From the Denver Business Journal:

Denver unveils foreclosure plan

The City and County of Denver initially would target three Denver neighborhoods — Green Valley Ranch, Montbello and Westwood. The city also would consider opportunities to invest the West Colfax, Villa Park, Barnum, Mar Lee and Athmar Park areas of southwest Denver, the draft said.

Strangely, no mention of using some of the funds to buy our office an automatic espresso maker. Imagine how many homes we could sell in Denver if we were highly caffeinated all day.

What a great article from Popular Mechanics:

Thinking of Springing for a Foreclosed Home? Check for these 5 Problems First

But, he said, as more home buyers become interested in purchasing a foreclosure, they need to be more mindful of the potential hazards. In the recent study, ASHI also asked homeowners whether they'd forego a home inspection in exchange for a discount, and when the discount got up to half-off, he said, about half of respondents said they'd consider waiving the inspection. Grant said that kind of situation was hypothetical—banks aren't offering those kinds of deals now. But all of our experts said that foregoing an inspection would be a bad move anytime, and would be especially risky when dealing with foreclosures—many are great homes in need of a little bit of help, Grant said, but a few are utter disasters. Here are some of the problems that home inspectors and realtors have found in foreclosed homes. Buyer beware.

Read the whole thing

My experience is Thai there is nothing harder and more confusing for a borrower than a HUD form. If a crooked lender want to take advantage of a borrower, they can usually explain a convoluted HUD form to mean whatever they want.

Nothing beats 1.) A good referral for a reputable lender, 2.) Common sense

If you count on HUD to save you, you're already lost.

From WSJ.com:

HUD Unveils New Rules for Mortgages :

The rules require a three-page "good-faith estimate" for borrowers explaining rates, fees, any prepayment penalties and the possibility of later increases in monthly payments. HUD said it shrank that form from four pages to three in response to industry complaints.

The rules also limit to 10% the maximum amount certain fees can increase from the initial estimate. A new HUD-1 form, provided to consumers before they sign loan documents, is designed to help consumers more easily compare what they were promised with what they are actually being charged. One problem is that consumers may see that HUD-1 form only shortly before the closing, when they are pressed for time and may feel it is too late to resume their mortgage shopping.

HUD said the rules will help consumers understand how much a broker is being paid in fees, often called "yield spread premiums." But Rebecca Borne, a lawyer at the Center for Responsible Lending, a nonprofit group pushing for changes in mortgage regulation, said the new HUD forms fail to make those fees clear and won't prevent abuses of them.

From the Rocky Mountain News / AP:

New strategy to rescue troubled mortgages:

The government and the mortgage industry are launching the most sweeping effort yet to help troubled homeowners by speeding up the process for renegotiating hundreds of thousands of delinquent loans held by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency, which seized control of the two mortgage finance companies in September, announced the plan Tuesday along with other government and industry officials, including Hope Now, an alliance of mortgage companies organized by the Bush administration last year.

Read the whole thing. We'll wee if this helps or just increases the number of people who start to default so tey can get a renegotiated mortgage.

From WSJ.com:

Citi to Modify Terms for U.S. Mortgages

In an aggressive move targeting the root cause of the global financial crisis, Citigroup Inc. announced Tuesday that it is offering to modify the terms of as much as $20 billion in mortgages for borrowers who are current on their loan payments but at risk of falling behind.

The push by the New York company's CitiMortgage unit marks the latest effort by a financial institution to help ailing homeowners, which also can help lenders reduce loan losses. Citigroup's program includes subprime borrowers and those with good credit who took out prime loans, a sign the bank sees mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures are spreading.

 

From The Rocky Mountain News:

Supply of unsold homes dives again:

The number of unsold homes on the Denver-area market continued to plummet in October, falling to an almost three-year low.

Read the entire article.

From 9news.com:

Denver housing market stabilizing:

According to the report by MetroList, single family home sales were up by 11 percent, compared to last year. Cox says the fact that homes are moving will help to correct the market and that's a good thing for the economy as a whole.

From MSNBC, to the Denver Post, To Yahoo, all of the sources are saying the same thing. The Denver Market is turning.

Those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it...

 From The WSJ:

Great Depression Offers Lesson on Foreclosure Moratoriums

Putting a temporary freeze on foreclosures, as some federal and state officials have proposed, could put a quick stop to the flood of bank-owned properties hitting the market. President elect Barrack Obama, for example, supports a 90-day moratorium on foreclosures.

But if the Great Depression is any measure, a moratorium could impose future hardship on the borrowers it seeks to help, according to a recent analysis by David C. Wheelock, an economist with the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

 

Buying a home has a huge emotional aspect to it.  Polls like this are good to see.

From the Denver Business Journal:

Poll: Colorado headed in right direction

On the Economy:

Most respondents said they believe the local economy will get better (22 percent) or stay the same (40 percent) over the next year. Thirty percent expect the economy to worsen while 8 percent said they didn’t know. Last year, 69 percent of respondents said they expected the economy to get better or stay the same.

According to the poll, 22 percent of Coloradans surveyed said they believe the state is in a “serious recession.” Thirty percent said Colorado is in the midst of a “mild recession” and 42 percent said the state isn’t in a recession at all. Six percent said they didn’t know.

 

This will be interesting to watch...

From CnnMoney.com:

U.S. weighing new mortgage plan

Great Information from Realtor.org:

6 Key Facts About the First-Time Buyer Tax Credit

Key excerpt:

Here are 6 things you should be able to explain to prospects and clients: 

1. Buyers have until July 2009 to make a purchase that qualifies. 

The tax credit was passed in July of this year as part of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act (H.R. 3221). It’s worth up to $7,500 and can be taken in a single tax year. Authorization for the credit ends July 1, 2009, so if your customers wait to buy in the first half of 2009 they can take the credit on their 2009 tax return. Taxpayers can take the credit on their 2008 tax return if they bought their house this year after April 9.

2. Buyers don't really have to be "first-timers."

The tax credit is actually available to any individual or household that hasn’t owned a home for at least three years. And the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® has asked Congress to expand the credit to all buyers, not just those who haven't owned a primary residence in recent years.

3. Even if buyers exceed the income limit, they can benefit from the credit. 

The actual credit amount is set as a percentage of the home purchase amount. That percentage amount is 10 percent, so your customers can get 10 percent of the home price credited against their tax liability, up to a maximum $7,500. Sounds like a great deal. But what if your clients make more money than the income limit of $75,000 for individuals and $150,000 for households? Good news: Individuals whose income exceeds the $75,000 limit but don't make more than $95,000 can still take the credit but on a reduced basis. The same thing applies to households earning up to $170,000. By the way, any house is eligible as long as it’s a primary residence and is in the United States.

4. Think of it as an interest-free loan.  

The federal government requires the tax credit to be paid back in small, 6.67-percent increments over 15 years, although repayment will be no more than $500 yearly and payments will not start until 2011. For that reason, some analysts have likened the credit to a 15-year, interest-free loan to help make home buying affordable. NAR is pushing congress to remove the repayment provision, making this tax credit a true tax credit rather than an interest-free loan. 

5.  You don't have to be authorized before making a home purchase. 

There is no pre-purchase authorization, application, or other approval process. Eligible buyers simply have to claim the credit on their IRS Form 1040 tax return and/or any form that the IRS might devise. 

6. New-home construction qualifies. 

For a home that a buyer constructs, the purchase date is the first date the buyer occupies the home.However, any home that is not a primary residence, such as a vacation home or income property, does not qualify.  

Read the entire article here.

With headlines this morning talking about the nation's housing prices plumetting, it sure was nice to see this from the Rocky Mountain News:

Home prices unchanged in August from July

Home prices in the Denver area were unchanged in August from July, shows the closely watched S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, released this morning.

and:

Denver-area is out-performing the 20 major cities tracked in the report.

We continue to be "Firstin, first out" in the nation with regards to the foreclosures and housing downturn.

From The Denver Post:

Stocks improve after home sales show surprise gain

NEW YORK—Stocks have regained ground from early losses after sales of new homes showed an unexpected increase in September.

Keep In Mind this is on a national level. We've been seeing these numbers in the Denver area for a couple of months now. While median prices are down nationwide, sales need to pick up before we'll see any upward movement in price. This article is very good news for the nation and yet another indicator that the numbers we've seen in Denver are not a fluke.

From MSNBC and the AP (If they're reporting good news, either hell froze over and there realy is good news to report):

Existing home sales see largest gain in years:

WASHINGTON - Sales of existing homes rose by the largest amount in more than five years in September, a real estate trade group said Friday. The data is a possible glimmer of hope that the housing slump could be starting to bottom out.

The National Association of Realtors said Friday that sales of existing homes rose by 5.5 percent in September compared to August, the best showing since a 5.6 percent increase in July 2003, during the five-year housing boom.

This mirrors what we've been seeing n the Denver market.

Denver's made the list of "Good Cities."  

From Yahoo!:

Home Prices: Now for the Good News

On Denver:

Denver

Denver’s overall outlook is sunnier than for most western cities because neither inventory nor prices spiraled out of control during the boom. Dinged by a telecom bust earlier in the decade that cost the city 5 percent of its jobs, the local economy wasn’t primed for irrational exuberance. Now with six months’ worth of homes in inventory—the level most experts judge to be roughly in balance—the city offers considerable upside.

In particular, upscale buyers are flocking to Cherry Creek, the tony neighborhood that’s home to Neiman Marcus and the Cherry Creek Arts Festival, one of the country’s top urban arts fairs. Here, prices leaped 16 percent in the past year, according to Integrated Asset Services, an firm specializing in mortgage investments. The area’s popularity illustrates a common theme in U.S. housing markets: established, close-in neighborhoods are often holding up better than suburbs, because they didn’t endure overbuilding and because higher-income owners were less likely to need subprime or adjustable-rate mortgages.

Cherry Creek’s success also highlights the strength of the envy factor. In a recent Coldwell Banker survey of luxury homeowners, 17 percent said they’ve considered moving to get into a certain address or zip code—a reminder that the lure of prestige or good schools moves homes even in a shaky economy. Cherry Creek’s 80206 zip code may be Denver’s ritziest—as seen in the new development North Creek, which features a mix of million-dollar tower condos and brownstones along with a private garden courtyard, à la New York’s Gramercy Park.

From The Denver Post:

Cheaper homes move in metro area

Key Excerpt:

While housing data released earlier this month showed Denver with 5.7 months of inventory — considered a normal market — the figure is skewed by the number of upper-end homes on the market, according to Metrolist data analyzed by Lon Welsh, managing broker of Your Castle Real Estate.

There is 31 months of inventory for $1 million-plus homes, while there's just 2.7 months of inventory for those priced under $100,000, making competition stiffer on the lower end of the price spectrum.

We're seeing homes under $200,000 move very, very quickly. Our agents are doing better than the average of 8 offers per closing mentioned in the article, but 2-3 offers per client is not unheard of.

From CNNMoney.com:

Mortgage fraud: New and improved:

The housing bust has not ended mortgage fraud - hucksters are just finding new ways to make dishonest bucks.

The number of fraudulent loans issued during the second quarter this year increased 45%, compared with the same period in 2007, according to the Mortgage Asset Research Institute (MARI), a service of LexisNexis.

If only these people would harness their creativity for good...

From the Denver Business Journal:

Site picked for 2009 Parade of Homes

The Home Builders Association of Metro Denver (HBA) picked the Promontory at McKay Shores in Broomfield as the site of its 2009 Parade of Homes, the association said Wednesday.

 

This is a great option for sellers with some equity.

One aspect this article doesn't mention is a seller carrying a small 2nd mortgage. We're seeing this more frequently.

From the WSJ:

Mortgage Lending for Sellers

From the Rocky Mountain News:

Fewer homes on market in Denver, but sales up:

The number of unsold homes on the market in September dropped to the lowest level since December 2005 and the number of homes placed under contract jumped almost 22 percent from September 2007, the best September for sales in three years.