Housing News Digest, June 22

Colorado economic-development chief leaving after 4 months
A real estate professional, Romero was little known to Denver-area economic development leaders when his appointment was announced in January.
He previously served as president of Related Colorado, a Snowmass Village real estate development and investment firm, leading the firm’s hospitality and property-management divisions. During his brief tenure as OEDIT’s chief, Romero continued to work one day a week for the company, to which he will now return upon leaving the state post.

Longmont Ends Inclusionary Zoning Program
The City Council also voted 4-3 to end the "inclusionary zoning" portion of its affordable housing program.

Established in 1995, the program required builders to either set aside 10 percent of their homes as affordable, or else make a "payment in lieu" to make up for not supplying those homes. The homes remain affordable, through deed restrictions, for a minimum of 10 years.

Several builders and developers have asked the council to remove the program, saying the set-aside makes a difficult financing situation even worse. Deanna Dyer, president of the Longmont Realtor's Association, said she still supported down-payment assistance, but that deed restrictions were too much.

500-unit Broomfield apartment complex sold for $78M
Chicago-based AMLI Residential has added to its presence in the U.S. 36 corridor near Interlocken with the recent purchase of a 500-unit apartment complex in Broomfield for $78.82 million.

Lawmakers: Government guarantee preserves 30-year mortgage
The prevalence of the 30-year mortgage in the housing market will rapidly diminish and eventually disappear without a government guarantee for related mortgage-backed securities.

Two members of the House Financial Services Committee, Reps. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) and John Campbell (R-Calif.) told attendees at the American Securitization Forum's annual meeting in Washington that this is precisely what will happen if legislation they plan to introduce is not passed into law.

Irvine: Luxury Condos become Rental Apartments
The luxe new high-rise condos at Astoria in Irvine’s Central Park West are no longer for sale — they’re for rent.
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The apartments at Astoria, once priced to sell from $415,000 to $779,000 - along with homeowner association (HOA) dues ranging from $915 to $965 a month — now rent beginning at $2,590.