RyanMcMaken.com

Last April, I was part of a panel discussion on the housing market in the Denver area. It featured Zach Urban of the Division of Real Estate, Terry Ware of the City of Denver, and Tony Ormsby of the City of Aurora. Here are some screen shots:

[from my latest at the Mises Economics Blog] "No one really knows what anything is worth anymore. Some sellers appear to be kidding themselves..." So says David Whitford in this nicely detailed piece about real estate in Phoenix. Overall prices in Phoenix, by the way, are off 53 percent from the peak, and have seen the biggest decline in the nation. There are some interesting contrasts in the piece. Notable is how at least some of the over-70 crowd wasn't caught up in the speculation and the bust. Those who are too old to be Baby Boomers weren't taken in by the profligacy of that generation. Says one 73-year-old: "If you're going to retire early, you can't have a lot of wives you're paying, you sure as hell can't have kids in college, and you can't have a lot of debt. You gotta get your debt down, get your bills paid, pay for your car. And then when hard times come, you don't participate." I once had a Baby Boomer try to explain to ...

[From the Mises Economics Blog ] The new Case-Shiller housing price data was recently released, and cities like Los Angeles are still reporting housing price declines of 22 percent. Miami is down almost 29 percent. S & P's spokesman declared that "we see no evidence that a recovery in home prices has begun." These are March numbers, and I'm pretty sure that "popular" economists have been declaring the economy at bottom since at least March. We'll see what April numbers say, but the enthusiasm over the imminent recovery is perhaps misplaced. With so few people qualifying for mortgage loans, and with so many people with terrible credit and massive consumer debt, it's difficult to imagine the scenario that will lead to all the excess housing inventory being mopped up any time soon. UPDATE: The mortgage bankers association released new data today showing that mortgage defaults are in no danger of going down. As noted in the comments, it is of course...

Fort Collins apartment vacancies decrease BY HALLIE WOODS • May 22, 2009 Fort Collins was one of four areas across the state to see decreasing multifamily vacancy rates at the beginning of 2009, a new report says. Advertisement The city's apartment vacancy rate fell to 4 percent in the first quarter of 2009 from 4.8 percent in the first quarter of 2008, according to a report released Thursday by the Colorado Division of Housing. Loveland, however, saw an increase of vacancy rates to 6.1 percent from 5.6 percent in the first quarter of 2008 in the first quarter of 2009, according to the report. Experts attribute Fort Collins' decreasing vacancy rates to a tightening up of the home mortgage market and a robust economy due to the university and a growing number of renewable energy startups. "The whole Northern Colorado region still has some stable job opportunities: renewable energy, health care. And, if you are going to live in Northern Colorado, what better place to live th...

County's foreclosure rates go up But Durango area looks good when compared with Front Range by Dale Rodebaugh Herald Staff Writer Article Last Updated; Monday, May 18, 2009 Foreclosure filings and real estate auction sales rose sharply in La Plata County from first quarter 2008 to the same period this year, a [CDH] report shows. But by another standard, La Plata County is not doing too badly. "Your foreclosure rate is low," Ryan McMaken, a researcher and director of communications at the state agency, said Friday. "You're not close to the problems they have on the Front Range." custom residential construction The agency's report shows that in the first three months of 2009, there were 10,745 foreclosure filings and 4,354 sales (completed foreclosures) statewide, compared to 11,634 filings and 5,899 sales in first-quarter 2008 - decreases of 8 percent and 26 percent, respectively. In La Plata County, on the other hand, filings increased from 23 in the fir...

Fewer people lose homes to foreclosure, but ... by Sharon Dunn House Bill 1276, the Foreclosure Delay act, gives homeowners and their lenders 90 days to avoid foreclosure by working with certified mortgage counselors to regain their financial footing. Gov. Bill Ritter is due to sign the bill by June 5, and it will be effective July 1. According to the bill, within 20 days of notice of foreclosure, the borrower must contact a HUD-certified counselor such as those at the Foreclosure Hotline at (877) 601-HOPE. The counselor will assess the person’s debt and financial situation. If the homeowner is deemed a good candidate, he/she gets an extra 90 days to work with the bank to figure out how, if at all possible, to stay in the home, according to a Colorado legislative staff review of the bill. If a loan holder receives notice that a borrower is eligible for a loan deferment, the loan holder must defer the foreclosure for 90 days, during which time the borrower must make payments equal to tw...

More Coloradan's Mortgages Falling Behind Officials Fear Growth Of Foreclosures POSTED: 5:55 pm MDT April 29, 2009 UPDATED: 7:04 pm MDT April 29, 2009 DENVER -- State housing officials fear another boom in home foreclosures. The number of homeowners falling behind in their mortgage is growing. According to the state, the current delinquency rate in Colorado is 4 percent. That is more than double what it was two years ago. “The current situation is very flexible,” said Ryan McMaken, a representative with [CDH]. State housing officials said a number of Coloradans who haven’t made their mortgage payment in some time could soon face foreclosure since many lending institutions have ended a self-imposed moratorium. “There are a decent number of borrowers who haven’t made payments in a while but they don’t register as foreclosures yet,” said McMaken. Many banks and lending institutions instituted a moratorium on foreclosures as they waited to see what the Obama administration would do tro...