Monday, December 12, 2011

Housing News Digest, December 12

One woman's story highlights benefits of Loveland's House of Neighborly Service
LOVELAND - Tina Smith lives with her mother in a modest Loveland home. She has a son, a daughter and a foster-dog named Huli.

Smith's young daughter, Rose, has a bag of stuffed animals that she carries around the house; most of them were given to her. She likes to take the colored jewels off her small chandelier.

"I always put them back when I'm done," she said.

Colorado's predicted employment growth positive for housing market
The 47th Annual Business Economic Outlook from the University of Colorado at the Boulder Leeds School of Business and CU Executive Director Richard Wobbekind predict "Colorado will outperform the nation in economic growth." This is incredible news for our local economy and the future of our housing market. The recently published forcast "analyzes changes that have taken place in all economic sectors during the past year, and looks at the opportunities and challenges that will shape the changes in our population, employment, and overall economy for the coming year."

Home sweet subsidy
After purging a waiting list that went back at least five years, the Housing Authority of the City of Colorado Springs reopened it in August 2010. In one month, 3,820 people applied. Today, the number is pushing 8,000.

You can't blame the backlog on small inventory; the authority is the biggest player in the local rental market, owning 1,487 housing units, ranging from apartments to single-family homes, valued at more than $90 million. It also owns the $2.8 million Senior Center complex at 1514 N. Hancock Ave., which it took over from the city last year. The agency has increased its inventory by 26 percent in five years.

Dwayne Romero discusses Aspen’s future economy\
Dwayne Romero was optimistic on the future of Aspen’s local economy in a presentation hosted by the Pitkin County Republicans on Thursday.

Romero, an ex-Aspen City Councilman who is a former executive director of the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade and currently a member of the Economic Development Commission, gave a talk to an audience of about 40 people at the Doerr-Hosier Center at Aspen Meadows, including mayor Mick Ireland, titled “A Bottom Up Approach to Economic Development in Colorado.”

Lehman Said to Prepare $1.3 Billion Bid for Archstone Stake
The purchase would be the first step in a Lehman plan to gain control of Englewood, Colorado-based Archstone, an owner of apartment developments. The defunct securities firm seeks to sell or liquidate Archstone for at least $6 billion, according to another person familiar with the plan.