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Northern Colorado News Briefs

Fort Collins No. 7 for Quality of Life
BizJournals.com ranked Fort Collins as No. 7 for quality of life in a mid-sized metropolitan area. The ranking was based on comparative data from 124 midsize metros in 20 statistical categories using U.S. Census Bureau data. Healthy economies, light traffic, moderate costs of living, impressive housing stocks and strong educational systems were key factors in the ranking system. Fort Collins and Larimer County were specifically noted for the high percentage of people with college degrees, a healthy entrepreneurial spirit and solid concentration of management jobs. Two other Colorado cities—Boulder and Colorado Springs—also made the top 10 list. The journal concludes that these smaller metro areas are viable alternatives to “life in the big city.”

Source: Coloradoan, “Fort Collins ranks No. 7 for quality of life” by Pat Ferrier, 3/18/09
http://www.coloradoan.com/article/20090318/BUSINESS/903180309/1046

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Greeley Tops U.S. Census Growth List
Census figures released in March show that the Greeley metro area, which includes all of Weld County, is growing at the fourth-fastest rate of any metro area in the nation. The area grew by 38 percent between April 2000 and July 2008, bringing the population to approximately 250,000 people. The Greeley metro area is behind Palm Coast, Fla., which grew 83.1 percent; St. George, Utah; and Provo-Orem, Utah. See the complete list of fastest-growing metro areas in the “Weld County Population Estimates” sidebar.

Source: Greeley Tribune, “Greeley remains near top of Census growth list” by Andrew Villegas, 3/29/09
http://www.greeleytribune.com/article/20090319/NEWS/903189906/1001&title=Greeley%20remains%20near%20top%20of%20Census%20growth%20list

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Embassy Suites Opens Doors
The much anticipated Embassy Suites Hotel, Spa and Conference Center located south of the Budweiser Events Center on I-25 opened its doors for reservations this April. The $60-million hotel comes in at eight stories high, 263 suites, with 40,000 square feet of conference room space—the largest in the state. The ballroom is 28,000 square feet and can hold 3,600 people. Only three other hotel convention centers from Denver north to Canada have that capacity. The great news is that the hotel has conferences booked through 2012 and based on lease agreements the county could see returns up to $500,000 this year from the development, then up to $2.1 million per year by 2059 when the county’s land lease would be up for renewal.

Source: Source: Coloradoan, “Embassy Suites a new boon for area” by Douglas Crowl, 4/3/09
http://www.coloradoan.com/article/20090403/LOVELAND03/90402044

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Housing Market Shows Signs of Stabilization
All eyes are on the housing market as we head into the second quarter of 2009—for where the housing market goes, so goes the economy. The good news is that there are recent signs of stabilization in the housing market:

• Foreclosure activity in Colorado dropped by a third in the first three months of this year compared with the same period in 2008, according to a recent report from RealtyTrac. Many of the country’s largest mortgage servicers slowed their processing of foreclosures earlier this year as they waited for new federal guidelines on modifying troubled loans. Despite the fact that foreclosure activity rose after the new guidelines were released, the rise wasn’t enough to push the state above levels seen in March 2008.
• A real estate report by First American CoreLogic shows January home prices increasing slightly in Fort Collins and Loveland and slowing their decline in Greeley. The report said home prices in the Fort Collins-Loveland area increased by 0.07 percent in January compared to January 2008 after dropping by 1.72 percent in December compared to one year earlier. In the Greeley area, home prices decreased by only 0.44 percent in January over the same month in 2008 after decreasing 2.2 percent in December 2008 over December 2007.
• The hardest-hit housing markets—Florida’s Gulf Coast, California's Inland Empire, and Las Vegas, among others—experienced a more than 80 percent jump in home sales during the year-over-year period ended in February.
• Builder confidence in April made its most dramatic increase in nearly seven years. The Housing Market Index, a survey-based measurement of sales, as well as sales expectations, rose by more than 50 percent in April, according to the National Association of Home Builders.
• A group of new consumer-sentiment polls came out showing that Americans are feeling better about their economic prospects for the first time in months. A survey of 15,000 adults by Discover Financial Services recorded a significant jump in confidence between February and March. A New York Times/CBS poll of 1,000 consumers found the same.
• Mortgage applications for purchases of resale and new homes were up again -- eight percent for applications using conventional loans, and a remarkable 17 percent gain in applications to buy houses using low-down payment FHA mortgages.
• Mortgage rates remain at near historic lows, though they may be bottoming out. Thirty-year fixed rates rose a tenth of a percent on average last week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, to 4.7 percent. Fifteen year rates stayed flat, around four and a half percent.

Sources: The Denver Post, “Colo. foreclosure activity down for the quarter” by Aldo Svaldi, 4/16/09; CNNMoney.com, “Signs of recovery - and perhaps a bottom - emerge in housing market report” by Aaron Smith, 4/15/09; Realty Times, “Real Estate Outlook: A Turnaround May Be In Sight” by Kenneth R. Harney, 4/14/09; Business Week, “Home Sales: Some Welcomed Signs of Life” by Christopher Palmeri, Maria Der Hovanesian, and Gopal Prashant, 04/09/09; Northern Colorado Business Report, “Northern Colorado home prices may be stabilizing” by Staff, 3/26/09
http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_12152077 http://money.cnn.com/2009/04/15/news/economy/housing_market_index/index.htm?postversion=2009041513 http://realtytimes.com/rtpages/20090414_realestateoutlook.htm http://www.realtor.org/rmodaily.nsf/pages/News2009040901 http://www.ncbr.com/article.asp?id=99305

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Employment Estimates Strong for Greeley
Manpower Inc, a Milwaukee-based company that connects employers with employees, keeps a finger on the pulse of employment. In an effort to gauge future movement in employment, the company conducts quarterly surveys of leading companies, probing them as to whether they intend to hire, let go or retain employees. In their most recent report, Manpower Inc. identified Greeley as one the “strong survey areas” for the second quarter of 2009. This means Greeley employers are expected to hire at a “respectable rate” during the second quarter. Specifically, 18% of Greeley area companies plan to hire more employees between April and June, while 8% said they would likely reduce their payrolls.

Source: “Strong Greeley job market expected,” by Staff, Northern Colorado Business Report, 3/10/09
http://www.ncbr.com/article.asp?id=99053

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Downtown Loveland: Round-Up
The revitalization of Downtown Loveland is a top story in Northern Colorado. To track the latest developments check out the new “Round Up” section of the Reporter- Herald website at: www.reporterherald.com/roundup/index.asp?topic=Downtown. Here you will find recent articles relating to the revitalization, the City of Loveland Downtown Infrastructure Upgrade Plan, and an interactive downtown Loveland parking map. You can also participate in a public forum where community members exchange comments on proposed plans.

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Northern Colorado Fairing Well
In a sea of headlines about the struggling housing market, Northern Colorado continues to stand out as a relatively stable area. A recent report released by CoreLogic shows that supply and demand are more well-balance in the area, with only 11.5% of properties in Loveland and Fort Collins having a mortgage with a negative equity position, compared to 20% nationwide. Foreclosure in Colorado have also dropped as a whole for the first time since 2003. According to the Colorado Division of Housing, foreclosures are down 16% since 2007. Foreclosures in Larimer County declined 21% from 2007 to 2008.

Source: Reporter-Herald, “Real estate report: Supply and demand are well-balanced in Northern Colorado” by Shelley Widhalm, 3/6/09; Coloradoan, “Completed foreclosures drop in county, state” by David Young, 2/24/09
http://www.reporterherald.com/news_story.asp?ID=21898
http://www.coloradoan.com/article/20090224/BUSINESS/902240321

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Zillow.com Traffic, Loan Requests Surge
In response to the governments’ housing stimulus plans, Zillow. com has been experiencing recordbreaking traffic and loan request activity. Zillow Mortgage Marketplace received more than 70,000 loan requests during the December through February time period - the average number of daily loan requests was up 142%. The activity is a positive indicator for potential movement in the housing market.

Source: RISMedia, 3/4/09
http://rismedia.com/2009-03-03/zillowcom-reports-traffic-loan-request-surge/

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Windsor Population Estimated at 19,001
Exact numbers will be calculated in the 2010 Census Report, but for now estimates show that Windsor has grown to 19,001 residents. This amounts to a whopping 74.5% spurt in growth since 2000. Windsor’s close proximity to I-25 and relatively central location to Greeley, Loveland and Fort Collins make the town an attractive location for business and residents alike. The growth may be leveling off for now, as reflected in the current three-year decline in building permits, but regardless the once small town has made a permanent mark on the Northern Colorado map.

Source: Windsor Beacon, “Windsor’s population tops 19,000” by Ashley Keesis-Wood, 2/5/09
http://www.coloradoan.com/article/20090205/WINDSORBEACON01/90204039/1131

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Spotlight: Great Western Industrial Park
In just five years the Great Western Industrial Park, located in Windsor, has become a key player in shaping Northern Colorado’s economic market. The 1,500 acre park houses manufacturing leaders like Owens-Illinois, the first U.S. bottling plant in more than two decades, Vestas and Hexcel as well as Front Range Energy. These companies are on track to create 1,000 high-paying jobs and invest $420 million in plants, property and people. Three of the four companies are a part of the clean energy sector, further building Colorado’s reputation as a magnet for renewable energy and energy efficient industries. To learn more about the park you can visit their website at: www.GreatWesternIndustrialPark.com

Source: Reporter-Herald, “Growing green at Windsor’s industrial park” by The Associated Press 2/7/09
http://www.reporterherald.com/BusinessRH/business-story.asp?ID=21415

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New “Boomer” Website Tags Fort Collins
A new website, www.BestBoomerTowns.com, selected Fort Collins as one of the “2009 Best Places to Thrive.” The website identified Fort Collins’ 360 days of sunshine, opportunities for outdoor recreation, Colorado State University and relative location to Denver as major draws to the area. The writers explain that Fort Collins “offers a small town feeling but with the big city amenities that many people crave.” The website targets people born between 1946-1964 that may be looking to retire in upcoming years. Their research is based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau 2000, Wall Street Journal, Money Magazine, AARP, New York Times, Del Webb Survey, and U.S. World News Report.

Source: www.BestBoomerTowns.com, pulled 2/18/09
www.BestBoomerTowns.com

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Colorado Magnet for ‘Green Collar Jobs’
According to a recent report released by the American Solar Energy Society, the renewable energy and energy efficiency industries generated $10.2 billion in annual revenue and provided more than 91,000 jobs in Colorado (2007) with potential for these industries to grow sixfold by 2030. You can download a complete copy of the report at www.ases.org/greenjobs

Source: www.ases.org, 1/15/09
http://www.ases.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=464&Itemid=58

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