Housing News Digest, January 27

Colorado contractors hopeful about 2012 construction
Colorado’s construction industry is looking at a brighter future in 2012 compared to the last few years, with hiring starting to pick up, according to survey results issued Monday by the Associated General Contractors of America .

The national association, which represents construction companies that work on roads and highways, got responses from 1,309 companies across the country, including 28 in Colorado.

Statewide mortgage payoffs lowest since 2000
Public trustees in Colorado released a total of 235,749 deed in 2011, down from 251,861 in 2010.

“The surprise really is that in spite of three years of declining interest rates, there hasn’t been activity,” McMaken said.

He said one explanation could be that most of the people who are eligible and qualified for refinancing probably did it in 2009 when rates first dropped. Of course, many people would not be qualified for refinancing today because real estate values have declined and they don’t have enough equity in their homes to get loans on the amount they owe.

Colorado new-home permits increase in 2011
Colorado home builders, for the second year in a row, pulled more permits than they did the year before.

Through November 2011, the state recorded 12,758 single-family and multifamily building permits, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That's a 10 percent increase from the 11,591 permits pulled in all of 2010.


New-home sales fall in December, capping dismal year

WASHINGTON • Fewer people bought new homes in December. The decline made 2011 the worst year for new-homes sales on records dating back nearly half a century.

The Commerce Department said Thursday new-home sales fell 2.2 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 307,000. The pace is less than half the 700,000 that economists say must be sold in a healthy economy

Luxury Home Prices Jump in Denver Metro Area, Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage Reports
Denver, CO, January 27, 2012 --(PR.com)-- Luxury home prices in the Denver Metro Area jumped 8 percent in December as the region’s high-end market remained strong at year-end, according to Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, Colorado’s leading provider of luxury real estate services.

The median sale price for a million-dollar-plus home reached $1.35 million last month, up 8 percent from a year ago when it stood at $1.25 million and 8.4 percent higher than November of 2011 when it was $1,245,000.