Housing News Digest, July 28

Local apartment rents climb to record high
Apartment rents are soaring as units continue to fill up, two reports show.

The average monthly rent for a Colorado Springs-area apartment jumped to a record high of $759.01 during the second quarter, according to a report released Wednesday by the Colorado Division of Housing and Apartment Association of Southern Colorado. That’s up $22 from the first quarter and $40 from the same period last year.

Rents were up nearly everywhere in the Colorado Springs area. The highest average rent, $848.54, was found in the far northeast part of the city, up from $840.25 a year ago. The only area with a year-over-year decline in rent was Security-Widefield-Fountain south of Colorado Springs, where the second-quarter average rent of $577.16 was $38.50 lower than the same period in 2010.

RealtyTrac: Colorado 9th for foreclosures
In addition to Greeley, others with foreclosure rates among the top 20 included Boise City-Nampa, Idaho, Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, Ga., and Salt Lake City.

California, Nevada and Arizona cities accounted for all top 10 metro foreclosure rates and 15 of the top 20 metro foreclosure rates in the first half of the year. Only one Florida metro area posted a foreclosure rate among the top 20 — Cape Coral-Fort Myers at No. 12 — in sharp contrast to the first half of 2010, when Florida cities accounted for nine of the top 20 metro foreclosure rates nationwide.

Developers break ground on the Peaks at Woodmen
This week, 10 apartment buildings that will house 230 luxury living units began to emerge at the undeveloped corner of Woodmen Road and Union Boulevard.


Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. (MERS) is withdrawing from the foreclosure business.
The organization has issued a policy update to its members stating that no foreclosure proceeding may be initiated in the name of MERS and no legal proceedings in a bankruptcy may be filed in the name of MERS.

Before a lender or investor starts a foreclosure or files a bankruptcy motion, they must execute an assignment of the security instrument from MERS to themselves as the mortgagee and record the transfer with the applicable county clerk or public land records office, MERS said

29-unit Denver condo building sells
The Inca 29 Urban Brownstones in Denver sold for $5.39 million. The building near Commons Park has 29 units that sell for $475,000 to $1.42 million. Dennis Huspeni reports on this and other sales in his Real Deals blog.