Monday, March 5, 2012
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Clippings, February 15-20, 2012
KUNC: Feb 16, 2012
Ryan McMaken, an economist with the state Division of Housing, says while that’s a good sign, it’s not clear yet how the recent multi-state, multi-billion dollar foreclosure settlement will impact that trend.
“I’m now hearing that a lot of these servicers had been holding back a little bit in terms of foreclosure processing as they waited for the outcome of the Attorney General’s agreement, the settlement that came down last week. And so now some people are expecting those numbers to come up a little bit.”
Denver Business Journal, February 16, 2012
“Foreclosure filings during January fell to levels well below any other January since 2008, and this continues a trend of diminished foreclosure filings activity that we’ve been seeing since the fall of 2010,” Ryan McMaken, a spokesman with the Colorado Division of Housing, said in a press release. “In year-over-year comparisons, foreclosure filings have now fallen for 14 months in a row, which suggests a well-established trend at this point.”
Sacramento Bee, February 16, 2012 (Associated Press)
Housing division spokesman Ryan McMaken says there have been some indications that lenders have been delaying foreclosure proceedings until after the deal was finalized.
Denver Post, February 16, 2012
January 2012's filings total was the lowest January total reported in five years, according to Ryan McMaken, a spokesman with the Colorado Division of Housing.
"Foreclosure filings during January fell to levels well below any other January since 2008, and this continues a trend of diminished foreclosure filings activity that we've been seeing since the fall of 2010," said McMaken.
Two commentary articles of mine were picked up by the Christian Science Monitor:
Hillary Clinton's new job: At the world bank?
Christian Science Monitor
By Ryan McMaken, Guest blogger / February 20, 2012 Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks during a news conference at the State Department in ...
Spanish real estate bust leads to ghost towns
Christian Science Monitor
By Ryan McMaken, Guest blogger / February 17, 2012 A lone joggers runs past apartment blocks in Sesena in the Toledo Provence near Madrid, Spain.
Ryan McMaken, an economist with the state Division of Housing, says while that’s a good sign, it’s not clear yet how the recent multi-state, multi-billion dollar foreclosure settlement will impact that trend.
“I’m now hearing that a lot of these servicers had been holding back a little bit in terms of foreclosure processing as they waited for the outcome of the Attorney General’s agreement, the settlement that came down last week. And so now some people are expecting those numbers to come up a little bit.”
Denver Business Journal, February 16, 2012
“Foreclosure filings during January fell to levels well below any other January since 2008, and this continues a trend of diminished foreclosure filings activity that we’ve been seeing since the fall of 2010,” Ryan McMaken, a spokesman with the Colorado Division of Housing, said in a press release. “In year-over-year comparisons, foreclosure filings have now fallen for 14 months in a row, which suggests a well-established trend at this point.”
Sacramento Bee, February 16, 2012 (Associated Press)
Housing division spokesman Ryan McMaken says there have been some indications that lenders have been delaying foreclosure proceedings until after the deal was finalized.
Denver Post, February 16, 2012
January 2012's filings total was the lowest January total reported in five years, according to Ryan McMaken, a spokesman with the Colorado Division of Housing.
"Foreclosure filings during January fell to levels well below any other January since 2008, and this continues a trend of diminished foreclosure filings activity that we've been seeing since the fall of 2010," said McMaken.
Two commentary articles of mine were picked up by the Christian Science Monitor:
Hillary Clinton's new job: At the world bank?
Christian Science Monitor
By Ryan McMaken, Guest blogger / February 20, 2012 Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks during a news conference at the State Department in ...
Spanish real estate bust leads to ghost towns
Christian Science Monitor
By Ryan McMaken, Guest blogger / February 17, 2012 A lone joggers runs past apartment blocks in Sesena in the Toledo Provence near Madrid, Spain.
Friday, February 3, 2012
Clippings, February 1-3, 2012
Denver Post, Feb 3:
New data released Thursday by the Colorado Division of Housing showed a vacancy rate of 5.4 percent in the fourth quarter of last year. That was down from 5.5 percent in the same period of 2010. The last time the fourth-quarter vacancy rate was lower than 2011's was in 2000, when it hit 4.7 percent.
Division of Housing spokesman Ryan McMaken said that the fourth quarter normally is a "high vacancy quarter."
"Usually if anybody moves out, no one moves in," McMaken said
"The overall median rent in the Denver area has now increased year over year for eight quarters in a row, and the median rent has increased by almost $60 over that time," McMaken said. "The rent growth we're now seeing is more robust than what we saw during the last expansion between 2002 and 2008."
Denver Business Journal, Feb3
The Q4 rate -- the lowest for the quarter since 2000 -- was up from the third quarter’s 4.9 percent vacancy percentage, but vacancy rates tend to rise in the fourth quarter from earlier in the year, said Ryan McMaken, division spokesman and economist.
Boulder County Business Report, Feb 3
"The overall median rent in the Denver area has now increased year over year for eight quarters in a row, and the median rent has increased by almost 60 dollars over that time," Colorado Division of Housing spokesman Ryan McMaken said in a news release. "The rent growth we're now seeing is more robust than what we saw during the last expansion between 2002 and 2008."
Colorado Springs Gazette, Feb 2
For the first seven months of 2011, the reduction in filings was largely because of lenders who slowed their processing of notices in response to criticism they received the previous year for allegedly reckless handling of foreclosure paperwork, said Ryan McMaken, a Housing Division spokesman.
However, the final five months of the year saw a stabilizing of home sale prices and other slight improvements in the housing market, which contributed to the overall reduction in foreclosure activity, he said.
In 2012, McMaken expects another reduction in foreclosure filings statewide, although not as dramatic as last year’s.
Lenders who delayed some of their foreclosure filings last year might turn around and ramp up their activity this year, McMaken said.Yet, “there’s enough slowly returning strength” in the housing market so that overall filings in 2012 should continue to decline, he said.
Loveland Reporter-Herald, Feb 2
Ryan McMaken, a spokesman for the state Housing Division, said the slowdown can't be attributed completely to improvements in the real estate market. "Many lenders slowed down the processing of foreclosures during the first half of 2011 to deal with legal issues," McMaken said in a press release.
He added, "Nevertheless, we do know that mortgage delinquencies are down and that home prices are stabilizing, so that also helped to push down foreclosure totals."
Denver Business Journal, Feb 2
“Foreclosures really slowed down during 2011, but not all of that was due to improvements in the real estate markets. Many lenders slowed down the processing of foreclosures during the first half of 2011 to deal with legal issues,” Ryan McMaken, spokesman for the Division of Housing, said in the new report.
“Nevertheless, we do know that mortgage delinquencies are down and that home prices are stabilizing, so that also helped to push down foreclosure totals,” McMaken added.
Denver Post, Feb 2
"Foreclosures really slowed down during 2011, but not all of that was due to improvements in the real estate markets," said Ryan McMaken, spokesman for the Colorado Division of Housing. "Many lenders slowed down the processing of foreclosures during the first half of 2011 to deal with legal issues.
"Nevertheless, we do know that mortgage delinquencies are down and the home prices are stabilizing, so that also helped to push down foreclosure totals," said McMaken.
...
Although foreclosure filings have fallen for the past two years, foreclosure activity remains at unusually high levels, said McMaken.
"Foreclosure sales at auction have basically been flat for the past five years and totals are still twice what we'd consider to be normal," said McMaken. "We expect more progress to be made in 2012, although the task of dealing with the existing inventory of properties in foreclosure is likely to extend beyond this year."
New data released Thursday by the Colorado Division of Housing showed a vacancy rate of 5.4 percent in the fourth quarter of last year. That was down from 5.5 percent in the same period of 2010. The last time the fourth-quarter vacancy rate was lower than 2011's was in 2000, when it hit 4.7 percent.
Division of Housing spokesman Ryan McMaken said that the fourth quarter normally is a "high vacancy quarter."
"Usually if anybody moves out, no one moves in," McMaken said
"The overall median rent in the Denver area has now increased year over year for eight quarters in a row, and the median rent has increased by almost $60 over that time," McMaken said. "The rent growth we're now seeing is more robust than what we saw during the last expansion between 2002 and 2008."
Denver Business Journal, Feb3
The Q4 rate -- the lowest for the quarter since 2000 -- was up from the third quarter’s 4.9 percent vacancy percentage, but vacancy rates tend to rise in the fourth quarter from earlier in the year, said Ryan McMaken, division spokesman and economist.
Boulder County Business Report, Feb 3
"The overall median rent in the Denver area has now increased year over year for eight quarters in a row, and the median rent has increased by almost 60 dollars over that time," Colorado Division of Housing spokesman Ryan McMaken said in a news release. "The rent growth we're now seeing is more robust than what we saw during the last expansion between 2002 and 2008."
Colorado Springs Gazette, Feb 2
For the first seven months of 2011, the reduction in filings was largely because of lenders who slowed their processing of notices in response to criticism they received the previous year for allegedly reckless handling of foreclosure paperwork, said Ryan McMaken, a Housing Division spokesman.
However, the final five months of the year saw a stabilizing of home sale prices and other slight improvements in the housing market, which contributed to the overall reduction in foreclosure activity, he said.
In 2012, McMaken expects another reduction in foreclosure filings statewide, although not as dramatic as last year’s.
Lenders who delayed some of their foreclosure filings last year might turn around and ramp up their activity this year, McMaken said.Yet, “there’s enough slowly returning strength” in the housing market so that overall filings in 2012 should continue to decline, he said.
Loveland Reporter-Herald, Feb 2
Ryan McMaken, a spokesman for the state Housing Division, said the slowdown can't be attributed completely to improvements in the real estate market. "Many lenders slowed down the processing of foreclosures during the first half of 2011 to deal with legal issues," McMaken said in a press release.
He added, "Nevertheless, we do know that mortgage delinquencies are down and that home prices are stabilizing, so that also helped to push down foreclosure totals."
Denver Business Journal, Feb 2
“Foreclosures really slowed down during 2011, but not all of that was due to improvements in the real estate markets. Many lenders slowed down the processing of foreclosures during the first half of 2011 to deal with legal issues,” Ryan McMaken, spokesman for the Division of Housing, said in the new report.
“Nevertheless, we do know that mortgage delinquencies are down and that home prices are stabilizing, so that also helped to push down foreclosure totals,” McMaken added.
Denver Post, Feb 2
"Foreclosures really slowed down during 2011, but not all of that was due to improvements in the real estate markets," said Ryan McMaken, spokesman for the Colorado Division of Housing. "Many lenders slowed down the processing of foreclosures during the first half of 2011 to deal with legal issues.
"Nevertheless, we do know that mortgage delinquencies are down and the home prices are stabilizing, so that also helped to push down foreclosure totals," said McMaken.
...
Although foreclosure filings have fallen for the past two years, foreclosure activity remains at unusually high levels, said McMaken.
"Foreclosure sales at auction have basically been flat for the past five years and totals are still twice what we'd consider to be normal," said McMaken. "We expect more progress to be made in 2012, although the task of dealing with the existing inventory of properties in foreclosure is likely to extend beyond this year."
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Clipping: January 31, 2012
From the Denver Post:
Ryan McMaken, economist and spokesman for the Colorado Division of Housing, said the Alliance approach to today's rent vs. buy mentality makes sense.
Some high-end renters prefer the added amenities — swimming pool, clubhouse, security and well-equipped gym — that come with the monthly rental price. Others don't know whether a job transfer will take them out of the market. "They don't want to get too attached to a property," McMaken said.
And then there's the whole issue of the flat housing market and the potential of not being able to get the money out of a house that the buyer puts into it.
"If you bought a house in '08, it's going to be several more years till you get back your money as far as equity goes," McMaken said.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Clippings: January 25, 2012
In The Denver Post
Mortgage loan payoffs hit 10-year low
January 25, 2012
"Real estate activity perked up a bit during the fourth quarter, which would reflect some very recent growth in employment and some mild increases in home prices." said Ryan McMaken, spokesman for the Colorado Division of Housing. "But overall, the fourth quarter's activity wasn't enough to keep 2011 from being another flat year."
The Colorado Springs Gazette
January 25, 2012
Mortgage loan payoffs fall in Springs area
But if there’s a sign of good news, it’s that mortgage payoffs in El Paso County totaled 8,023 in the fourth quarter of 2011 — an increase over each of the first three quarters of last year and a possible indication that housing activity is picking up, said Housing Division spokesman Ryan McMaken. The other 20 counties in the report also saw increases in the fourth quarter when compared with the third quarter.
“After two years of declines in mortgage rates without any big increases in activity, the fact that we did start to see some activity in the fourth quarter is a hopeful sign,” McMaken said.
Still, he cautioned, it will take several quarters to know if a trend is under way. The fourth-quarter numbers might suggest that more people have been able to afford a down payment or have accumulated enough equity in their homes that they can refinance, McMaken said.
“It’s just been very difficult for people to either purchase, to sell or to refinance, and that has just basically really pushed down the amount of release activity,” he said. “So if it’s pushing back up, it just might suggest that those trends are reversing themselves a little bit.”
Colorado Springs Business Journal
January 25, 2012
Statewide mortgage payoffs lowest since 2000
“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.
There is also little activity in home sales as buyers aren’t motivated.
“It’s not like 2005 when everyone ran saying ‘if we don’t buy now, we’re going to be priced out because real estate always goes up,’” McMaken said. “We all thought that way.”
Now the reverse is true, and buyers aren’t rushing to get into the market.
The mountain communities are exceptions to the low deed release rates reported in the rest of the state, McMaken said. Those areas are still suffering, but there is more activity there than there is along the Front Range and in counties where home prices are the lowest like Weld and Pueblo counties.
Friday, January 13, 2012
My latest in the CSM
From The Christian Science Monitor:
Serious debt problems will continue, experts say
Over the past 10 to 15 years, total debt outstanding in the US has grown as a much faster pace than population, and little has been done to deal with the debt in spite of widespread unemployment, flat personal income, and declining collateral values.
By Ryan McMaken, Guest blogger / January 13, 2012
Read the full article.
Serious debt problems will continue, experts say
Over the past 10 to 15 years, total debt outstanding in the US has grown as a much faster pace than population, and little has been done to deal with the debt in spite of widespread unemployment, flat personal income, and declining collateral values.
By Ryan McMaken, Guest blogger / January 13, 2012
Read the full article.
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
My remarks in Bloomberg
Bloomberg recently published a piece that mentioned Colorado Real Estate:
Plummeting Income Shaves Household Cash
By Frank Bass and Timothy R. Homan - Dec 7, 2011 10:00 PM MT
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-08/plummeting-income-from-investments-shaves-u-s-household-cash.html
Plummeting Income Shaves Household Cash
By Frank Bass and Timothy R. Homan - Dec 7, 2011 10:00 PM MT
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-08/plummeting-income-from-investments-shaves-u-s-household-cash.html
Prices for existing U.S. homes fell over the decade in one of five U.S. counties, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Pitkin County, Colorado, homeowners were hardest hit. The median value of a home in the central Colorado county, home to the Aspen/Snowmass ski complex, fell $304,800, almost 10 times the decline in Oakland County, Michigan, the second-biggest loser.
The median sales price was $1.2 million for the 63 homes sold during the third quarter of 2010 in the Aspen area, said Ryan McMaken, chief economist for the Colorado Division of Housing. During the third quarter of 2011, 68 homes were sold with a median sales price of $637,000, he said.
“There aren’t a lot of fire sales, but there hasn’t been the sort of demand that existed prior to the financial crisis,” McMaken said. “It’s pretty clear there have been some declines.”
Friday, August 26, 2011
Interview with Colorado Public Radio
Interview with Colorado Public Radio, August 11, 2011
Reporter: Which means the future’s bright for buyers who are looking to rent out their investment. Competition for single family homes will likely drive rents higher. Ryan McMaken is an economist with the Colorado Division of Housing. He says that competition for rentals could be a lasting effect of the recession.
Ryan McMaken: People who want to rent houses or live in a single family house they can’t afford to buy one right now, they don’t have the down payment they don’t have the credit rating and so on they’re going to rent instead.
Saturday, August 20, 2011
9News invited me in to discuss the second quarter foreclosure stats for Colorado. The story is here.
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