Housing News Digest, October 7

Census: Housing bust worst since Great Depression
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The American dream of homeownership has felt its biggest drop since the Great Depression, according to new 2010 census figures released Thursday.

The analysis by the Census Bureau found the homeownership rate fell to 65.1 percent last year. While that level remains the second highest decennial rate, analysts say the U.S. may never return to its mid-decade housing boom peak in which nearly 70 percent of occupied households were owned by their residents.

Apartment management company makes second CS acquisition
A Florida-based apartment and investment company purchased its second apartment community in Colorado Springs.

Adevenir purchased the Cheyenne Crossing Apartments, a 220-unit complex at 610 Wycliffe Drive, for $19.15 million on Sept. 30.

The property, built in 1986, has a full amenities package including a clubhouse, business center, fitness center, outdoor pool, and detached garages, according to a release about the sale.

Construction activity far from spike
“There was no other market in the state where vacancy rates went up to 9, 10, 11, 12 percent and just stayed there,” said Division of Housing spokesman Ryan McMaken.

Other markets like metro Denver saw fluctuations during the last 10 years with fluctuating vacancy rates and rents. That didn’t happen here.

As people lose their homes to foreclosure; it’s harder to borrow money to buy single-family homes. Soldiers are returning from war. All that means that vacancy rates have fallen to their lowest levels in a decade - and rents are on the rise.

The division of housing reported that rental vacancies were about 5.8 percent in the first quarter of this year and up slightly to 6.4 percent in the second quarter.

Mortgage rate hits record low in U.S.
The average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage is below 4 percent for the first time ever, The Associated Press reports.

The rate has fallen to 3.94 percent from 4.01 percent, which stood as the previous low.

CoreLogic: Metro Denver home prices down 2.2% in August from 2010
Average Denver-area home prices dropped in August from the previous month at a greater rate than the national average, but the year-over-year decline was less than the national rate, according to a report Thursday from CoreLogic Inc.

Home prices in the Denver-Aurora-Broomfield metro area dropped by 2.2 percent in August from August 2010, and by 2.7 percent for July from July 2010.