its recovery.

Although some smaller cities within Colorado have been fortunate enough to avoid the real estate downfall caused by the current economic recession, Denver has not been as lucky and due to its high unemployment rates and stalled debt market, commercial real estate in the Denver area continues to suffer.  Looking on the bright side, however, Denver has not experienced as drastic a recession as other places such as Phoenix, California, and Florida.

According to DQNews.com, although Denver area home sales have risen greatly between May and June, the Denver area real estate still continues to suffer, with sales still remaining lower than that of 2008.  The same goes for median home prices, which although they have increased on a month-to-month basis for the past five months, the median price for homes in the Denver are is still 4.5% lower than it was at the same time last year.  About 4,562 new and foreclosed homes and condos were sold in June of this year in the Denver-Aurora metro area, which was up 31.5% from May, but down 10.5% from the year before.  The median price for homes sold in the Denver area have also followed a similar model.  DQNews.com reported that 47.5% of the homes sold in the month of June were financed using government-insured FHA loans.

The Denver Business Journal has reported another view of the Denver real estate that has been somewhat more successful.  Although commercial real estate in the Denver area continues to suffer, the real estate market for offices and industrial sites has shown much more success over the past month.  Due to the number of companies folding or downsizing, more office space has become available, causing rents to go down slightly, but attracting more businesses.  Industrial sites and buildings have also been more successful than the commercial real estate, even though sales rates are still slightly less than the previous year.

Many feel that the East Bay real estate hadn’t even fully recovered from the 2001 recession by the time the 2008 recession hit.  With unemployment numbers increasing and the economic troubles the state of California is currently facing, it is evident that the economy and real estate in the East Bay area pose real problems.  It seems that for almost all towns and cities throughout the East Bay area homes have bottomed out, yet many feel that there will still be several months of slight declines before any full recovery can be made.

DQNews.com reported that the number of East Bay area homes for sale dropped quite drastically between the months of July and August.  About 7,158 new and resale homes and condos were sold in August, which is down 14.3 percent from the 8,771 sold in July.  However, DQNews.com is also quick to say that despite this sharp drop in home sales, these rates are still higher than the previous year for the 12th consecutive month.  August’s sales were still 4.0 percent higher than August 2008.  The reason for this sudden drop in home sales is due primarily due to the lack of foreclosed homes on the East Bay area real estate market.  Many of the foreclosed homes have already been sold, meaning that there are less “bargain” prices that most home-buyers are searching for in these financially distressing times.  Although it is expected for home foreclosure rates to increase in the near future, many homeowners did not expect this sudden drop in number of more affordable houses, therefore causing them to hold off on the home-buying.  Nevertheless, DQNews.com also reported that the median price in new and resale homes and condos in the East Bay area decreased by about 8.9 percent between the months of July and August.  These prices are also down 19.5 percent from August 2008.  The main cause of this drop is due primarily to the number of cheaper homes being bought in more low-end inland regions.

The San Francisco Business Times also provides the dim view of the struggling East Bay area real estate market.  Despite the Bay Area’s economic advantages, the real estate in the East Bay area continues to struggle at bottom rates.  With job security a major concern in the region, many people can’t afford to risk buying a new home now.  Many expect the East Bay area real estate to decline slightly over the next few months before it begins to show any signs of recovery.

Although California is one of the states in the United States suffering most from the current economic recession that has greatly affected the economies of countries throughout the world, many real estate experts in California are optimistic about the state’s current real estate problems.

According to DQNews.com, cities in and around the Bay Area in California have experienced a rise and fall in the number of home sales, with rates slipping slightly in July.  However, DQNews.com is also quick to reply that although the Santa Cruz area real estate has experienced highs and lows over the past months, rates still remain higher than a year ago for the 12th consecutive month.  There were about 7,518 new and resale houses and condos closed in the Bay Area during the month of August, which was down 14.3 percent from July but up 4.0 percent from August of 2008.  There has also been a decline in the overall median sale price.  The reason for the drop in home sales is due to a smaller inventory of distressed and foreclosed properties desperate to be sold, meaning less “bargain” home sales.  The number of foreclosed properties that were sold in August fell 15.2 percent from the previous month.  Although there were still a wide range of homes available in August, many people seemed to drop out of the real estate market out of frustration for the lack of cheap and foreclosed homes to choose from.  Furthermore, job security and future foreclosures are still big issues in the region.  July seemed to be a much stronger month for the real estate in the Bay Area.  In fact, July was the strongest month in terms of escrow closings since August of 2006.  The decline in the median price of new and resale homes in the region over the past months has been primarily due to the number of low cost homes being sold in low-end districts.

The Santa Cruz Sentinel, however, has revealed a slightly different take on the same conditions of the current real estate market in the Santa Cruz area.  Although Santa Cruz area real estate prices have fallen 37 percent from the previous year, the newspaper says that current home prices are still unaffordable for many first-time home buyers.  This may pose a problem for many people wanting to sell there homes.  Santa Cruz County is currently the fourth most expensive place to buy a home in the nation after San Francisco, New York, and San Jose.  The cost of living in Santa Cruz is also the third most expensive after San Francisco and Honolulu.

Colorado real estate continues to suffer as a result of the current economic recession.  However, in some smaller cities that have not suffered from high unemployment rates, the real estate market has not suffered as much and seems to be making a small but steady rebound.

According to the Denver Business Journal, Denver has not been as lucky in surviving the economic recession and maintaining a somewhat unscathed real estate market.  Due to still rising unemployment rates and a stalled debt market, the commercial real estate market continues to suffer.  Although Denver’s real estate market has not dropped as drastically and experienced as large a number of foreclosure rates in cities such as Phoenix, California, and Florida, the real estate activity in the Denver area has been brought to a halt.  Aside from the trouble in Denver’s commercial real estate, the city has experienced some success in the office and industrial real estate markets, with a number of office buildings and industrial sites being sold over the past months.

According to DQNews.com, Denver home sales has risen slightly over the past few months but still remain at the lowest levels recorded throughout the past decade.  For the fifth month in a row the median sale price has increased, but it still remains about 4.5% lower than it was a year ago.  In June the median price paid for new and resale houses and condos was $210,000, which was an increase in 6.1% from May, yet still lower than the previous year.  DQNews.com reported 4,562 homes and condos being sold in the Denver-Aurora metro area in the month of June.

In contrast to the struggling city of Denver, smaller cities such as Vail Valley have experienced a recent surge of real estate growth, according to the Vail Board of Realtors.  Apparently the number of residential properties that went under contract during a period between August 10 and September 10 was 77, an increase from the 22 that took place between January 1 and July 10.

Like many major cities in Colorado such as Denver, Boulder has also suffered from a real estate slump due to the current economic recession.  Many of these cities claim that the unfortunate struggles their economies have experienced have come as a result of high unemployment rates and the stalled debt market.  Some smaller cities in Colorado have been more fortunate, with some reporting an increase in home sales and a much more successful real estate market, due to lower unemployment rates in those cities.

Although a national report recently stated that the number of homes foreclosed on in Boulder County had declined for the first quarter of this year, the Boulder County Public Trustee’s Offices claims that that is untrue.  The Boulder County Public Trustee’s Office reports that in the first five months of 2009, the county had recorded 291 homes foreclosed on, a 5% increase compared to that of last year during the same period.  In contrast, RealtyTrac Inc. reported a slight decline in foreclosure rates.  The county says that the discrepancy may be as a result of different calculations and a seven to ten delay in the collection of information.  Nevertheless, Boulder real estate has still suffered from a high rate of foreclosures.

The Colorado Daily reports that Boulder home sales have also suffered greatly, with rates declining for the seventh month in a row as of February 2009.  Compared to the same time during the previous year, Boulder area home sales have declined 60%. The newspaper has also reported that the median home price for a single-family home has been recorded at $551, 375.  More recently, there have been reports of home sales starting to rise due to lower interest rates and effects from the federal stimulus package increasing activity and home-buyer confidence.  Many feel that the coming months will show a more positive outlook on real estate in Boulder and give hope that the economy in the area is rebounding.

When you want to buy or sell a property, it is important to have a real estate agent. But why should you hire a real estate agent? Basically, you are able to buy or sell a property without the help of an agent. But most people who do not hire a real estate agent when they buy or sell a property ends up getting the wrong side of the deal. Real estate agents can help you make the right decision. Here are seven reasons why you should hire an agent:
1. A real estate agent has more experience and is well educated in real estate than you are. You wouldn’t have to know everything about buying or selling real estate if you have an agent with you. You hire them simply because they are smarter and way more experienced than you in terms of real estate selling or buying.

2. A real estate agent is able to prevent you to negotiate with others who are not serious about the business. If you are a buyer, your real estate agent will prevent builder’s agents to get to you. If you are a seller, your real estate agent will filter your callers so that you need not talk to buyers that are not serious and talk only to those that really want to buy a real estate.

3. A real estate agent can bring you the information that you need. They can give you a similar list of sales and data on demographics, crime and schools on the locality.

4. A real estate agent can guide you to make the right decision. For example, there is a listing that is at 7%, which means that an agent has 7% interest while the client gets a 93% interest. A real estate agent will be able to use all the information they have and help the client make the right decision. He/she can also work out his own negotiation strategy that is based on demand, conditions and market supply.

5. A real estate agent is able to relate market conditions to help you sell or buy real estate. Many aspects on the market establish how you should continue on buying or selling real estate. Real estate agents gather information on the average of both the days on market and the square foot cost of similar homes. They also get information on median and average sales price. These data are important for you to make a wise decision.

6. A real estate agent can help you work with other professionals that will then offer their service for you to buy or sell real estate. They can give you information on different vendors that has a good reputation for competency, competitive pricing and efficiency to help you make a good choice.

7. A real estate agent has a good negotiation skill that will help you buy or sell properties. You need their skill in order to buy or sell real estate. Furthermore, they can make the client’s information confidential.