A Home for a Crisis

(From the Panorama newsletter of 5280) As the economic crisis unfolds in scary ways, there's an apparently good hiccup in the Colorado housing market. The number of unsold homes hit its lowest level since December 2005, according to the Rocky Mountain News, and the number of homes contracted for sale jumped nearly 22 percent from a year ago. If you're a buyer, there's good news: Average and median sales prices have slipped back to 2002 levels. And if you're a seller, don't fret. It's "the mix of homes" that's skewing the numbers. Foreclosure filings are down by nearly 25 percent for the third quarter compared to a year ago, according to this Rocky story, which warns "the decrease does not signal that the metro region is off its record foreclosure pace." Rather, a new state law appears to be helping homeowners through counseling services and requirements that borrowers receive at least 30 days' notice before interest rates are hiked or a foreclosure is filed. Despite some apartment vacancies, rents are expected to rise by 3.5 percent, to $918 per month on average, although discount programs bring that amount to $804 a month, according to the Denver Business Journal.